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SyberWorks Learning and Performance Glossary

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S.W.O.T. Analysis: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) in a situation.

Satellite TV: broadband video and audio signals relayed via a communication device that orbits the Earth.

Scaffolding: providing temporary support, to build on a student's existing knowledge through examples and explanations until help is no longer needed.

Scalability: the degree to which a computer application or component may be expanded in size, volume or number of users served, and continue to function properly.

SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, (Modify, Magnify, Minify), Put to other use, Eliminate, (Reverse, Rearrange); a creativity acronym that helps students remember to try many variations on an idea.

Scanner: a device that translates a printed page, image, or photographic transparency into a digital representation that can be viewed on a computer.

Scanning: the act of quickly reading or looking at information, to gain an overview of the content; the act of translating a printed page, image, or photographic transparency into a digital representation that can be viewed on a computer.

Schema: a simple textual explanation or representation of the internal structure of a database, including table names, element names and relationships among elements.

SCOPE: a proofreading strategy (Spelling, Capitalization, Order of words, Punctuation, Express complete thoughts).

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model): a set of specifications that produce small, reusable learning objects when applied to course content. SCORM-compliant courseware elements are easily merged with other compliant elements, to produce a highly modular repository of training materials.

Screen Magnifier: an assistive program or device used by the visually impaired to enlarge images and text displayed on a computer screen.

Screen Reader: an assistive technology used by the visually impaired to read aloud the data displayed on a computer screen.

Script: a program or set of instructions specific to, and carried out by, a particular program, as opposed to being executed directly by the computer's central processor.

Scroll: to cause text and images on a computer screen to continuously move down, up, right or left.

Sculptures: a problem-solving technique where group members add to three-dimensional models that depict either the problem itself or a potential solution to the problem.

Seamless Technology: technology that's easy to use, intuitive in nature, and not itself the focus of the learning experience.

SEARCH: a writing strategy developed by Edwin S. Ellis, consisting of the following steps: Set goals. Examine your paper to see if it makes sense. Ask if you said what you wanted to say. Reveal picky errors. Copy over neatly. Have a last look for errors.

Section 508: the 1998 Amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which basically says all electronic and information technology purchased or developed by the U.S. Government must be accessible to people with disabilities.

Seizure: a sudden change in behavior, characterized by changes in sensory perception or motor activity due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

Self-Assessment: a process where the learner critically analyzes their own goals, skills, performance and experience.

Self-Paced Learning: 1) an offering in which students determine the pace and timing of content delivery; 2) learning that is carried out asynchronously, such as over the Internet without an instructor, and where students control the flow of course material.

Semantic Associations: forming connections between words based on meaning and context.

Semantic Feature Analysis: a chart or grid developed by students that explores what they know about relations among concepts.

SENDA: an acronym for the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act of 2001. SENDA amends the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995.

Senses: learning techniques developed specifically to stimulate one or all of the five senses, so that students can make more complete connections to concepts.

Sequencing: the process of organizing concepts in the order in which they naturally occur.

Serial Bus: a channel through which information flows, one bit at a time, between two or more devices in (or connected to) a computer. A bus typically has multiple points of access through which devices attach to it.

Serial Port: a point of access where devices attach to a computer's serial bus, and through which data moves one bit at a time.

Server: a computer system with large storage capacity that contains files, applications and other resources, and manages access to them by multiple users.

Shadowing: a field activity in which the student follows a professional for several hours (or a whole day), to learn more about the work done and skills needed by that person.

Share-Pair Circles: a learning and discussion activity in which the class is divided into two equal groups, each forming a circle. The inner circle faces outward and the outer circle faces inward, to form pairs of facing students. In response to teacher questions, each pair discusses their ideas, and then one of the circles rotates to create new pairs. This repeats until the original pairs face each other again.

Sign Language: a communication language that uses hand, face, and body movements, and is used primarily by deaf people.

Similarities and Differences: a form of comparison, in which students first list the similarities between two objects or concepts, and then list their differences.

Simplex: a formal approach to problem solving, in which problems are defined, ideas proposed and evaluated, actions initiated, and then one returns to the problem-finding stage to refine the solution. Also known as The Basadur Simplex approach to problem-solving.

Simulations: highly interactive applications that allow learners to model real scenarios and to practice skills or behaviors in a risk-free environment.

Situated Learning: an educational theory by Jean Lave, proposing that learning normally happens in a specific context (i.e. with certain people or while performing certain tasks) and involves both social interactions and interactions with real-life materials. Examples of situated learning are apprenticeships and shadowing.

Skill Gap Analysis: compares a person's skills with those required for a job to which they have been, or will be, assigned. This analysis includes of a list of all required skills, with the individual's rating level for each skill.

Skill Inventory: a list of skills or competencies that an individual possesses, and which is used as a self-assessment tool in many fields. A skills inventory is often part of career exploration or professional development.

Skill: an ability to perform an action or group of actions; talent.

Skimming: reading or looking at material quickly, to gain an overview of its content; refer to scanning.

Slide Show: a presentation that may include a series of drawings or images, and that may be generated and presented using software like PowerPoint.

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