SyberWorks Learning and Performance Glossary
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Backbone: a primary communication path that connects multiple users. Band: a range of frequencies, for example very low frequencies (VHF) or extremely high frequencies (EHF). A band has an upper and lower frequency limit.
Balanced Scorecard: using linked performance measures (financial, customer, internal process, and employee learning) to describe organizational strategies.
Bandwidth: the capacity of a communication channel to carry data. The greater the bandwidth, the faster the data transfer. Bandwidth can also limit the amount of information that is sent or received in a given time.
Basadur Simplex: a problem-solving approach whose steps include: problem finding, fact finding, problem defining, idea finding, evaluating and selecting, action planning, gaining acceptance and taking action.
Baud: an older measure of data-transmission speed, which was popular before BPS (bits per second). Baud refers to the number of changes in signaling events (such as changes in sound levels from an analog modem) that occur over a transmission medium per second. Older, slower technologies used one signaling event to transmit each bit, and in this case, a 300-baud modem also transmitted at 300 bps. But modern, faster technologies can transmit multiple bits in one signaling event, so a 9600-bps modem that can send 3 bits per signaling event, actually transmits at 3200 baud.
BBS (Bulletin Board System): an online community maintained by a host computer for posting information, carrying on discussions, uploading and downloading files, chatting, and other online services. BBSs are text-based and often relate to the specific hobbies or interests of their creators.
Be Here Now: a method created by David B. Ellis that helps to focus student attention in the beginning and to keep attention from wandering during training.
Before, During, and After: a metacognitive approach to reading that leads learners to activate prior knowledge 'B'efore reading text, observe comprehension 'D'uring reading, and review the subject matter 'A'fter reading.
Behavior: a clear and explicit manner in which one acts. Behaviorist Models: training models based on the philosophy that learning alters behavior. Student behaviors that are rewarded will be repeated. Behaviors that are punished or ignored will decrease.
Benchmarking: the process of comparing curricula and other organizational information with best-practice programs.
Best Practices: a technique that results in a greater number of positive outcomes than negative outcomes, as compared to alternative procedures.
Binary Code: a computer code that expresses numbers, letters, and symbols in base-2 notation, using only the digits 0 and 1. Electronic components that are based on this code can exist only in two states: 0 or 1, off or on, inactive or active.
Biometrics: technologies that automatically identify people through bodily characteristics, such as fingerprints, eye retinas and voice patterns.
Bit: stands for Binary Digit. A bit is an electronic signal that is either on (1) or off (0). It is the smallest unit of information that computers use. All other information stored on the computer is composed of combinations of bits.
Blended Learning: a combination of learning methods, such as e-Learning, face-to-face instruction, group and individual study, and coaching.
Blog (Weblog): an extension of a personal web site, where users post informal journals of their thoughts and comments, updated frequently and normally reflecting the views of the blog's creator.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: a model that organizes thinking processes into six levels of complexity: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Bluetooth: a wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to send data and voice signals between electronic devices over short distances.
Bobby: a tool used to assess web pages for accessibility. This validation tool was developed by CAST.
Bookmark: a web-page link stored in a browser for quick and easy retrieval. Bookmarks eliminate the redundant process of typing an Internet address each time you visit a favorite web site.
BPS (Bits Per Second): a standard measure of data-transmission speed in a communications system; the number of bits transmitted or received each second.
Braille: a system of touch reading for the blind, using raised dots evenly arranged in specific patterns.
Brain Dominance: the use of one hemisphere of the brain more than the other.
BrainWriting: a problem-solving technique similar to brainstorming, except that individuals write their ideas separately.
Brain-based Learning: an instructional-design model based on the idea that learning activities are more effective if they occur in an atmosphere that is compatible with the way the brain learns.
Brainstorming: a group process where all ideas are accepted and evaluated without judgment.
Branching: progressing through a path of tutorial subject matter based on the learner’s responses to a series of questions.
Bridge: a device that connects two or more sections of a network, but does not handle routing between network users.
Broadband: a wide transmission channel that allows information to be sent at many different frequencies or frequency bands.
Broadcast: (noun) television or radio signals transmitted over public airways, to reach mass audiences. The term is also applied to emails (or other types of message distribution) that are sent over communication networks to all members, rather than to specific members, of a group or department.
Browser: a software application that displays web pages originally written in the text-based HTML language in a user-friendly and accessible format. The two most widely used browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
Buddy System: a method of pairing students during the beginning of a class, to create pairs who are responsible for notifying one another about assignments that are missed due to an absence.
Business Requirements: the conditions an e-Learning solution should meet to align with the needs of such stakeholders as content developers, subject matter experts, learners, managers, and training administrators.
Business Process Re-engineering: a management technique used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a process within an organization.
Buzz Sessions: group discussions that are small and informal.
Byte: traditionally, an 8-bit unit of information, with each bit being either 0 or 1. In formal ASCII code, byte contents are standardized to mean something to computers. For example, the byte "01000001" means capital A. But software applications and computerized equipment often add their own proprietary byte definitions. Some applications (such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean computer displays) need more than 8 bits to represent each individual character or symbol, and are said to be "double-byte" applications.
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