Glossary

Alphanumeric describes titles or filenames that may contain both letters and numbers only. In WebCT it is also a type of column in Manage Students. See chapter on Manage Students: Gradebook and My Grades.

An HTML tag used to place text descriptions of images on web sites. Alt tags for images are required in accessible web design. See img src in this Glossary.

America Online is one of many Internet Service Providers and describes itself as an interactive service provider. AOL uses what is known as proxy servers to improve user response time. What this means is it searches its cache for a requested URL and if it has it stored, it returns it to the user. This often means you are not seeing the most recent version of that web page. It is recommended that AOL subscribers use a separate browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer to access WebCT courses.

Same as Take Notes formerly known as My Notes. A feature that allows users to make electronic notes on course content pages. It is called Annotations in the Main Options screen in Designer Options where the instructor/designer adds to the Action Menu of a Content Module or an individual page.

Acronym for America Online. See America Online.

ASCII (pronounced askey) is the most common format for test files in computers and on the Internet. There are 128 possible characters in the ASCII set. A 7-binary digit number represents each alphabetic, numeric or special character.

Refers to the ordering of items or file titles first by numerals then by capital letters then by small case letters and then by special characters. WebCT uses ASCII order in Manage Files and Glossary.

This definition is taken directly from http://webct.com/ask_drc/. "Ask Dr. C is an online community dedicated to helping people learn how to use WebCT and facilitating discussions around online teaching and learning issues. Ask Dr. C is moderated by an international group of experts whose real-world WebCT experience encompasses campus implementation, server administration, course design, tool use, student experience, and third party application integration. The most important element of this community is the wisdom and insights of many talented WebCT users, and its value is determined in large part by your participation and contribution. The mission of this community is to provide quality answers to user questions in a highly responsive manner and to contribute to building a global knowledge base for online teaching and learning." The C in Dr. C stands for course, campus and community, important components of the WebCT experience.

"The term assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, off-the-shelf, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." This definition is taken directly from the text of the Tech Act of 1988. This includes physical, cognitive and communication disabilities.

Refers to communication taking place at different times, not in real time or at the same time (synchronous). Discussions Tool and Mail are examples of asynchronous communications within WebCT.