ADDIE is an instructional design technique methodology: individual steps are to Assess and analyze needs, Design instruction and presentations, Develop materials, Implement activities and courses, and Evaluate participant progress and instructional materials effectiveness.

An annotation is a drawing or text comment placed on the whiteboard during a synchronous event by the trainer or participant using whiteboard drawing tools.

A feature that allows the facilitator to share applications with participants. For example, a facilitator may use application sharing to have participants alter a Microsoft Excel document, even though the participants do not have Excel installed on their own computers.

"Asynchronous" refers to instruction that is not constrained by geography or time. Everyone involved in an asynchronous activity performs his or her part on his or her own time.

The most common synchronous medium. Using audio, the facilitator and participants can talk to one another over the Internet or through a phone bridge (teleconferencing). One-way audio (only the facilitator can speak) or two-way audio (both the facilitator and participants can speak) is available in most synchronous software packages.

Auditory learners learn most effectively when they hear the information.

The speed at which information is transferred via modem or other network-access device to Internet users. The greater the bandwidth, the more quickly the data (audio, video, text) reaches the user.

A combination—or blend—of different learning technologies. Blended learning is becoming increasingly common with the availability of both synchronous and asynchronous web-learning options. An example is a course that consists of an asynchronous web module that covers content and a follow-up synchronous module that allows participants to apply the content.

A feature available in some synchronous software packages that allows the facilitator to break a class into smaller groups. Participants are able to interact within their smaller groups and rejoin the main classroom to share their findings with the whole group.

A real-time text conversation between users over the Internet. Whatever a user types is displayed on the other users' screens as it is entered. Some synchronous software packages offer a chat function; it provides an avenue for interaction between participants and trainer. Chat dialogues can often be saved for later reference.

A term used commonly in education to describe instruction in which a computer is used as a learning tool.

An all-encompassing term used to describe any computer-delivered learning, including CD-ROM and the World Wide Web.

Any learning delivered by computer at the participant's desk.

A real-time conference using live pictures between two or more people who communicate via computer on a network.

An asynchronous feature that allows participants to post messages and reply to messages by topic. Discussion boards are different from chat in that they are not real-time.

A term used to describe electronically delivered learning methods delivered on media such as CD-ROM or the Internet. They may include online assessments, web-based reinforcement tools, and online coaching.

A test-like feature that enables a trainer to conduct pre- and post-session assessments and to monitor participants' understanding of course material as it is being presented. Assessment results can be automatically tabulated and saved.

A website for existing customers rather than the general public. It can provide access to paid research, current inventories, internal databases, and virtually any other information that is published for a limited audience. An extranet uses the public Internet as its transmission system but requires passwords to gain access.

A set of software programs that keeps a network secure. Firewalls are widely used to give users access to the Internet in a secure fashion as well as to separate a company's public web server from its internal network. They are also used to keep internal network segments secure—for example, a research or accounting subnet that might be vulnerable to snooping from within.

A popular Internet search engine that allows users to search the World Wide Web using key words. http://www.google.com

An element in an electronic document that can link to another place either within the same document or in a different document. Typically the user clicks the hyperlink to follow the link.

The authoring language used to create documents that can be viewed via the World Wide Web.

The ability to conduct a one-on-one text-based discussion over the Internet.

ISD is the entire process of analysis of learning needs and goals and the development of a delivery system to meet those needs.

Training that can be conducted over the Internet. Usually this is done with the World Wide Web, but email correspondence courses and file transfers also fall into this category.

An organization that provides access to the Internet. Examples include America Online® and Earthlink®. For a fee, a website can be created and maintained on the ISP's server, allowing a smaller organization to have a presence on the web with its own domain name.

An in-house website that serves the employees of an organization. Although intranet pages may link to the Internet, an intranet is not a site accessed by the general public. Intranets use the same communications protocols and hypertext links as the web and thus provide a standard way of distributing information internally and extending the application worldwide at the same time.

Training provided through a company's internal network. Web browsers are used to access company pages. The primary characteristic is that content is accessible only within the company's internal network.

Kinesthetic learners require physical movement and action in order to learn effectively.

Software that automates the administration of training events. All learning management systems manage the log-in of registered users, manage course catalogs, record data from learners, and provide reports to management.

Any tool or technology that facilitates learning. This includes classroom, correspondence, books, audiotapes, teleconferencing, interactive television, CD-ROM, and the World Wide Web.

Formal process of identifying discrepancies between a learner's current performance and the desired performance.

People working together, using asynchronous and synchronous online tools, should be able to obtain results (solve problems, create project plans, design projects, and so forth) that are better than the results they would have found by working independently.

An all-encompassing term that refers to any learning done with a computer over a network, including a company's intranet, the company's local area network (LAN), and the Internet.

A feature in synchronous software programs that allows participants to continually apprise the trainer on the pace and clarity of the delivery.

Software typically downloaded from the web that enables the user to read, hear, or view something. Examples of plug-ins include Adobe Acrobat® Reader to view documents, RealPlayer® audio to listen to sound or music, and Flash™ to view animation and graphics and listen to audio.

A web "supersite" that provides a variety of services, including web searching, news, white and yellow pages directories, free email, discussion groups, online shopping, and links to other sites. Web portals are the web equivalent of original online services such as CompuServe® and AOL. Although the term was initially used to refer to general-purpose sites, it is increasingly being used to refer to market sites that offer the same services, but only to a particular industry, such as banking, insurance, or computers.

A person who assists the trainer during live synchronous events by acting as an "extra set of hands." In addition to training responsibilities, the producer handles technical support so that the trainer can focus on instruction. The producer does not need to be in the same physical location as the trainer.

Feature that allows the trainer and participant to record synchronous events, play them back later, and edit them into asynchronous sessions. This feature benefits individuals who miss sessions and allows quick creation of asynchronous learning content.

Learning that is taken at a time, pace, and place that are chosen by the participant. Generally, there is no interaction (synchronous or asynchronous) with a trainer.

A quick way to check the pulse of the class. Questions can be true-false, multiple-choice, or other formats.

This term refers to instruction that is led by a trainer in real time. Examples of synchronous interactions include traditional trainer-led classrooms, conference calls, instant messages, video-conferences, whiteboard sessions, and synchronous online classrooms/classroom software.

Element that allows trainers or participants to bring the class to a specific Internet or intranet site. A variation of the feature allows the use of browsers to run short, self-paced exercises on the Internet or intranet as part of a synchronous session.

Visual learners predominantly rely on their sense of sight to take in new data, understand it, and remember it. They need to be able to "see" something to fully understand it.

Technically, this is "Voice delivered over the Internet Protocol." This means sending voice information in digital form using the Internet.

Live playback of audio or video files on the web. Usually involves a plug-in or applications program to execute the media file.

An application used in synchronous interactive web conferencing that allows documents and content materials to be posted on the screen for all participants to see. The participants see the information being changed on their screens in real time. Whiteboards work well for visual symbols, charts, and graphs.