Glossary

Adult Education: the field of education that serves adult learners and includes formal programs, such as post secondary credit courses or continuing professional education, and nonformal programs, such as workshops, and workplace training.

Adult Retraining: usually a program that enables adults to develop new job-related skills that are in demand in the workplace.

Adult Upgrading: programs that enable adults to fill in the gaps in their earlier education, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy.

Adult Basic Education (ABE): programs that enable adults to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills, to the level normally attained at the completion of elementary school.

Asynchronous communication: communication in which the sender transmits a message at a different time than when the recipient is receives it. For example, a letter sent through the post is received some time after the writer sends it.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM): high speed networking technology for broadband communications.

Audioconferencing: telephone based conference that includes more than two sites linked by a bridge or series of bridges so that all participants can hear and speak to each other.

Audiographics: a computer based system that provides computer generated graphics over telephone lines, often to accompany voice messages provided by audio conference.

Broadband systems: a range of communications services that can transmit video images and data, as well as sound and require more bandwidth than traditional voice messaging.

Cable system: the system of delivering television signals through satellite receive dishes that are connected to a local network of co-axial (high capacity) cable.

Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC): the Canadian government agency that develops and enforces regulations governing broadcasting, cable and telephone systems in accordance with federal government policies.

Computer Conferencing: a computer-based discussion system enabling participants to contribute written ideas transmitted as computer mail. Conferencing software sets up discussion topics and linkages so that participants can follow the threads within a discussion, or begin a new discussion on a related topic.

Computer Hardware: computer equipment, such as the processor, keyboard, monitor, printer, connecting cables.

Computer Software: electronically coded systems that "drive" the computer and enable it to do specialized tasks, such as word processing, communications, drawing, and so on.

Continuing Education: forms of education for learners beyond the age of the cohort who complete their education in a continuum from elementary school to graduation. Continuing education can include programs related to professional training, formal credit programs, or interest courses.

Distance Education: education in which learners and instructors are in different locations and are linked by various forms of technology, including print correspondence, telephone, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, computer communications. Learning materials may be provided in print, audiotape, videotape or computer based materials.

Educational Technologies: the group of technologies used to support education from blackboard and chalk to computer conferencing.

Educational Providers: organizations, institutions and agencies that provide educational programs.