Stockton Riverside College :: Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

Glossary courtesy of http://www.jisc.ac.uk and used with permission.

ALT
Association for Learning Technology

AOC
Association of Colleges

ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ATHENS
The Athens system created and operated by NISS, provides access management for subscription services supplied by publishers and subscription agents. Athens is a service of EduServ. A JISC funded service

AV
Audio/Visual

BAC
British Accreditation Council

BECTa
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (formerly NCET). BECTa co-ordinates educational and technological developments across the compulsory and post-compulsory educational communities. BECTa also seeks to evaluate information and communications technology (ICT) practice; support existing applications of ICT; and investigate emerging technologies and associated pedagogy.

BIOS
Basic Input/Output System

Biz/ed
Business Education on the Internet. An Internet gateway to facilitate access to information about business and economics.

BL
The British Library

Broadband
Network bandwidth capable of supporting multi-media applications (such as video-conferencing).

Caching
A process whereby retrieved data (eg from abroad) is stored locally, on a temporary basis, in the expectation that it will shortly be required by others. Caches can be local (to a site or institution) or national (see JANET Web Caching Service). Also see Mirroring.

CETIS
The Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards (formerly known as the UK IMS project). A JISC funded service.

CHEST
A service of EduServ, negotiates for the supply of software, data, information, training materials and other IT related products on behalf of UK Research Councils and the Higher and Further Education community in the UK and Republic of Ireland. (A JISC funded service)

CIS Focus
The Corporate Information Systems Focus is a JISC initiative, set up to address the management and administrative needs of the HE and FE sectors. One of the main areas of assistance that institutions require seems to be related to the selection of products to meet their need. A few of the larger institutions do develop their own software but the vast majority look to commercial suppliers. The Focus will provide a point of contact with a range of suppliers, and case studies of various products in use.

CLRC
Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils

CNI
Coalition for Networked Information. A US based organisation with a remit to advance scholarship and intellectual productivity by realising the potential of advanced networks. JISC is a member of CNI.

DDA
Disabilitiy Discrimination Act

DfES
Department for Education and Skills

DNER
Distributed National Electronic Resource. The working title for the concept of an electronic resource which appears seamless to the user. Available through JANET, staff and students will be able to access resources effectively and efficiently through intuitive and customised interfaces.

DNS
Domain Name Server

DPA
Data Protection Act

DTI
Department of Trade and Industry

Electronic Journal
A learned journal, but not necessarily refereed, on the Internet. Electronic journals offer reduced time to publication, allow hyperlinking to other documents, and, in some cases, are enhanced by multi-media materials.

FEDA
Further Education Development Agency (now known as the LSDA).

FEFC
The Further Education Funding Council (for England). Replaced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from April 2001.

FEILT
Further Education Information and Learning Technology

FEnto
Further Education National Training Organisation

FERL
Further Education Resources for Learning. An Internet based information service for lecturers and other practitioners in Further Education colleges funded by the FEFC and managed by BECTa.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows a person to transfer files between two computers, generally connected via the Internet.

HCI
Human Computer Interface. The process by which users interact with computers. The commonest interface is Microsoft Windows.

HTML
HyperText Markup Language, used to mark up documents for use on the World Wide Web. It enables hypertext links to be followed, thus linking documents over the Internet.

ICT
Information and Communication Technology.

ILT
(as used in FE) Information and Learning Technology

IMS
Instructional Management Systems Global Learning Consortium. A global coalition of academic, commercial and government organisations, working together to define the Internet architecture for learning. IMS is an initiative of EDUCAUSE. The JISC funded service CETIS was established to provide information on IMS standards and initiatives.

Internet
A world-wide group of networks using a common protocol, the Internet Protocol (IP) so that services such as email and the World Wide Web can be provided seamlessly. JANET is part of the Internet.

IP
Internet Protocol

IPR
Intellectual Property Rights

ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network. A form of connectivity which offers data and voice communications at much higher rates than standard telephone connections.

ISP
Internet Service Provider

IT
Information Technology

JANET
Joint Academic NETwork. This links all higher education institutions, Research Council sites, many FE colleges and other bodies with a legitimate interest in working with the higher education and research community.

JISC
Joint Information Systems Committee. JISC is an independent advisory body that works with further and higher education by providing strategic guidance, advice and opportunities use to use ICT to support learning, teaching, research and administration.

JISCmail
A service to facilitate email discussion, collaboration and communication within the UK academic community and beyond. (Replaced Mailbase in November 2000).

JLIS
The JISC Legal Information Service. A pilot service with the primary function of making available current legal information to those working in Information Services of the FE and HE sectors. It must be stressed that the Service does not profess to give professional legal advice, and any material provided is for informative purposes only. A JISC funded service.

LAN
Local Area Network

LearnDirect
Ufi's learning services are being delivered under the branding "learndirect"

LSC
Learning and Skills Council. Replaced the FEFC from April 2001

LSDA
The Learning and Skills Development Agency (previously known as FEDA).

Metadata
Information describing an information resource, sometimes referred to as data about data.

Mirroring
The holding of a duplicate, or mirror, copy of a body of information locally to improve delivery to end users and avoid network-induced delays, especially across international links.

MIS
Management Information Systems

MLE
Managed Learning Environment

Multicasting
Transmitting information (especially video and audio) to a discreet number of specified destinations, as distinct from transmitting to a single destination ('point to point') or to an undefined and potentially unlimited number ('broadcasting').

Netskills
Produces training programmes and materials to help develop network skills which will enable more effective use of the internet for teaching, research and administration.

NGfL
National Grid for Learning. A government initiative to set up a national focal point for learning on the Internet. Primary, secondary and tertiary education, lifelong learning services, museums and other cultural bodies and industry are all expected to contribute to the development of the Grid.

NIACE
The National Organisation for Adult Learning, has a broad remit to promote lifelong learning opportunities for adults.

NILTA
National Information and Learning Technologies Association (for FE). NILTA is committed to the provision of support to member institutions in the use of information and learning technologies within all areas of the post-16, lifelong learning sector.

NLN
National Learning Network. The NLN supports the development of the network infrastructure and provides technical and strategic support, management systems, staff development, guidance and advice to promote an all-embracing approach to Information and Learning Technology (ILT) across the further education sector.

OFSTED
Office for Standards in Education

PC
Personal Computer

Portal
A a network service that brings together content from diverse distributed resources (see Portals FAQ ).

RDA
Regional Development Agency

RDN
Resource Discovery Network. A distributed service which seeks to enrich learning, research, and cultural engagement by facilitating access to high-quality Internet resources through the development of subject-based gateways.

RSC
Regional Support Centre. To ensure that the Further Education community is able to take full advantage of the JISC's services and as part of the JISC's involvement in the National Learning Network, a number of JISC Regional Support Centres have been established across the country.

SEDA
Staff and Educational Development Association

SME
Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise

SOSIG
Social Science Information Gateway, an Internet gateway to quality resources for the social sciences. Funded jointly by ESRC and JISC.

TechDis
TechDis provides information and advice on the use of new and existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to enhance access to learning and teaching, research and administration activities for students and staff with disabilities. A JISC funded service.

TechLearn
TechLearn provides advice and support on new and emerging technologies for learning and teaching. A JISC funded service.

TTA
Teacher Training Agency

Ufi
University for Industry

UKERNA
United Kingdom Educational and Research Network Association, the trading name of the JNT Association (formerly the JNT, Joint Network Team). The company contracted by JISC through the JCN to manage JANET and SuperJANET.

UK-Online
UK online is a government-led initiative to enable everyone in the UK to gain access to the Internet by 2005 and to make the UK one of the world's leading knowledge economies.

UPA
Universities Personnel Association

Universities UK
Formerly known as the CVCP.

Virtual Reality
A set of techniques for enhancing computer representation (typically simulations) by improving feedback and input such as manipulation of 3D images. Immersive VR may include stereoscopic imaging and tactile feedback.

VLE
Virtual Learning Environment

VTS
Virtual Training Suite

W3C
World Wide Web Consortium: a global industry consortium run jointly by the Laboratory for Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of technology and INRIA in France. It exists to develop common standards for the evolution of the World Wide Web. JISC is a member of W3C.

WAN
Wide Area Network

WFC
Welsh Funding Councils.

WOSEC
Web of Science Enhancement Committee

WWW
The World Wide Web is a system where multi-media resources are provided in a standardised way and linked indefinitely, providing a truly world-wide information system. It has recently expanded enormously so that the majority of traffic on the Internet is now for WWW use.

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