Glossary

The next generation of wireless technology which features high-speed, simultaneous transfer of both voice data (a phonecall) and non-voice data (eg instant messages, videos).

A field of computer research in which the real world is overlayed with one or more layers of additional information that may or may not be interactive. Also see VR (Virtual Reality).

A programme, usually requiring only basic technical knowledge, that allows you to create applications featuring many media, ie text, image, audio.

The width of a band of electromagnetic frequencies is used to mean (1) how fast data flows on a given transmission path, and (2) the width of the range of frequencies that an electronic signal occupies on a given transmission medium. Any digital or analog signal has a bandwidth.

A public website where users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments and philosophies; blogs are updated frequently and structured in reverse chronological order.

An industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure short-range radio frequency.

Find out more: www.bluetooth.com.

A high-capacity communications pipeline capable of delivering simultaneously a range of voice, video and data services in an interactive, reliable manner.

An internet environment in which participants can write messages to each other. Also see forum.

Relatively new to the UK secondary school curriculum, this subject focuses on issues concerning society and culture.

The development and maintenance of knowledge, skills, competence and personal qualities throughout a professional career.

Applications described as 'cross-platform' are available on different formats, eg a PlayStation and a PC.

The process of developing teaching and learning styles and materials related to the different levels of pupil understanding and ability.

A term used to describe the perceived gap between those who can access and make effective use of ICT and those who cannot, due to linguistic, economic, educational, social or geographical reasons.

Activities which seek to address the digital divide; the practice of designing and using digital technologies to promote educational equality.

Content on a website that changes as necessary, such as animations, video and audio.

The use of ICT within the assessment of student activities.

Learning which is facilitated and supported through the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

Application available from the internet which protects a computer from 'hacking' and viruses while it is online.

Software developed by Macromedia to create animations for websites in a resizable format, which is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection. The Flash Player is required to view Flash content and is available at the Macromedia website.

Find out more: www.macromedia.com.

Any software distributed under a licence that allows users to change or share the software source code.

A practice of collaborative categorisation using freely chosen keywords to label content (eg web pages, images). The labels are commonly known as tags and the labelling process is called tagging.

A formalised internet chat room, usually devoted to one particular subject, allowing participants to share experiences, advice and information with one another.

A satellite-based navigation system used for determining the precise location of a receiving device and providing a highly accurate time reference almost anywhere on Earth.

Handheld technologies are portable, mobile technologies which can be held in the hand and which can therefore be used ubiquitously, that is in any location or context (eg mobile phones, PDAs, games consoles, MP3 players).

Haptic technologies are tools that apply forces, vibrations and/or motions to the user, enabling them to interact with virtual worlds by feel (eg resistance in driving controls used for a car racing game). Also see VR (Virtual Reality), simulation.

The underlying formatting for world wide web documents.

A system of 'live' documents where a text file contains references to other documents that can be followed, thus linking documents to other related materials. The best known example is HTML.

The fusion of computers and telecommunications; a range of technologies for gathering, storing, retrieving, processing, analysing and transmitting information.

Learning that takes place outside formal educational settings and/or formal educational approaches.

Television offering viewers access to activities, extra features and greater choice, operated through their handset.

A virtual chalkboard that allows the display and operation of computer materials in a classroom.

Activities and programs that are designed to increase interaction, cooperation, and exchange of resources and learning between older and younger generations. Also see informal learning, learning networks, lifelong learning.

A programming language which enables developers to write software, create programs to run within a web browser and develop server-side applications (eg process forms on a website).

The four age ranges into which the period of compulsory schooling is divided for UK National Curriculum purposes, ie Key Stage 1: 4-7 years; Key Stage 2: 7-11 years; Key Stage 3: 11-14 years; Key Stage 4: 14-16 years.

Learner voice is about empowering learners by providing appropriate ways of listening to their concerns, interests and needs in order to develop educational experiences better suited to those individuals.

The notion of extending learning through a system of flexible networks that link homes, communities and multiple sites of learning.

Any environment in which learning takes place.

The ongoing acquisition of knowledge or skills throughout one's lifetime; the concept of education that is flexible, diverse, available at different times and places, and pursued throughout life.

A mediascape is made up of sounds and images which are associated with regions within a geographical area; a GPS unit can trigger the media when the user moves into each region.

Mobile (or handheld) technologies are tools which can be held in the hand and which can therefore be used ubiquitously, that is in any location or context (eg mobile phones, PDAs, games consoles, MP3 players).

An audio file in which the content is compressed to allow quick transfer across the internet.

An application or website featuring a variety of different presentation formats, including text, images, video, audio, animations.

Multiple access to data or ways of interacting with a computer.

The statutory guidelines for the education of all students aged 5 to 16 in state schools in England and Wales (in Scotland, the 5-14 Guidelines apply).

Any software distributed under a licence that allows users to change or share the software source code (also known as FLOSS).

A small handheld device that provides computing and information storage retrieval capabilities.

The practices and methods of teaching.

Personalised learning is an approach which advocates reversing the logic of education systems so that the system conforms to the learner, rather than the learner to the system, offering bespoke support for each individual in order to foster engaged and independent learners able to reach their full potential.

Pervasive computing refers to the distributed set of tools within our environment, through which we access information anytime, anywhere. Also see ubiquitous and tangible.

A child with SEN finds it more difficult to learn than others of the same age and usually needs extra support some or all of the time.

The technique of representing the real world by a computer program that imitates a physical process or object by causing a computer to respond mathematically to data and changing conditions as though it were the process or object itself. Also see virtual reality.

A way of storing, classifying, sharing and searching links through the practice of folksonomy techniques on the internet. In a social bookmarking system (eg del.icio.us), users store lists of internet resources that they find useful, and other people with similar interests can view the links by category, tags, or randomly.

In social networking communities (eg MySpace.com), an initial set of founders sends out messages inviting members of their own personal networks to join the site. New members repeat the process, growing the total number of members and links in the network.

A type of search engine that determines the relevance of search results by considering the interactions or contributions of users. Example forms of user input include social bookmarking or direct interaction with the search results such as promoting or demoting results the user feels are more or less relevant to their query.

Software that enables people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate through computer-mediated communication. Also see blog, chat room, forum, wiki.

Tiny semiconductor ‘grains’ that can sense and compute locally and communicate wirelessly. Invisibly distributed on people or surfaces, thousands of specks can collaborate as programmable computational networks called ‘specknets’. Also see pervasive, ubiquitous, wireless.

With streaming audio or video, a web user does not have to wait to download a large file before watching or listening to it; instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives. The user needs a player to uncompress the data; this can be either an integral part of a browser or downloaded from the software maker's website.

A keyword or label associated with or assigned to a piece of information (eg image, article, video clip). Tags are usually chosen informally and personally by the author/creator of the item. Also see social bookmarking and folksonomy.

A visual depiction of content tags used on a website, generally displayed alphabetically, with more frequently used tags often depicted in a larger font. Selecting a single tag within a tag cloud will generally lead to a collection of items that are associated with that tag.

Tangible interfaces attempt to overcome the difference between the ways in which we input and control information and the ways in which this information is represented, opening up new possibilities for interaction that blend the physical and digital worlds, and emphasising touch and physicality in both input and output. Also see pervasive and ubiquitous.

In which computing technology is so embedded in the world that it ‘disappears’; the underlying framework, embedded systems, networks and displays which are invisible and everywhere, allowing us to 'plug-and-play' devices and tools. Also see pervasive and tangible.

A standardised format for giving a pointer to information available from gopher, world wide web and other servers.

In which end users are actively engaged in all stages of the design process in order to understand and address their needs.

A set of communication technologies which enable two or more sites to interact simultaneously via two-way video and audio transmissions.

A software system designed to facilitate teachers in the management of educational courses for their students, especially by helping with course administration.

A field of computer research in which the computer creates a simulation of a sensory-immersing 3D environment that interactively responds to and is controlled by the behaviour of the user. Also see AR (Augmented Reality).

An application that prevents users from accessing sites or content that is unsuitable or not needed, eg protects children from pornography.

In which users carry or wear powerful, context-aware devices that aim to do the right thing for the user, at the right time and in the right place. Also see (AR) Augmented Reality, handheld, mobile, pervasive, ubiquitous.

A program that provides a way to look at and interact with websites. Popular web browsers include Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

See blog.

Otherwise known as ‘wireless networking’; a local area network (LAN) that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet. See wireless.

A collaborative web application that allows users to add content, as on a Forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content.

A term generally used in relation to mobile IT equipment; any form of data transfer in which electromagnetic waves – rather than some form of wire – carry the signal over part or all of the communication path. See GPS, handheld, mobile, wi-fi.