Death by Acronyms: Please Help

[Jo-ann Larkins]

The only problems with mutli-country participation in a course like this is making sure we understand each other’s acronyms:

I’m an Australian Academic and I think a few of the acronyms flying around are UK based. So i thought I’d start a thread where we can define them so we all talk the same language:

Here’s my start:

TEL – Technology Enhanced Learning

MOOC – Massive Open Online course

HE – Higher education? Is this right. I’m unfamiliar with this one.

FE – Further education? Is this right – the non university post school environment?

Any one care to enlighten us?

Jo-ann

 

[Tom Buckley]

TEL – Technology enhanced learning or sometimes technology enabled learning, means the same thing. Which is a slightly expanded and progressively orientated configuration of e-Learning.

MOOC – Massive Open Online Course but sometimes you’l see xMOOC and cMOOC but generally that’s just people being a little pretentious.

HE or HEI is higher education or higher education institution, Universities and the like.

FE – is further education. Six form colleges, stand alone colleges for awards up to and including Bachelor degrees. Traditionally more vocational degree courses BUT HE and FE can overlap in content quite considerably in the UK.

QAA – quality regulator in the UK

HEFCE – Funding body within England

BECTA – Now defunct learning technology quango

CPD or CPE Continued Professional Development or Experience

WBA OR WBPA – work or workplace based assessment

[Tom Buckley]

ALT – Association for Learning Technology
CMALT – Certified Member of the ALT
OU – Open University
TESOL / TEFL / ELT – English as a foreign language and language teachers
THE – Times Higher Education Supplement

[jamesclay]

Just to add to the confusion, the FE sector in the UK usually don’t use the term TEL and are more likely to use the term ILT Information Learning Technology.

VLE – Virtual Learning Environment

LMS – Learning Management System

 

[Mandy]

 
I would also add to the terms discussed by James that the terms seem to change as a new trend is started we are currently going for Digital Literacy as the term to replace ILT/ eLearning
 

[Roger Harrison]

Is there anywhere on here where we can create a Wiki to put this thread into and we can then edit it as we go along. A great idea though!

 

[suebecks]

I have added a list of acronyms used in higher education that I have been collating to an open Google Doc. Feel free to add any more you come across.

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