ID Glossary

ADDIE: The foundational Instructional Systems Design model: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. ISITE Design follows this paradigm when building e-Learning programs, but can also apply alternate models such as Dick and Carey.

Affordance - A visual clue to the function of an object. Examples of affordance might be a sliver plate on the side of the door that you need you need to push to open it or a "raised" look on a button on a website.

AICC: The Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee (AICC) is an international association of training professionals. The AICC develops guidelines for the aviation industry in the development, delivery, and evaluation e-Learning technologies. The AICC standard is widely used by Learning Management Systems and other systems to call content and assessments. Although it's pre-XML, it is considered to be at least as secure and reliable as SCORM.

Androgogy - Refers to the instruction and training of adults (people who are not in school anymore).

Asynchronous Training: Often called "self-directed" training, asynchronous training does not include real-time instructor guidance. The learner follows and interacts with computer-based content that was designed and developed prior to the learning experience. Much of Web-Based Training (WBT) is asynchronous. See also Synchronous Training.

Blended Learning: e-Learning alone is not always the answer. Sometimes a real-live classroom is advisable, while other times a self-directed learning module on a PDA is ideal. The key is to match the training requirements with what's most suitable for the content and the audience. ISITE Design instructional designers have a strong track record designing Deepdive® web-based software training as well as extensive experience delivering virtual and face-to-face (F2F) training around the world. We will analyze your training needs and provide recommendations on the training blend that's best for your organization.

Bloom's Taxonomy: Benjamin S. Bloom categorized six levels of competency: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. ISITE Design instructional designers use many paradigms, including Bloom's Taxonomy, to inform training design, development, and evaluation.

CBT: Computer-Based Training. Sometimes synonymous with WBT, the term also often refers to other means of e-Learning, such as training content on CD.

Cognitivism - A learning theory. Learn more about cognitive science.

Constuctivism - A philosophy masquerading as a theory. A way of looking at the world that says that people construct their view of the world based on their previous experiences. People construct their own unique knowledge from raw materials. Learn more about constructivism.

e-Learning: A catch-all term for training experiences on the computer. ISITE Design has specialized in Web-Based Training (WBT) development since 2001. e-learning is a term generally used to refer to computer-enhanced learning, although it is often extended to include the use of mobile technologies such as PDAs and MP3 players. It may include the use of web-based training materials and hypermedia in general, multimedia CD-ROMs or web sites, blogs, wikis, discussion boards, collaborative software, e-mail, computer aided assessment, simulations, games, learning management software, and more. ISITE Design offers you an array of e-Learning solutions.

e-Learning Principles: You will find ISITE Design instructional designers well versed in the tenets of sound e-Learning design, including areas as diverse as coherence, contiguity, modality, multimedia, personalization, and redundancy. With special deference to Ruth Colvin Clark and Richard E. Mayer, ISITE Design recommends their seminal work, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. Our designers subscribe to the recommendations therein; we do so because we've seen them proven through years of delivery.

Flash: ISITE Design's certified Flash developers design and develop best of breed interactive Flash e-Learning modules. Flash can refer to the authoring environment, the player, or the application files. Since its introduction, Flash technology has become a popular method for adding interactivity and animation to web pages. Several software products, systems, and devices are able to create or display Adobe Flash. Flash is used to create animation, ads, web-page components, to integrate video into web pages, and to develop rich Internet applications.

The Flash files, commonly called "Flash movies" or "Flash games," have a .swf file extension and may be an object of a web page, strictly played in a standalone Flash Player or incorporated into a projector, a self-executing Flash movie. Flash video files have a .FLV file extension and are utilized from within .swf files.

F2F: ISITE Design instructional designers have extensive experience designing training content even for more traditional modalities such as Face-to-Face training (F2F) common to traditional classrooms and lecture halls. Face-to-Face training is the most common example of Synchronous Training.

ID: Instructional Design or an Instructional Designer. Instructional Design and Instructional Systems Design are scientifically derived processes which are intended to optimize learning gains in knowledge and performance from carefully designed instruction. As a field, Instructional Design is rooted in cognitive and behavioral psychology. ISITE Design offers ID expertise and can advise you on the most effective means to design your e-Learning courses and programs.

ILT: Instructor-Led Training is Synchronous Training that can be executed both in traditional forums (live classroom training = F2F) and via e-Learning through virtual classroom training or webinars, thanks to applications such as Adobe Connect. Just like they do in classrooms or lecture halls, instructors can facilitate web-based training events in virtual seminar rooms. ISITE Design, through its partnership with Adobe (formerly Macromedia), specializes in web-based ILTs, both in design and delivery. We can also help you with your F2F training needs.

Instructional Design: " Instructional Design is that branch of knowledge concerned with research and theory about instructional strategies and the process for developing and implementing those strategies.” Sara McNeil

Instructional Theory - Specifications for how to bring about a desired set of circumstances. Technological. Compare with Learning Theory.

Instructional Design Theory - How to design/create artifacts. This includes tools for design.

ISD: Instructional Systems Design is formal process for designing training, web-based or traditional instructor-led training. The most common ISD approach (ADDIE) includes analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. ISD describes the systematic use of principles of instruction to ensure that learners acquire the skills essential for successful completion of observable performance goals.

Learnability - how easy is it for the user to learn how to complete the processes needed within the system. Learnability can be tested by exposing the user to a system and then bringing them back later to see if they still understand how to complete a task. Learn more from Usability 101.

Learning Theory - An attempt to describe how people learn. Examples include constructivism, behaviorism, and social cognitivism. Scientific. Compare with Instructional Theory and Instructional Design Theory. Comparison of learning theories.

Learning Objectives: It's often as simple as A-B-C ... D. ISITE Design considers Audience, Behavior, Condition, and Degree. We recommend a Needs Analysis to gather the necessary data to inform carefully constructed learning objectives. As well, ISITE Design has long worked with experienced instructional designers on the client side and thus can develop training materials that match your predetermined learning objectives.

LCMS: A Learning Content Management System facilitates organization of content from authoring tools, and presentation of this content to learners by way of an LMS.

LMS: A Learning Management System is a software package that enables the management and delivery of training content and resources to online learners. An LMS is web-based to facilitate easy access to learning content and administration. An LMS usually allows for user registration, delivery and tracking of eLearning courseware, surveys, and testing, and may also allow for the management of ILT sessions. ISITE Design creates SCORM and AICC-compliant courseware for painless plugging in to your LMS, and if your organization does not currently employ an LMS, ISITE Design can assist in your selection process. Learning Styles: How do you design courseware that meets the needs of kinesthetic learners, auditory learners, visual learners, generation X and Y early adopters, and even computer-phobic 30-year confirmed traditionalists? The answer is: you don't have to. ISITE Design conducts Needs Analyses prior to training design and development in order to determine the most effective means of positive transfer. When called for, we then utilize highly interactive Flash animation tempered with graceful adherence to standards of usability to ensure a highly intuitive and sensorial multimedia experience.

Model - Simulations or prototypes. Models range from an equation, to a sketch, to a full size product.

Multi-user Dimensions (MUDs) - A very popular format for gaming are Multi-user Dimensions. MUDs are also used in educational or training simulations

Multi-user Virtual Environments (MUVEs) - A MUVE is a user interface that attempt to create a virtual environment for presenting information. This is an interface that is often in video games. See an example.

Needs Analysis: ISITE Design advises diagnosis of your training needs through interviews of your training professionals and audience, review of existing training materials, evaluation of current and desired means of training dissemination, and examination of the content itself. Engage us for consultation early on; you'll find our prescriptions highly useful in determining the most efficacious training solution.

Prototype - a prototype is a physical model of a product. A miniature version of what a new car would look like is an example of a prototype. Prototypes can be working or non-working.

SCORM: Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model. SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications for Web-Based Training (WBT). It defines communications between client-side content and a host system called the run-time environment (commonly determined by the LMS). As well, SCORM defines how content may be packaged into a transferable ZIP file. ISITE Design has extensive experience developing SCORM-compliant courseware.

Simulation - a simulation is a virtual model of a product. A simulation is essentially the same thing as a prototype, but it generally uses some sort of software to create the product virtually.

Subject Matter Experts:  SME know the subject or task, but do not presently perform in that area. An example is a college professor that teaches business, but is not engaged in a business; or a person that has performed in the subject area in the past in a wide variety of contexts, but is not presently a performer in that area.


Synchronous Training: Often called Instructor-Led Training (ILT), synchronous training involves real-time instructor guidance. Traditional classroom training (F2F) is synchronous, but so are virtual web-based training events such as those delivered via Adobe Breeze. See also Asynchronous Training.

Taxonomy: The practice and science (study) of classification of things or concepts, plus the principles that underlie such classification.

Training Metrics: ISITE Design's expertise with analytics solutions and our partnership with industry leaders such as WebTrends put us far ahead of other e-Learning providers when it comes to developing training solutions that are measurable. When online survey and test results are not enough, ask ISITE Design for a more robust reporting solution.

WBT: Web-Based Training. As eLearning evolved from CBT content often on CDs to Web-Based Training, bandwidth concerns initially limited multimedia elements. With the increasing proliferation of broadband connectivity, such concerns are diminished. ISITE Design boasts extensive experience designing multimedia-rich Web-Based Training content optimized even for dial-up connectivity.