Technology Applications General Concepts II

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001

Federal law that put in place accountability measures of all U.S. students, teachers, and schools; requires schools to demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward target goals, as demonstrated by test scores, attendance, and other quality indicators

Reinforcing feedback

Feedback used to recognize good performance and encourage continued effort from students. Takes the form of verbal praise or a "pat on the back."

portable document format (PDF)

Format that allows documents to be seen and sent with all the formatting and design elements (e.g., margins, graphics) of the original document without requiring the desktop publishing or word processing software used to create it

Pretest

Preinstructional evaluation of students' knowledge and/or skills to determine students' level of performance before instruction.

Relative and absolute addresses

Relative address occurs when a formula is copied down a range of cells, it automatically is adjusted to be relative to the cells it refers to. Absolute address or absolute positioning occurs when it is necessary to keep a certain position that is not relative to the new cell location. Absolute address is possible by inserting a dollar sign, $, before the column letter or a $ before the row number, or sometimes both to lock the cell location to a fixed address or position.

programmed instruction

Techniques for training and instruction based on learning theorist B. F. Skinner's reinforcement principles

scaffolding

Term associated with learning theorist Vygotsky's belief that teachers can provide good instruction by finding out where each child is in his or her development and building on the child's experiences; process in which a more skilled learner gives help to a less skilled learner, reducing the amount of help as the less skilled learner becomes more capable

relative advantage

Term coined by Everett Rogers to refer to the perception by potential adopters of how much better an innovative method or resource is than the old one; one of five factors that largely determines whether or not an innovation is adopted

Processor

The "brain" of the computer that controls the functions of the rest of the system and manipulates information in various ways.

semantic differential

Type of assessment instrument in which students respond to a topic or question by checking a line between each of several sets of bipolar adjectives to indicate their level of feeling about the topic

sans serif typeface

Typeface in which letters have no small curves (serifs or "hands and feet") at the ends of the lines that make them up; usually used for short titles rather than the main text of a document

Page layout programs Page

enable users to format pages of text and graphics. Many word-processing systems support their own page layout functions, but professional page layout applications such as Adobe PageMaker and InDesign generally give users more control over fine points such as text flow, kerning, and positioning of graphics.

problem-based learning (PBL)

learning organized around the investigation and resolution of an authentic, ill-structured problem

Photo CD

A CD format developed by Kodak that can store high-quality images made from 35-millimeter photographic negatives or slides.

objectivism

A belief system that views knowledge as objective truths that have been established by scientific observation and testing and have a real and separate existence outside human perception; instructional strategies based on objectivist learning theories (i.e., behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and information processing theories) hold that these objective truths must be transmitted through teacher-directed instructional methods and that learners must demonstrate their knowledge of them

Packet

A chunk of information routed across the Internet.

Record

A collection of related fields that is treated as a logical unit in a database; several related fields (e.g., all the information on one person)

portfolio

A collection of work products that demonstrate achievement of skills over time; for students, collection arranged so that they and others can see how their skills have developed and progressed

Search and replace

A common feature of word processors that allows the user to locate the occurrence of any word or phrase within a document and substitute something else.

problem solving

A complex intellectual function where the learner uses high-order cognitive processes to solve problems and issues that require using a combination of rules; an instructional method in which learners use previously mastered skills to reach resolution of challenging problems. Based on the scientific method of inquiry, it typically involves the following five steps: (1) defining the problem and all major components, (2) formulating hypotheses, (3) collecting and analyzing data, (4) deriving conclusions/solutions, and (5) verifying conclusions/solutions.

Personal computer

A computer intended for use by an individual.

Router

A computer that regulates Internet traffic and assigns data transmission pathways; an intelligent connecting device that examines each packet of data it receives and then decides which way to send it onward toward its destination

netiquette

A contraction of Internet and etiquette, refers to guidelines for posting messages to online services (e.g., email or discussion boards) to demonstrate courtesy and regard for other users; rules for polite social behavior while communicating over a network

Scan converter

A device that converts computer output for display on a television or video monitor

Scanner

A device that uses technology similar to a photocopying machine to take an image from a printed page and convert it into a form the computer can manipulate.

Podcast

A digital media file, most often audio, distributed via the Internet for playback on a portable media player, such as Apple's iPod, or a computer; a term that combines "iPod" and "broadcast" and coined by British journalist Ben Hammersley in 2005; originally meant digitized audio files saved in a format that can be shared over the Internet for playback on the computer or personal media devices; now can also mean posting video on a site

Projected visual

A drawing, chart, graph, and so on that is presented in a projected fashion (e.g., overhead transparencies, projected PowerPoint slides).

Peer review

A form of evaluation that involves asking a colleague to examine all or part of an instructional lesson and make suggestions for improvement.

Preview

A form of evaluation that involves reading, viewing, and/or working through specific instructional materials prior to using them.

netbook

A handheld computer that is like a notebook computer but with fewer features; a small laptop or notebook computer designed primarily to access the Internet.

Personal digital assistant (PDA)

A handheld mobile electronic device that provides users access to calendars, e-mail, contact information, and even some applications programs such as word processing and spreadsheets.

Performance

A portion of the instructional objective that indicates what students will do to demonstrate what they have learned.

search engine

A program designed to search documents, either on one's computer or on the Internet, for keywords, and list the locations of documents where the keywords were found; often used to refer only to programs for Internet searches such as Google; a website that maintains a database of Internet-accessible information that can be searched to locate information of interest; without the use of search engines, it would be hard to locate anything on the Web without knowing a specific Web address. There are three major types of search engines that uses the different algorithm to search through the Web to determine the relevance of the information to what the user is searching for: those that require users to type in keywords; those that require users to type in natural languages; and those function as Web directory or yellow pages of the entire WWW

plug-in

A program that adds a specific feature or service to a computer system; many types of audio and video messages are played through plug-ins; works with a Web browser to perform tasks that the browser cannot perform on its own; a type of program that integrates with a software application to extend its capability. One example of a plug-in is Abode PDF Reader plug-in for Internet browsers.

Project manager

A project manager's roles and responsibilities include: reporting to the supervisors, organizing the team members, providing project management leadership for the overall project, tracking and monitoring project budgets, deliverables and milestones, and scheduling meetings to review status of work.

Programming language

A set of instructions that can be assembled, according to particular rules and syntax, to create a working computer program.

Pixel

A single dot, or picture element, on the computer screen.

Objective

A statement of what learners will be expected to do when they have completed a specified course of instruction, stated in terms of observable performances.

QuickResponse (QR) code

A two-dimensional, square-shaped code that may be scanned using a QR code-scanning app on a smartphone. When scanned, the code sends the user to a web site with information, materials, or data.

Relational database

A type of computer database that permits the interrelation of information across more than one datafile.

Orientation activity

A type of instructional activity that helps students understand what they have previously learned, what they are currently learning, and what they will be learning in the future.

sensory registers

According to information-processing learning theorists, the parts of the brain that receive information a person senses through receptors (i.e., eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and/or hands) and, after a second or so, is either lost or transferred to short-term memory (STM) or working memory

self-efficacy

According to learning theorist Albert Bandura, students' belief in their abilities to accomplish the actions necessary to learn

operant conditioning

According to learning theorist B. E Skinner, a way of shaping human behavior in which the consequences of people's past actions can act as stimuli to shape future behaviors

Real objects

Actual materials, not models or simulations.

Productivity software

Also known as software tools, productivity software includes any software that can be used as a tool to produce documents, spreadsheets, a database, or other products. MS Word, MS Excel, and MS Access are common productivity software packages used in schools.

rubric

An assessment instrument designed to measure complex behaviors such as writing; for each of several elements in the performance, it gives a set of descriptions of various levels of quality

Posttest

An assessment of students' knowledge or skills given after instruction.

radio frequency identification (RFID)

An electronic monitoring system that tracks the location of a person or object with an embedded computer chip and can update information on the chip; RFID devices are being field-tested to track student attendance, increase school security, and monitor the location of library resources

Pilot test

An evaluation of instruction conducted before implementing the instruction.

PICT (picture)

An image format developed originally for use on Macintosh computers

Presentation

An instructional method involving a one-way communication controlled by a source that relates, dramatizes, or otherwise disseminates information to learners, and includes no immediate response from, or interaction with, learners (e.g., a lecture or speech).

Peripheral

Any of various devices that connect to the computer, including input devices, output devices, and mass storage devices.

National Education Technology Standards (NETS)

Benchmark technology skills created by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for teachers (NETS-T), students (NETS-S), and educational administrators (NETS-A)

One-computer classroom

Classroom equipped with a single computer.

Plagiarism detection services

Companies and organizations (e.g., Turnitin.com) that offer services to help identify if, and to what degree, potential plagiarism has occurred within written documents.

Problem-solving software

Computer applications designed to foster students' higher-order thinking skills, such as logical thinking, reasoning, pattern recognition, and use of strategies; instructional software function that either teaches specific steps for solving certain problems (e.g., math word problems)or helps the student learn general problem-solving behaviors for a class of problems; it teaches specific steps for solving certain problems. It also helps students to learn general problem-solving skills, which is a relatively sophisticated mental ability that is difficult to learn.

Semantic aware applications

Computer applications that determine the meaning, or semantics, of information on the Internet to make connections and answer questions that would otherwise take much time and effort.

open source software

Computer software available online in which the source code is made available in the public domain and permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form

Presentation software

Computer software designed for the production and display of computer text and images, intended to replace the functions typically associated with the slide projector and overhead projector; type of software that allows a display of information organized as a set of slides

Online learning

Course of study or training generally delivered via the Internet.

pedometer

Device that assists with analyzing and monitoring physical fitness levels by monitoring the number of steps one takes

phishing

E-mails that falsely claim to be a legitimate business or user in order to glean private information to be used for identity theft

Retrieval

Identifying and recalling information for a particular purpose.

sensory disabilities

Impairments associated with the loss of hearing or vision

remediation

In special education, helping an individual with performance deficits learn or improve through education, training, and therapy

Secondary Colors

In traditional color theory, green, orange and purple are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Primary colors

In traditional color theory, red, yellow and blue are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues

PHP

Like ASP.NET, an application that must be installed on a server to be used in web development; originally stood for personal home page and is a scripting language that generates HTML source code to create dynamic webpages

Public Domain

Materials (e.g., book, song, artwork) that are not protected by intellectual property laws (e.g., copyright) and may be freely copied and distributed without first getting permission.

Probeware

More and more scientific probeware is used in classrooms or labs, with a desktop, laptop, or handheld computer to collect and analyze data from science experiments. Probeware measures phenomena such as temperature, light, light, and voltage, distance, motion, pH and force. With probeware, a portable data collecting system now puts the power of a complete laboratory at students' fingertips and replaces time-consuming data-collection tasks with hands-on scientific experience.

NIC (Network Interface Card)

Most network interface cards (or NIC) are internal, with the card fitting into an expansion slot in the computer to provide the connection between the network and the workstation. Nowadays, most laptop computers are purchased with a built-in network interface card that conforms to the WI-FI standards.

Printed visual

Nonprojected drawings, charts, graphs, posters, and cartoons that are commonly found in printed sources such as textbooks, reference materials, newspapers, and periodicals.

OOPS

Object-oriented programming systems, where each thing that one sees on the computer screen is treated as an object, and each object can have a programming code associated with it.

Newsgroup

On computer networks, a discussion group created by allowing users to post messages and read messages among themselves.

objectivists

People who believe that knowledge has a separate existence outside human perception and that it must be transmitted through directed instructional methods, based on behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, and information processing theories

outlining tools

Software designed to prompt writers as they develop outlines to structure documents they plan to write

optical character recognition (OCR)

Software that allows text to be scanned and placed in a word processing file

nutritional analysis program

Software that analyzes calorie intake and monitors portions of required food groups

QuickTime VR Authoring Studio

Software that creates a type of virtual reality (VR) environment by using a series of photographs taken at 360 degrees around a pivotal point and "stitching" them together into a seamless panorama view

Printer driver

Software that ensures an application's formatting commands are translated correctly into a printer providing printed output from the computer. Most operating systems provide a number of different printer drivers to support different models of printers.

notation software

Software that facilitates music making in the visual domain by allowing flexibility in music score and page setup, part extraction, text formatting, and other print-related issues

puzzle generator

Software tool that automatically formats and creates crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, and similar game-like activities, based on content entered by a user

Random-access memory (RAM)

The computer's working memory. In a personal computer, RAM provides a temporary work space that allows the user to change its contents, as needed, to perform different tasks. Common RAM is volatile, which means that its contents disappear as soon as the power is turned off (or otherwise interrupted).

Reliability

The degree to which a test instrument consistently measures the same group's knowledge level of the same instruction when taking the test over again.

Planning

The first phase of the Plan, Implement, Evaluate model. Focus is on the design of instructional materials based on the learners, content, and context.

Output device

The hardware that receives and displays information coming from the computer; output Information that comes out of the computer.

Prerequisite

The knowledge and skills students should have at the beginning of a lesson.

Operating system (OS)

The master control program for a computer system; a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate with the software. An OS has three major functions: BIOS (or Basic Input/Output Systems), system resources, and networking. Without an OS, computers would be useless. The most popular OS for PCs are DOS (Disk Operating Systems), Mac OS, and Windows, but others are available, such as Linux.

new literacies

The new skills, strategies, and insights necessary to utilize the rapidly changing and emerging technologies in the world

Read-only memory (ROM)

The permanent memory that is built into the computer at the factory, referred to as "read only" because the computer can read the information that is stored there but cannot change that stored information. ROM contains the basic instructions the computer needs to operate.

one-to-one computing

The practice of allocating a school computer for each student

scientific inquiry

The processes of approaching problems scientifically, the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work...activities through which students develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world

Prototype

The prototype of a product gives the design staff and the client an early "head's up" to the final project, and helps to identify any unexpected issues. After reading the storyboard, the multimedia design team creates a prototype to demonstrate how the learner will move through and interact with the content, and how the program will look. Most project prototypes contain at least the entry page, and the main menu page for the proposed project. A design prototype should also specify how the navigation system works and looks. After seeing the design, project team members may return to the storyboard to reshape your ideas.

Paint and draw programs

The terms "paint" or "draw" have different meanings in computer applications. One major difference is in layering. Paint programs provide a single image layer, so that if new images are placed over other images, they replace the image data that they are over. Draw programs provide a stack of image layers, so that sliding an upper layer to one side can reveal image parts that were once covered.

NTSC, PAL, SECAM

These are the three major standards worldwide. NTSC is the standard for video signals in the US, Japan and Canada. According to the NTSC standard, full-motion videos are digital video running at 30 fps. A full-motion video does not necessarily fill the screen. Instead, full-screen videos are digital video that fills the entire screen using 640 x 480 pixels for typical graphic. SECAM (Sequential Color with Memory) is the video format used mostly in France. PAL and SECAM both use 25 fps.

QWERTY keyboard

Traditional typewriter-like keyboard, so named becauseof the first six letters in the first line of a typewriter keyboard

screen reader

Utility software that operates in the background of the computer operating system, reading aloud any text that appears on the screen (e.g., menus, text, web pages)

QuickTime' movie format (.mov)

Video sequences that may beviewed on a computer screen by a program designed by Apple Computer Company (i.e., QuickTime); A cross-platform multimedia authoring technology developed by Apple Computer. QuickTime files (which carry the extension .mov) combine sound, text, animation, and video. Some products in the QuickTime line include the free QuickTime Player; QuickTime Pro, a media authoring program; and QuickTime Streaming Server, which delivers streaming media over the Web.

screenagers

Young people who are...living visually and virtually from handheld screens, smart phones, and computers...(and who) increasingly need multiple forms of literacy, especially visual literacy