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Glossary

A

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive Learning describes a dynamic, adaptive learning process, where the teaching is dynamically tailored to the needs of the learner. If a learner has successfully completed a task, he or she is automatically being directed to the next difficulty level. This is an important future trend in digital teaching.

AP Exam

Some providers of online courses offer courses that aim to prepare the learner for the AP Exams. The "Advanced Placement" program in the US education system offers courses at pre-university level for high-school students (successfully completed AP exams can be credited towards college degrees). But even if you are not preparing for an AP exam, such an online course can be a good introductory course on a relatively simple academic level. 

B

Blended Learning

Blended Learning refers to a combination of  online learning modules and classroom sessions. Possible combinations include a traditional course with class attendance and an accompanying online discussion forum or other supplementary materials on the Internet. In other cases, lectures at universities are being filmed and then made available to students as recordings. Yet another variant is to provide online lectures and use in-class sessions to facilitate an interactive discussion among students about the previously viewed content (see Flipped Classroom). 

C

Certificates

Many online course providers offer optional (online) tests to course participants. Upon successful completion of the test, providers offer various certificates to their students. Further details about online course certificates can be found in this article.

Computer Based Training (CBT)

This used to be a description for e-learning in the 1980/90s. At that time, online learning did not exist, and lessons were predominantly delivered via CD-ROMs as data carriers. In the meantime, it was mostly replaced by Web-Based Training or Online Courses.

Course Providers

Edukatico is a directory and offers you a central overview of the online courses from many different providers, especially in the field of video learning. Major course providers are specialized MOOC platforms and other course creators. Also, some universities actively provide free online lectures. A brief overview of key providers can be found here.

E

Edukatico

Edukatico is an independent search portal for online courses. More about Edukatico in this overview.

E-Learning

E-learning in general describes learning with digital tools, which today corresponds to "learning over the Internet". There are many different forms of online courses, e.g. videos, podcasts, online texts and much more. In our directory, you will mainly find learning videos, e.g. MOOCs or video lectures from universities. We think that this form of online learning often gets you the best learning results. A detailed overview of online learning can be found here.

F

Flipped Classroom (Inverted Classroom)

The teaching concept of the so-called "Flipped Classroom" uses a digital presentation form, for example via learning videos, to convey the key learning content. Afterwards, teachers and learners meet for an interactive discussion of what was previously learned online. Many experts view this as a good way to successfully integrate a digital knowledge transfer into a traditional teaching environment, especially at universities.

I

ILIAS

ILIAS is a learning management system (LMS) developed in Germany, which some e-learning providers use to manage their content, e.g. universities. However, access to university teaching content is often limited to the current students of the respective university. This is gradually being extended to other groups of users. Our directory lists only content accessible to all interested learners.

Immersive Education (Immersive Learning)

Describes a learning process that is supported by virtual reality or augmented reality technologies. The goal is complete immersion into the learning experience, which can often lead to even better learning results. One example is medical students who can practice virtual surgical procedures in a 3D environment. It is another key future trend in digital learning.

L

Learning Analytics

Learning Analytics refers to data-based feedback during a learning process for the benefit of teachers or course providers. Based on measurable signals and data, the learning process can be analyzed and the teaching can be adapted accordingly. If, for example, all participants of a video course need to rewind the same part of a video, the teacher has the opportunity to improve the explanations in that part. Because of the good measurability of digital teaching processes, this presents a huge opportunity to improve digital teaching.

LMS (Learning Management System)

LMS refers to a software with which learning content is made available. E-learning providers use LMS to give the learner access to information, manage user data etc. Popular LMSs include Blackboard, Moodle or Canvas, with which many universities provide their digital teaching content to their students. 

M

MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

A MOOC is a freely accessible online course with many participants ("massive" = many participants, "open" = freely accessible). Unlike simple video lectures by universities, a MOOC is often produced with great effort, and specifically with the needs of the online learner in mind. In addition to the virtually unlimited number of participants, typical MOOCs include interactive elements such as discussion forums or integrated test questions (eg via Multiple Choice Tests). With a MOOC, you can learn from anywhere and at your own pace. This gives you access to high-quality content from many top universities as well as full control over what, when and at what speed you want to learn. In our directory, you will find the MOOC courses suitable for your learning requirements. (More about MOOCs in this overview.)

MOOC Platform

The content of a MOOC is often provided by a university and then made available to the users via a MOOC platform. The MOOC platform organizes things like learner access and further elements (such as interactive discussions, course certificates etc.).

Moodle

Moodle is one of the best-known learning management systems (LMS) used by many digital teaching providers. For example, many universities use Moodle for their e-learning content. However, access to content at Moodle is often restricted to the current students of the respective university. In our directory you will only find content that is accessible to all interested learners.

Multiple Choice Test

In many online courses (especially in MOOCs), multiple choice tests are integrated as the most important test form. As a learner, you will often find questions with various suggested replies after each video lecture. Experts recommend to always take part in these tests in order to check your own learning progress.

O

OER (Open Educational Resources)

Simply speaking, OER describes freely accessible learning content that can be used and distributed free of charge (as opposed to classical textbooks, traditional university teaching or any kind of paid trainings). In the online learning environment, OER plays an important role due to the simple distribution of digital content over the Internet. In our directory, you will also find many freely accessible online courses (however, not all of them can be re-used and distributed freely by anyone).

Online Courses

Online courses are an important way in which e-learning content can be conveyed on the Internet. For example, the content can be transmitted to the learner in the form of individual video lectures watched using a common web browser. The online courses in our directory are usually video-based. As opposed to purely text-based distance learning courses, we think that the easy-to-access video presentation together with interactive elements (discussion forums, integrated test questions) often provides you with the best learning experience.

P

Personalized Learning

"Personalized Learning" describes the customization of learning content for the individual learner. That is, each course participant learns exactly what he or she really wants to (or should) learn. The learning experience is thus tailored to the needs of each learner. This is closely related to the dynamic process of Adaptive Learning, but still in the development phase at most online course providers and not yet used extensively.

V

Video Lectures

Some universities record certain classroom lectures and later make them accessible online (for example, MIT via its OpenCourseWare platform or Yale University). This is different from MOOCs which are produced specifically for a pure online learning experience. But video lectures can still be helpful for many learners, as they are free and easy to use. However, the individual online lectures can differ greatly in their video and audio quality.

W

Web Based Training (WBT)

A form of E-Learning where the course content is accessed via the Internet. WBT was often used as label to distinguish a program from older versions of Computer Based Training which were based on physical DVDs or CD-ROMs. However, today almost all E-Learning courses are being provided online; so this distinction between WBT and CBT has become less important.

Webinar

Describes a "seminar" delivered on the "Web", i.e. a live seminar taught online. Often, Webinars are interactive, where participants can communicate with the teacher and/or among themselves. They can also be recorded and made available for later viewing. The term Webinar is often used in contrast to an Online Course, which usually is not being provided "live".