ICT Terminology

This page is an ever growing list to help you better understand your students and the technology jargon that might pop-up in your classroom.

Blog: Blog is short for “Web Log,” which is basically a list of journal entries posted on a Web page. For teachers, blogging can be an easy way to start the equivalent of a class website. As the teacher, you can post regular journal entries related to the class or even open the blog up to dynamic discussions from your students. You don’t need to know any fancy web programming skills either! I enjoy using WordPress (www.wordpress.com) to create my blog. Not only is it free, it’s relatively easy to use too. I would suggest viewing this great little video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI) that explains Blogs in plain and simple English.

Desktop Application: A desktop application is an interchangeable term for software that is installed (i.e – loaded onto) onto a desktop or notebook computer. Desktop applications are installed onto the computer by CD-ROM or a file downloaded from the Internet. Unfortunately, installing new desktop applications can be a hassle for teachers since they may need to get special permission from their school board’s IT department before placing software onto the school’s computers. Examples of desktop applications on my Blog would be Google Earth or Photostory.

Cell phone texting: If you ever notice your students tapping away at their cell phones, they are likely sending short text messages to each other’s cell phones. It’s somewhat like on-line chatting, but on a cell phone. It is often referred to as “texting”. Unlike a traditional keyboard, one “texts” using the numbers and letters on the keypad of the cell phone. Many people (especially teenagers) take shortcuts when sending text message as it doesn’t take as long to type. For example the acronym “g2g” would stand for “Got to go”. Another example would be “ttyl!” which stands for “Talk to you later!”

Common Core Basic Education: Common Core Basic Education is often abbreviated to “CCBE” in the English system and “FBC” (Formation de Base Commune) in the French system. CCBE is for adult learners who have less than eight years of schooling. Common Core Basic Education subject areas include “Languages”, “Mathematics, Science and Technology”, “Social Sciences”, “Working Life”, and “Personal Development”.

ESL and FSL: ESL is an acronym used for English Second Language. English Second Language (ESL) courses are typically taught in the Quebec French language system. FSL is an acronym used for French Second Language. French Second Language (FSL) courses are typically taught in the Quebec English language system.

FGA: FGA is an acronym used in Quebec for Formation Générale des Adultes. The term is translated in English as General Adult Education. General Adult Education (FGA) is for students wishing to obtain their Seconday School Diploma or obtain prerequisites for CEGEP or Vocational Training. Vocational Training in the Quebec Adult Education is known as FP, Formation Professionnelle. My mandate is with the RECIT FGA so I’ll only be covering ICT related to FGA classes.

Facebook: Facebook (www.facebook.com) is a social networking website. In a nutshell, Facebook allows you to log-in and see what your “friends” are doing each day. Your friends could be people that you work with, old classmates, family members, new acquaintances, and so on. Upon signing up for Facebook, each member is given a space called a “Wall” where they can publicly post digital pictures or status updates about their daily lives. If you are “friends” with a person, you are able to browse their pictures, see their status updates, and write comments on their “Wall”. At first mostly popular with teenagers, Facebook has grown to be popular with people of all ages. It is worth noting that Facebook is blocked in most school boards.

ICT: ICT is an acronym for Information and Communication Technologies. The term ICT can encompass many technologies, but I generally like to say that in the classroom it’s usually related to anything to do with computers, electronic gadgets, or the Internet.

MP3 Files: MP3 is a type of file on a computer that contains audio. MP3 files (often called MP3s in plural form) are a popular format for digital music files. In general, musical MP3s are comparable in sound quality to a commercial compact disc. MP3s are a versatile sound format, as many software applications such as Photostory will allow you or your students to use MP3 files when given the option to import digital music files. MP3s are also popular as they are small in file size (i.e – don’t take a lot of room on the hard drive) and are fast to download. If you or your students are using commercial music files in projects, make sure you have the rights to use the music.

PDF: Adobe PDF files are an industry standard file format that enables users to easily open and print electronic documents.  One advantage of PDF documents is that they do not allow their contents to be further modified.  This ensures that the document content stays exactly as the original author intended it.  PDF files are often used on the for product manuals, bank statements, educational resources, and so on.  To view PDF files, you need to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.  It is available at this link.

Podcast: A podcast is a pre-recorded audio broadcast that is downloaded from the Internet. Podcasts can then be played back on portable digital music players or a home computer. People can subscribe to regular Podcast broadcasts which will contain audio content similar to a traditional radio show. The great thing about Podcasts (is that like the web) they open up the potential for a mass audience with amateur produced recordings. Some teachers have even started encouraging their students to create Podcasts in the classroom. Last but not least, the name “podcasting” may sound like it’s tied to Apple’s iPods products, but you do not need an iPod to listen to them. Here’s an example of CBC Radio (http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting) Podcasts.

RSS: RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. If you look on the right hand side of my Blog, you’ll see a “Subscribe to Blog via RSS” link with a little orange logo. The best way to describe RSS would be to compare it to a news ticker that you would see on the bottom of your TV set on CNN. However, by using a RSS Reader (i.e – Google Reader) you can subscribe to various “RSS feeds” on certain websites and blogs and therefore get to customize which sources your “news” is gathered from. Here’s a great little video that explains RSS in plain and simple English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

Streaming Video: In the “old days” of the Internet, one would have to download video files in their entirety before being able to play them. This was often a problem if the video was long and took a significant time to download. Eventually sites started “streaming” videos so that they started playing as they were downloading, such as YouTube. No more waiting. Here’s another way to explain this concept – think of building a bridge. In the “old” way of downloading videos, the bridge had to be built completely before you could cross it. With streaming videos, you can begin crossing the bridge as it is being constructed.

Web Application: Web applications are programs that run on a web page. Web applications are very popular as you do not have to download or install any special software to make it run on your computer. You simply type in a web address and you’re ready to go! This is great for teachers as you do not need to get special permission from your IT department to install web applications on the school’s computers. Web applications are also “platform independent” which means they will work on all types of computers, whether you have a Macintosh, Windows, or Linux. Examples of sites on my Blog that are web applications would be Google Maps or Picnik.

Wiki: A Wiki is soft of like a “communal website” that can be modified with comments and additional information by web viewers, or in your case – students. Since a Wiki is very collaborative, teachers have started using them with their classes instead of a typical (static) class website. What’s the difference? Standard everyday websites can be thought of as billboards. A billboard displays static content for people to see but they cannot interact with it. If you are relatively comfortable with ICT and want to know more about how Wikis can be used in the classroom, please visit Wikispaces for Educators.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia is a free, on-line encyclopedia which features content written exclusively by its user community. In order to strive for a high degree of accuracy, multiple members of the Wikipedia community often discuss and contribute to the same encyclopedia entries. The English version of Wikipedia can be found at (http://en.wikipedia.com) while the French version of Wikipedia can be found at (http://fr.wikipedia.org)

YouTube: YouTube (www.youtube.com) is a website that allows anyone with a free YouTube account to upload digital video clips for people to see. There are thousands of searchable videos available on all subjects. YouTube is very popular as you do not need to install any fancy software to view videos. Even though YouTube contains pedagogically relevant material, YouTube is often blocked by most school board IT departments since downloading videos can bring school networks to a crawl.