The informal definitions provided below are meant to help provide clarity in my presentation and reflect my current usage of these terms in this context. Additional definitions and more complex definitions exist for many of the terms and can be found in dictionaries and technical reference materials. Reference sources are shown below if applicable.
The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives. It can also refer to electronic or digital products and systems considered as a group (e.g., computers, networks, databases, electronic content provide a foundation for information technology). Jokingly used to refer to devices of a technical nature that were invented after you were born—that is, your view of what technology is depends upon how long you perceive it to have been around. For example, most of us view computers as "technology" but not electric power, telephones, or indoor plumbing. Many of our children don’t particularly view computers as "technology"—it has always been there from their perspective.
A more interesting definition is given by Ray Kurzweil (http://www.kurzweilAi.net): An evolving process of tool creation to shape and control the environment. Technology goes beyond the mere fashioning and use of tools. It involves a record of tool making and a progression in the sophistication of tools. It requires invention and is itself a continuation of evolution by other means. The "genetic code" of the evolutionary process of technology is the knowledge base maintained by the tool-making species.
The design, development, installation, testing, maintenance and user support of computer systems, networks, communications systems, and software applications, usually in the context of a business, university or other enterprise. Often IT refers to the name of the part of an enterprise that deals with all things electronic. The term information systems (IS) refers to either the computer systems (which is a subset of IT), or information services.
The basic facilities, support services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons. http://www.dictionary.com
This term is used to refer to the hardware, software, and transmission media that form the core platform for the provisioning of information technology services. It includes computers, networking equipment, power conditioning equipment, generators, networking fiber, wired cabling, and backup/disaster recovery facilities. Some organizations use the term more broadly to include the hardware, software, and materials used to provide a broader range of services—including audio visual (A/V) services, 3D visualization, instructional media/technology, library services and library content materials. Usage of the term is often extended to include all services provisioned using these infrastructure components.
One binary digit that logically can represent one of two logical states (e.g., on or off; high or low; yes or no). Typically, digital signals are used by modern communications systems to convey information by sending a continuous, sequential stream of individual bits arranged in time order.
One million bits. Most local data rates are specified today in megabits per second (Mbps or Mb/s). A T-1 level connection to the internet runs at the 1.5 Mbps level; a T-3 is at 45 Mbps; OC-3 is at 155 Mbps. Many universities provide individual switched connections to student dormitory rooms at the 10 or 100 Mbps level.
One thousand Megabits. Backbone speeds are typically specified today in gigabits per second (Gbps or GB/s). Many university backbones typically run at speeds in excess of 1 Gbps.
Computer network that is connected by copper wire or glass fiber cabling.
Computer network that is connected using radio waves rather than copper wires or glass fibers. Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Any products tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. A user with a "Wi-Fi Certified" product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is certified. Typically, however, any Wi-Fi product using the same radio frequency (for example, 2.4GHz for 802.11b or 11g, 5GHz for 802.11a) will work with any other, even if not "Wi-Fi Certified."
Formerly, the term "Wi-Fi" was used only in place of the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, in the same way that "Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3. The Alliance expanded the generic use of the term in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability. http://www.webopedia.com
Very thin strands of glass that use light to transmit digital signals containing information. Sometimes called light pipes. Most wide area and regional network backbones use fiber due to the elimination of channel-to-channel cross talk and sheer speed. It is now common for many high performance university network backbones, and in a few cases switched user segments, to use fiber connections. Fiber connections to devices are still more expensive than "wire" connections due to the optical electronics required. Most computers now come with "wired" interface ports that run at multiple 10/100/1000 Mbps connection speeds.
Fiber that is not in use. Thus, it has not been "lit" by electro optical electronics that provide optical light for signal transmission.
Fiber in use. It has been "lit" by the electro optical equipment so that information can be transmitted through the fiber using pulses of light.
A network that covers a large amount of physical space—typically hundreds of miles. The entire internet or major portions of it are often called a WAN.
Network typically contained within a single building, group of buildings, or work group. A LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance. A group of LANs connected together is called a wide-area network (WAN).
Short for Category 5, cabling that consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire terminated by connectors. Cat-5 cabling supports distances up to 100 meters and speeds up to 1000 Mbps.
Also called 1000Base-T. A specification for Gigabit over copper wire (IEEE Std. 802.3ab). The standard defines 1000 Mbps data transfer rate over distances of up to 100 meters using four pairs of CAT-5 balanced copper cabling and a 5-level coding scheme.
Abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the UNIX operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP. http://www.webopedia.com
Information is converted to digital format through the construction of a sequence of bits. These sequences of bits are packed into larger groups ("packets") of information which are then transmitted along with control information and destination address across the network and received on the other end, possibly out of sequence. The packets are then reassembled into the correct original time sequence and decoded back into the original information.
The art and science of connecting individual local-area networks (LANs) to create wide-area networks (WANs), and connecting WANs to form even larger WANs. Internetworking can be extremely complex because it generally involves connecting networks that use different protocols. Internetworking is accomplished with routers, bridges, and gateways. http://www.webopedia.com
Term used to specify the data transmission capacity of a network in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices and networks the capacity is typically expressed in units of bits per second (bps), million bits (megabits) per second (Mbps), or gigabits per second (Gbps) that can be transmitted through an arbitrary distance. Often used or purchased bandwidths are: T-1 at 1.5 Mbps, T-3 or DS-3 at 45 Mbps, OC-1 at 51.85, OC-3 at 155.52 Mbps, OC-12 at 622 Mbps, OC-24 at 1.244 Gbps, OC-48 at 2.488 Gbps, OC-192at 9.952 Gbps.
The first and current consumer internet. This term is used primarily by the higher education community to denote the original internet that is used by the masses and is a federation of a number of commercial, for profit, internet service providers and backbone carriers.
The network that physically exists within (inside) an institution. A network based on TCP/IP protocols (an internet) belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization. An intranet's Web sites look and act just like any other Web sites, but the firewall surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorized access. Like the Internet itself, intranets are used to share information. Secure intranets are now the fastest-growing segment of the Internet because they are much less expensive to build and manage than private networks based on proprietary protocols. http://www.webopedia.com
A network that is physically external to an institution.
A network that serves and physically spans a regional geographic area. Regional networks often span an entire state of group of states.
A PoP is a connection point for multiple networks. It is a place where slower or smaller networks are aggregated and connected to larger faster networks or Internet Service Providers (ISP).
A regional network aggregation Point of Presence (PoP) that connects to a very high speed national or regional backbone wide area network—typically at speeds of a several hundred megabits per second to a gigabit per second or higher.
The current Internet2 connection point to the Abilene network for the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester MA. Connection speed is 155 Mbps (OC-3).
The Northern Crossroads (NoX) GigaPoP located in Boston MA. This connection point aggregates traffic for the northeastern US. Operated by Harvard, MIT, Boston University.
The performance properties of a computer or communications network service, possibly including throughput, transit delay, priority. Some protocols allow packets or streams to include QoS requirements.
Middleware, or "glue", is a layer of software between the network and the applications. This software provides services such as identification, authentication, authorization, directories, and security. In today's Internet, applications usually have to provide these services themselves, which leads to competing and incompatible standards. By promoting standardization and interoperability, middleware will make advanced network applications much easier to use. The Internet2 Middleware Initiative (I2-MI) is working toward the deployment of core middleware services at Internet2 universities. http://www.internet2.edu
A category of hardware and software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. For users who have free, or fixed-price Internet access, Internet telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world. To date, however, Internet telephony does not offer the same quality of telephone services as direct telephone connections. There are many Internet telephony applications available. Some, like CoolTalk and NetMeeting, come bundled with popular Web browsers. Others are stand-alone products. Internet telephony products are sometimes called IP telephony, Voice over the Internet (VOI) or Voice over IP (VolP) products. http://www.webopedia.com
Short for denial-of-service attack, a type of attack on a network that is designed to bring the network to its knees by flooding it with useless traffic. Many DoS attacks, such as the Ping of Death and Teardrop attacks, exploit limitations in the TCP/IP protocols. For all known DoS attacks, there are software fixes that system administrators can install to limit the damage caused by the attacks. But, like viruses, new DoS attacks are constantly being dreamed up by hackers. http://www.webopedia.com
LAN or WAN connectivity between subnets across a high-speed network. Often applied to a high-speed campus network, such as ATM OC-12 or Gigabit Ethernet that interconnects lower-speed networks, such as ATM OC-3 or Fast Ethernet. Fiber optic cable is often used.
The blurring of telecommunications (voice), computers (data), and the Internet (multimedia) into one network, with all forms of media being accessed by a single electronic device.
A project run by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID). The project focuses upon the creation and application of advanced networking infrastructure and applications for use by the research university community. The primary backbone networks used by the project are the Abilene network (run by Qwest Communications) and the Very High Speed Backbone Network Service (VBNS) network. Additional networks that are peered and connected to these networks are also part of the Internet2 project and include a number of international networks that now reach to all continents.
A full voting member of the Internet2 community. Members must be a university or college.
All for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for corporate membership. Applicants must be committed to promoting the development and deployment of advanced Internet applications and network services in the conduct of research and education. Internet2 Corporate Members are not required to contribute goods and services; however, many corporate members actively participate in Internet2 activities. In order to get the most out of membership, corporations are encouraged to engage with other Internet2 members while striving towards the goal of technology transfer. Internet2 Corporate Sponsors contribute goods and/or services in the amount of $100,000 or more to Internet2 Regular or Affiliate members for three years. Internet2 Corporate Partners contribute goods and/or services in the amount of $1,000,000 or more to Internet2 Regular or Affiliate members for three years.
Internet2 Affiliate Members share the interests with Internet2 universities in promoting the development and use of advanced Internet applications and network technologies. Affiliate membership in Internet2 is open to not-for-profit corporations organized and operated for research or education purposes that do not qualify for Regular or Corporate membership, but wish to participate in Internet2. All member applicants should be committed to the goals of the Internet2. Affiliate members are responsible for $10,800 per year in member dues. Affiliate members who gain Collaboration Site status, enabling them to participate in such projects as Abilene, are responsible for $27,000 per year in member dues (note that there are Abilene and connection fees in addition to Internet2 membership dues). Those non-profit organizations wishing to apply for Collaboration Site Status must meet the same requirements as Regular Member universities.
A non-voting category of Internet2 participation. Typically a college, museum, library, community college, high school that has a serious collaboration requirement with the sponsoring Internet2 member institution. Sponsorship requires that a project between the participant and the sponsoring organization be defined, executed, and assessed. There is no fee paid to Internet2 for this status, although the local connector or sponsoring institution may require one.
SEGPs are networked aggregates of educational institutions (typically state education networks) that connect some component of K-20 schools, community colleges, technical and trade schools, museums, libraries, art galleries, and hospitals that require routine collaboration on instructional, clinical, and/or research projects, or services and content with other I2 participants.
The stated of connecting of one or more networks at comparable levels of technical specification and performance (e.g., speed, bandwidth, protocols, quality of service, etc.). Typically, peered networks are large, high performance networks that aggregate many users—for example the peering of the Abilene networks with a number of international networks (e.g., Star Tap).
Often referred to simply as peer-to-peer, or abbreviated P2P, a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are generally simpler, but they usually do not offer the same performance under heavy loads. http://www.webopedia.com
A discussion between two or more groups of people who are in different places but can see and hear each other using electronic communications. Pictures and sound are carried by the telecommunication network and such conferences can take place across the world. To overcome the bandwidth and latency limitations of current networks (especially the PSTN), some form of video compression is often used.
Conducting a conference between two or more participants at different sites by using computer networks (H.323, IP protocols) or the public switched telecommunications network (PSTN; ISDN, H.320) to transmit audio and video data. For example, a point-to-point (two-person) video conferencing system works much like a video telephone. Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the network and delivered to the other's speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in a window on the other participant's monitor.
Multipoint videoconferencing allows three or more participants to sit in a virtual conference room and communicate as if they were sitting right next to each other. Until the mid 90s, the hardware costs made videoconferencing prohibitively expensive for most organizations, but that situation is changing rapidly. Many analysts believe that videoconferencing will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the computer industry in the latter half of the decade. Internet2 and the Access Grid have initiatives to push videoconferencing to a ubiquitous state within the higher education community, within a few years. http://www.webopedia.com
A standard approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that defines how audiovisual conferencing data is transmitted across networks. In theory, H.323 should enable users to participate in the same conference even though they are using different videoconferencing applications. http://www.webopedia.com
Short for Web-based seminar, a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. A key feature of a Webinar is its interactive elements—the ability to give, receive, and discuss information. Contrast with Webcast, in which the data transmission is one way and does not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience. http://www.webopedia.com
To use the Internet to broadcast live or delayed audio and/or video transmissions, much like traditional television and radio broadcasts. For example, a university may offer on-line courses in which the instructor Webcasts a pre-recorded or live lecture, or an enterprise may Webcast a press conference in lieu of or in addition to a conference call. Users typically must have the appropriate multimedia application in order to view a Webcast. Webcasts are a push technology, used to send web-based information one-way to an Internet user.
A technique for transferring data such that it can be processed as a steady and continuous stream. Streaming technologies are becoming increasingly important with the growth of the Internet because most users do not have fast enough access to download large multimedia files quickly. With streaming, the client browser or plug-in can start displaying the data before the entire file has been transmitted.
For streaming to work, the client side receiving the data must be able to collect the data and send it as a steady stream to the application that is processing the data and converting it to sound or pictures. This means that if the streaming client receives the data more quickly than required, it needs to save the excess data in a buffer. If the data doesn't come quickly enough, however, the presentation of the data will not be smooth.
There are a number of competing streaming technologies emerging. For audio data on the Internet, the de facto standard is Progressive Network's RealAudio. http://www.webopedia.com
Occurring immediately. The term is used to describe a number of different computer features. For example, real-time operating systems are systems that respond to input immediately. They are used for such tasks as navigation, in which the computer must react to a steady flow of new information without interruption. Most general-purpose operating systems are not real-time because they can take a few seconds, or even minutes, to react.
Real time can also refer to events simulated by a computer at the same speed that they would occur in real life. In graphics animation, for example, a real-time program would display objects moving across the screen at the same speed that they would actually move. http://www.webopedia.com
The World Wide Web is based on a pull technology where the client browser must request a Web page before it is sent. Broadcast media, on the other hand, are push technologies because they send information out regardless of whether anyone is tuned in or even requested the information. Increasingly, companies are using the Internet to deliver information push-style. Probably the oldest and most widely used push technology is email. This is a push technology because you receive mail whether you ask for it or not—that is, the sender pushes the message to the receiver.
The opposite of push is pull, where data is only sent when a request has been made by a user, computer, or software program. The terms push and pull are used frequently to describe data sent over the Internet. http://www.webopedia.com
A running log of remarks and opinions about a subject. Users e-mail their comments, or log into software that maintains the discussion board, and the computer maintains them in order of originating message and replies to that message. Threaded discussions are used in chat rooms on the Internet and on online services as well as in groupware products. http://Techweb.com/encyclopedia
An area on a display screen that multiple users can write or draw on. Whiteboards are a principal component of video conferencing applications because they enable visual as well as audio communication. http://www.webopedia.com
A group of people having common interests: the scientific community; the international business community. http://www.Dictionary.com
Kindergarten through doctoral level. The Internet2 K20 Initiative brings together Internet2 member institutions, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries and museums to get new technologies—advanced networking tools, applications, middleware, and content—into the hands of innovators across all educational sectors in the United States, as quickly and as "connectedly" as possible. http://k20.internet2.edu
A community of people that are brought together for a common purpose who are in the same geographic or physical location.
A community of people that are brought together using technology. Typically, the people are geopgraphically separated, often by huge distances and brought together through videoconferences, email bulletin boards, internet chat, threaded discussions, etc.
Portals are web interfaces to a virtual environment (e.g., Blackboard) that uses pull technologies to allow end users to customize the environment with information sources of their own choosing—e.g., stock quotes, news sources, social communities, etc.
A gateway entrance to the Internet, which may be a search engine or directory web page. Examples include: Infoseek, Excite, Yahoo, Lycos, AOL. A web page which is a starting point for web surfing. http://www.techDictionary.com
A program or group of programs designed for end users. Software can be divided into two general classes: systems software and applications software. Systems software consists of low-level programs that interact with the computer at a very basic level. This includes operating systems, compilers, and utilities for managing computer resources.
In contrast, applications software (also called end-user programs) includes database programs, word processors, and spreadsheets. Figuratively speaking, applications software sits on top of systems software because it is unable to run without the operating system and system utilities. http://www.webopedia.com
Tele-immersion is a technology to be implemented with Internet2 that will enable users in different geographic locations to come together in a simulated environment to interact. Users will feel like they are actually looking, talking, and meeting with each other face-to-face in the same room. This is achieved using computers that recognize the presence and movements of individuals and objects, tracking those individuals and images, and reconstructing them onto one stereo-immersive surface. 3D reconstruction for tele-immersion is performed using stereo, which means two or more cameras take rapid sequential shots of the same object, continuously performing distance calculations, and projecting them into the computer-simulated environment, as to replicate real-time movement. Tele-immersion presents the greatest technological challenge for Internet2. http://www.webopedia.com
In networks, remote refers to files, devices, and other resources that are not connected directly to your computer. Resources at your workstation are considered local. Examples of remotely accessible devices in the Internet2 community are electron microscopes, radars, micromanipulators for surgery, machines for cleaning hazardous waste, etc.
An artificial environment created with computer hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment. To "enter" a virtual reality, a user dons special gloves, earphones, and goggles, all of which receive their input from the computer system. In this way, at least three of the five senses are controlled by the computer. In addition to feeding sensory input to the user, the devices also monitor the user's actions. The goggles, for example, track how the eyes move and respond accordingly by sending new video input. To date, virtual reality systems require extremely expensive hardware and software and are confined mostly to research laboratories. The term virtual reality is sometimes used more generally to refer to any virtual world represented in a computer, even if it's just a text-based or graphical representation. http://www.webopedia.com
"Grid computing" is a form of networking. Unlike conventional networks that focus on communication among devices, grid computing harnesses unused processing cycles of all computers in a network for solving problems too intensive for any stand-alone machine. A well-known grid computing project is the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) @Home project, in which PC users worldwide donate unused processor cycles to help the search for signs of extraterrestrial life by analyzing signals coming from outer space. The project relies on individual users to volunteer to allow the project to harness the unused processing power of the user's computer. This method saves the project both money and resources. Grid computing does require special software that is unique to the computing project for which the grid is being used. http://www.webopedia.com
The Access Grid™ is an ensemble of resources including multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces to Grid middleware and to visualization environments. These resources are used to support group-to-group interactions across the Grid. For example, the Access Grid (AG) is used for large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials, and training. The Access Grid thus differs from desktop-to-desktop tools that focus on individual communication. http://www.accessgrid.org
Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is considerable overlap. A personal computer is a small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. In addition to the microprocessor, a personal computer has a keyboard for entering data, a monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data. http://www.webopedia.com
The fastest type of computer. Supercomputers are very expensive and are employed for specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. For example, weather forecasting requires a supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers include animated graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, and petroleum exploration. http://www.webopedia.com
The use of multiple computers in an organization rather than one centralized system. This use of the term was popular in the 1970s. Today, the term is used to describe a set of multiple computers networked throughout a wide geographical area (or the world via the Internet) to solve a single problem. http://techweb.com/encyclopedia
A branch of computer science that concentrates on developing supercomputers and software to run on supercomputers. A main area of this discipline is developing parallel processing algorithms and software: programs that can be divided into little pieces so that each piece can be executed simultaneously by separate processors. http://www.webopedia.com
The simultaneous use of more than one CPU to execute a program. Ideally, parallel processing makes a program run faster because there are more engines (CPUs) running it. In practice, it is often difficult to divide a program in such a way that separate CPUs can execute different portions without interfering with each other. Most computers have just one CPU, but some models have several. There are even computers with thousands of CPUs. With single-CPU computers, it is possible to perform parallel processing by connecting the computers in a network. However, this type of parallel processing requires very sophisticated software called distributed processing software. Note that parallel processing differs from multitasking, in which a single CPU executes several programs at once. http://www.webopedia.com
Connecting two or more computers together in such a way that they behave like a single computer. Clustering is used for parallel processing, load balancing and fault tolerance. Clustering is a popular strategy for implementing parallel processing applications because it enables companies to leverage the investment already made in PCs and workstations. In addition, it's relatively easy to add new CPUs simply by adding a new PC to the network. Microsoft's clustering solution for Windows NT systems is called MSCS. http://www.webopedia.com
The idea that technology is moving beyond the personal computer to everyday devices with embedded technology and connectivity as computing devices become progressively smaller and more powerful. Also called ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing is the result of computer technology advancing at exponential speeds—a trend toward all man-made and some natural products having hardware and software. Pervasive computing goes beyond the realm of personal computers: it is the idea that almost any device, from clothing to tools to appliances to cars to homes to the human body to your coffee mug, can be imbedded with chips to connect the device to an infinite network of other devices. The goal of pervasive computing, which combines current network technologies with wireless computing, voice recognition, Internet capability and artificial intelligence, is to create an environment where the connectivity of devices is embedded in such a way that the connectivity is unobtrusive and always available. http://www.webopedia.com
Internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of chips, and the word storage is used for memory that exists on tapes or disks. Moreover, the term memory is usually used as a shorthand for physical memory, which refers to the actual chips capable of holding data. Some computers also use virtual memory, which expands physical memory onto a hard disk. Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually referred to as main memory or RAM. You can think of main memory as an array of boxes, each of which can hold a single byte of information. A computer that has 1 megabyte of memory, therefore, can hold about 1 million bytes (or characters) of information. There are several different types of memory:
The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz). Bandwidth is particularly important for I/O devices. For example, a fast disk drive can be hampered by a bus with a low bandwidth. This is the main reason that new buses, such as AGP, have been developed for the PC. http://www.webopedia.com
Data is a set of discrete, objective facts about events. In an organizational context, data is most usefully described as structured records of transactions. Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, 1998.
Distinct pieces of information, usually formatted in a special way. All software is divided into two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data. Data can exist in a variety of forms—as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored in electronic memory, or as facts stored in a person's mind. Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum, a single piece of information. In practice, however, people use data as both the singular and plural form of the word. http://www.webopedia.com
Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose. Sometimes information is described as a message, usually in the form of a document or an audible or visible communication. It has a sender and receiver. Information is meant of change the way the receiver perceives something, to have an impact on his/her judgment and behavior. It must inform; its data that makes a difference. Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, 1998.
Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms. Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, 1998.
"Some researchers identify more than the three entities of data, information and knowledge—going on to describe wisdom, insight, resolve, action, etc. … for practical purposes we lump higher-order concepts such as wisdom and insight in to knowledge; things like resolve and action are of a different category—things you do with knowledge rather than a variation of knowledge itself." Davenport and Prusak, Working Knowledge, 1998.
I use the word content very broadly to include not just news, information, and entertainment, but all manner of computer-based services and applications. In this sense, content is meant to include just about everything that information technology will be used to do. This definition is derived from Moschella, Waves of Power—The Dymanics of Global Technology Leadership 1964-2010, AMACOM, 1997.
Digital content that can be transmitted over a computer network such as the Internet. e-content. http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia
A handheld device that is specialized for displaying electronic versions of books. Like its printed counterpart, an e-book lets you set bookmarks and annotate in the margins. Also used to refer to a book in electronic format (a file), rather than the device itself, that can be displayed on a computer or handheld device. http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia
Instructional is the systematic process (step-by-step approach, considering all variables) of translating general principles of learning and instruction (learning theory as a basis) into plans for instructional materials and activities (produce specified detailed documents, and provide greater chance for learning). Smith, Patricia L., and Ragan, Tillman J. (1999). Instructional design. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, and imprint of Prentice Hall.
Outcomes are achieved objectives. There are a number of different types of learning outcomes, including knowledge, understanding, application, thinking skills, general skills, attitudes, interests, appreciation, and adjustment learning outcomes. Gronlund, N. E., Measurement and evaluation in teaching, New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1981.
Distributed education is a term that is used to describe programs where courses are taught online and collaboration and "virtual interaction" among students in the same course are encouraged. Connick (editor), The Distance Learner’s Guide, Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, 1999.
This term is often used interchangeably with distance learning. However, distance learning is best seen as what takes place as a result of distance education—the desired outcome. Connick (editor), The Distance Learner’s Guide, Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, 1999.
Distance education takes place when the instructor and student are not in the same room, but instead are separated by physical distance. The student and teacher are typically connected in by voice, video, or other computer technologies (web seminar, etc.). Connick (editor), The Distance Learner’s Guide, Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, 1999.
Planned learning that normally occurs in a different place from teaching and as a result requires special techniques of course design, special instructional techniques, and special methods of communication by electronic and other technology, as well as special organizational and administrative arrangements. Moore and Kearsley, Distance Education: A Systems View, Belmont: Wadsworth, 1996.
Learning environment [which] exists among a dispersed student population, is structured according to learner needs, and tends to integrate traditional institutional functions (e.g., classroom and library) … through both synchronous and synchronous communication. Oblinger and Maruyama, Distributed Learning: CAUSE Professional Paper Series, #14, Boulder Colorado, 1996.
Instruction and learning practice utilizing technology and involving students and teachers who are separated by time and space. Majdalany and Guiney, Implementing Distnace Learning in Urban Schools, 1999.
Can be a subset of distributed learning. Relies on digital content, experiences through a technology interface, and is network-enabled. Collaboration is a desirable feature of e-learning …" Lundy, Harris, Igou, and Zastrocky, Gartner’s e-Learning Glossary, Garnter Research M-14-9025, 2002.
An arrangement in which learners work primarily from self-instruction, completing courses structured around specially prepared, printed teaching materials, supplemented with face-to-face tutorials and examinations. William, Paprock, Covington, Distance Learning: The Essential Guide, Thousands Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 1999.
Collaborating and working together as a pair of individuals or team when some or all of individuals participating are separated by physical distance.
"A type of learning in which learners and instructors use computers to exchange messages, engage in dialogue, and access resources" any time and any place. Commonwealth of Learning, An Introduction to Open and Distance Learning, 2000; Schoeken, 2001.
Generally if the bidirectional interpersonal interaction is in real time then it is termed "synchronous;" if it is not in real time then it is "asynchronous." Email is typically an asynchronous communication activity under most circumstances; conversations on the telephone are synchronous communications, while sending a voicemail message is asynchronous; internet chat—when both parties are typing messages to one another simultaneously—is a synchronous activity.
The name of a company that provides a learning system, portal, and content management system. The Blackboard Learning System™ is a web-based server software platform that offers industry-leading course management, an open architecture for customization and interoperability, and a scalable design that allows for integration with student information systems and authentication protocols. This system is available for local installation or hosted by Blackboard ASP Solutions.
As a logical extension of the teaching and learning environment, the Blackboard Portal System™ features a customizable community portal environment that unifies academics, commerce, communities, and administrative services online through an integrated interface. This functionality is backed by a sophisticated product architecture that runs on relational databases and can be scaled utilizing a multi-server configuration.
The Blackboard Content System™ is a content management application for the needs of today's academic institutions. It includes capabilities in four key areas: Learning Content Management, e-Portfolio Management, Virtual Hard Drive Management and Library Digital Asset Management. The Blackboard Content System also has the advantage of being offered by an enterprise-level software provider with deep development expertise in the eEducation market. It implements the unique Blackboard Building Blocks™ architecture which supports development of third party extensions and incorporates Blackboard's work in a variety of portfolio and content management standard projects such as the ePortfolio Consortium and a number of IMS projects. http://www.blackboard.com
The name of a company that provides course management solution products for higher education. http://www.webct.com/entrypage
Objects on which data can be stored. These include hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, and tapes. In computer networks, media refers to the cables linking workstations together. There are many different types of transmission media, the most popular being twisted-pair wire (normal electrical wire), coaxial cable (the type of cable used for cable television), and fiber optic cable (cables made out of glass). Media can also be used to describe the form and technology used to communicate information. Multimedia presentations, for example, combine sound, pictures, and videos, all of which are different types of media. http://www.webopedia.com
The use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, sound, virtual reality, tele-immersion, etc. in an integrated way. Long touted as the future revolution in computing, multimedia applications were, until the mid-90s, uncommon due to the expensive hardware required. With increases in performance and decreases in price, however, multimedia is now commonplace. Nearly all PCs are capable of displaying video, though the resolution available depends on the power of the computer's video adapter and CPU. http://www.webopedia.com
Movies that allow interactive user exploration of object characteristics (geometry, surface texture, color, etc.) in three dimensions by allowing controlled virtual movement of the object in three dimensional space (and possibly time) while observing the resulting motion.
A display device that allows mono or stereoscopic projection of data. Typically a number of projectors (6 or more) are used to create a large display area that allow researchers an ability to visualize their data sets in ways that are not possible on small computer screens. This device is used to help learn and visualize relationships among data sets. Can be used to display static or dynamic data/video.
A virtual reality system that uses projectors to display images on three or four walls and the floor. Special glasses make everything appear as 3-D images and also track the path of the user's vision. CAVE was the first virtual reality system to let multiple users participate in the experience simultaneously. Known as a "spatially immersive display," it was developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois in the early 1990s. http://www.nutsvolts.com
A field of science whose goal is to control individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and other devices that are thousands of times smaller than current technologies permit. Current manufacturing processes use lithography to imprint circuits on semiconductor materials. While lithography has improved dramatically over the last two decades -- to the point where some manufacturing plants can produce circuits smaller than one micron (1,000 nanometers) -- it still deals with aggregates of millions of atoms. It is widely believed that lithography is quickly approaching its physical limits. To continue reducing the size of semiconductors, new technologies that juggle individual atoms will be necessary. This is the realm of nanotechnology.
Although research in this field dates back to Richard P. Feynman's classic talk in 1959, the term nanotechnology was first coined by K. Eric Drexler in 1986 in the book Engines of Creation. In the popular press, the term nanotechnology is sometimes used to refer to any sub-micron process, including lithography. Because of this, many scientists are beginning to use the term molecular nanotechnology when talking about true nanotechnology at the molecular level. http://www.webopedia.com
The application of computer technology to the management of biological information. Specifically, it is the science of developing computer databases and algorithms to facilitate and expedite biological research. Bioinformatics is being used largely in the field of human genome research by the Human Genome Project that has been determining the sequence of the entire human genome (about 3 billion base pairs) and is essential in using genomic information to understand diseases. It is also used largely for the identification of new molecular targets for drug discovery.
Many universities have recognized the importance of this endeavor and have instituted academic and training programs in bioinformatics that combine backgrounds in molecular biology with a strong foundation in computer science. Specialists in the field are referred to as computational biologists or bioinformatics computer scientists. http://www.webopedia.com
The mission statement of an organization defines its core purpose and answers the question—Why does it exist?
The vision statement of an organization paints a vivid, word picture of the desired future state of the organization, clarifying what it intends to become. It serves to provide the basis for formulating strategies and objectives, while engaging all within the organization.
The process of creating, disseminating, retrieving, and using information for instruction and research at the university level. Scholarly communication can be defined as the various means by which information exchange takes place in academia—including the formal publication of research; informal discourse among colleagues; class discussions and lectures; data retrieval through local and global networks; and continuing access to the scholarly record in print and digital libraries. http://libweb.ucsc.edu/scomm/
A collection of books, journals, articles, periodicals, magazines, newspapers, historical collections, etc. that are in digital format so as to be searched and accessed in abstract or full text formats remotely by computer.
Data used to characterize or describe the primary data. Metadata can be used to create indices or pointers into datasets, describe formats, etc. There are a number of standards, including the Dublin Core.
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an organization dedicated to promoting the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and developing specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems. The mission of DCMI is to make it easier to find resources using the Internet through the following activities:
Voyager is the integrated library management system from Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. http://endinfosys.com/prods/voyager/htm
ENCompass is the digital library management system from Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. http://encompass.endinfosys.com
We use this term at WPI to denote new student-faculty collaboration room. They are small group (up to 6-8) spaces that are designed to aid proximate and distance collaboration by providing a number of technologies—multi media computers (CD/DVD players/burners), wired/wireless networking connectivity to local intranet and extranets, videoconferencing, shared white boards, large screen or plasma displays (some touch sensitive) with associated software, video cameras, etc.