The world of online schooling brings some new terms and phrases that are unknown to most parents and students. Likewise, US education has its expressions that might be unfamiliar to families from other parts of the world. Not knowing what a particular term means can create confusion, which is why we have created this glossary. This list contains all phrases that you can come across on our website or hear from our consultants. In case you don’t know or not sure what a particular expression means, you can look for the explanation in this glossary. The words are listed in alphabetical order.
Access to the platform or access to the online learning platform refers to the availability and accessibility of the entire schooling program to a student. Scroll down to see what is an online learning platform.
Assigned teacher is a teacher in charge of a particular student who helps them with their schooling program, creating a learning plan, or any other dilemma a student faces during schooling. An Assigned teacher also follows student’s progress and guides them towards better results. It is the first person to whom a student should turn for help or guidance.
Core subject is a subject that is required for completion of the grade. Therefore, a student is obliged to follow that subject to finalize the grade successfully. At Education World Wide, we have four core subjects per grade, and they include English Language, Mathematics, History & Geography (as a combined subject), and Science.
Course completion shows if a student has fulfilled all requirements to complete the grade. It shows the progress that a student has made during the course and what they did to accomplish it and get a passing grade. Education World Wide has its terms for completing the grade, and students are introduced to these requirements at the beginning of their schooling.
Credit Point is a unit for measuring a study load. The US educational system is using credit points that students collect throughout their schooling. Each core subject is worth one credit, while electives carry between 0.5 and one credit point, depending on if they are semestral or yearly. Credit points are especially important at high school because, according to the US system, a student needs at least 21 credit points to be eligible to graduate.
Credit recovery in online schooling refers to methods or procedures that enable students to recover credits acquired in their previous school. For example, if they finalize a grade in one school but then enrolled in Education World Wide, a credit recovery program will measure how many points a student carries from their previous school. The same goes if a student transfers in the middle of the grade.
Digital learning / Online learning / Virtual learning refers to a learning process that happens online, on the Internet, in the virtual world, and not in person or in a physical location. For such learning, students use computers, laptops, tablets, or even phones to access the learning materials that are stored online or to follow online classes.
Educational transcript or just transcript is a document that shows in what grade a student was enrolled, what courses or subjects they followed, and what grades they earned. To put it in plain English, transcripts are proof that a student has successfully finalized a particular grade and mastered the program for the said grade.
Elective subjects / Electives are subjects included in the schooling program, but they are not compulsory. With electives, a student has a choice. They can choose which elective subjects they want to follow, and they can pick them based internally on personal interests or affinities. Education World Wide offers more than 100 electives to its students, who can choose at least two electives per grade.
Fully online / Full-time online means that the entire process of schooling takes place online. Therefore, learning, classes, and exams everything happens in the virtual world. A student doesn’t have to go to a brick and mortar facility to practice any of the schooling assignments mentioned above.
Online Class / Live Online Class is a class conducted via the Internet, usually using one of the popular programs such as Skype, Zoom, Google Classroom, etc. Live online class means that a student or students, and a teacher are not in the same location, but they are connected online and have a live interaction. The teaching still happens in real-time, it is not a session recorded in advance.
Online school / Virtual school is a school that teaches its student primarily through the Internet, which means that a student and a teacher are physically apart. They are not in the same place. That form of education uses new technologies to deliver knowledge to students regardless of where they are at a particular moment. The online school has the same legitimacy as a traditional school, provided that they are registered and use approved programs. Not to be confused with homeschooling, which is a different form of education.
Online program / Online curriculum is the program that an online school uses to teach its students. In most cases, it is the identical learning material used in traditional schools, but it’s organized and presented in a way more convenient for online learning. The online curriculum has to be approved and approved d by relevant institutions.
Online teachers / Online tutors are also known as remote teachers or distance teachers, and they are instructors who work with students online. They use new technologies and the Internet to interact with students through online classes that can be individual or group. Although they have similar roles as their colleagues who work in traditional schools, online teachers have to use different learning methods and approaches to successfully deliver the knowledge to students.
Online Learning Platform / Learning Management System is an application or a program for the delivery, administration, tracking, and reporting of subjects. That is a virtual environment that contains the entire learning material for the grade and which students can access to learn. The platform also tracks and measures student’s progress.
Self-paced learning means that a student learns at their own tempo. Each student creates their own schedule and pace of learning, rather than following a group tempo, which is usually the case in traditional schools. Self-paced learning doesn’t impose strict start and end dates, or due dates for that matter. All this means that students choose when they want to learn and for how long, or when they want to do an exam or test.
We hope this short glossary of some of the most common expressions in online schooling has been helpful. If you run into an expression on our website and are unsure what it means, but you can’t find it on this list, don’t hesitate to ask us for an explanation.
