Educational and vocational training systems in Europe are currently integrating open and distance learning principles into their practice. The vocabulary takes into account this move; there is a growing use of words that were formerly used only in specific sectors, e.g. distance education, or that are imported from other fields, in particular from information technology. This glossary reflects this change; it aims to be useful for directors of studies, training managers, project managers, developers of open and distance learning systems, who want to get information from exemplars in other countries and who want to communicate the results of their initiatives. It is an outcome of the Caliber-Net project, within the European Socrates programme.
The educational and vocational training systems of the European countries are different: their structure and their trends may be not comparable. Some concepts are specific to only one country and do not exist in other countries. The terms also may have specific meanings in different countries.
Nevertheless, this obstacle does not prevent the putting together of terms used in different countries on the basis of common concepts, when it appears to be feasible; it doesn’t prevent the inclusion of relevant concepts only for some countries: this helps provide a basic understanding of the terms of other countries.
This glossary tries to acknowledge differences and similarities between ODL systems in different countries.
For a number of terms, however, mainly in technical matters, there is a good match between equivalent terms.
This glossary is a list of terms that explain concepts relevant for the understanding of Open and Distance Learning.
You can browse the whole index-list (list of terms for each language in alphabetical order) by choosing the language of the term you are searching for in the left frame. Use the scrollbar to go up and down in the index-list. By clicking on the desired term in this index-list you access the notices and descriptions of the choosen term and of the corresponding terms of the other languages.
This structure is open; it enables an explanation in each language of the uses of terms, while respecting the shades of meaning and the ways in which the terms are used.
This glossary is a work in progress: it will be improved by the network of Caliber-Net; you can contribute to this glossary by suggesting alternative meanings or comments or by providing substantive additions of terms or definitions.
You may write your contribution in any language of this glossary, but add an explanation in English or French!
Some of the terms in this glossary have been taken, with permission, from the Glossary created by Technologies for Training.
This glossary is copyright. It may be viewed by any person and terms may be printed.
For other uses, please contact the webmaster (FIM).
The glossary can be cited as follows:
Caliber Net, Open and distance multilingual glossary : english, french, german, italian, portuguese, spanish -
World Wide Web, http://www.caliber-net.odl.org, 1998-5