Education Technology Glossary

A plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that provides accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure equal access to education without requiring special education classification.

The process where trained advisors help students plan their academic paths, choose courses, understand degree requirements, navigate policies, and connect with support resources.

The official institutional schedule defining dates for terms, semesters, registration periods, holidays, exams, and other key academic events throughout the year.

An official document that provides a complete record of a student's academic history, including courses completed, grades earned, credits accumulated, and degrees conferred.

A formal quality assurance process where an external body evaluates a school or program against established standards to certify that it meets acceptable levels of quality.

The institutional process of evaluating applications, making acceptance decisions, and processing new students based on established criteria.

The strategies, processes, and systems for maintaining graduate relationships, tracking career progress, organizing events, and supporting alumni giving and mentorship programs.

A set of protocols and tools that let different software applications communicate and exchange data, enabling system integrations across SIS, LMS, and ERP.

The systematic recording and monitoring of student presence or absence from classes and activities, used for compliance reporting, early intervention, and academic performance analysis.

An educational approach that combines face-to-face classroom instruction with online digital activities, giving students a mix of in-person and virtual learning experiences.

An institutional policy letting students and staff use their personal laptops, tablets, and phones to access school networks, applications, and learning resources.

The administration of physical and virtual campus resources including facilities, classrooms, equipment, transportation, and campus services for educational institutions.

The systems, technologies, policies, and personnel dedicated to keeping students, staff, and visitors physically safe on school grounds, including access control, emergency notification, and incident management.

A U.S. federal law requiring schools and libraries receiving E-Rate discounts to have internet safety policies and content filtering to block harmful online material.

The process of assigning courses to time slots, classrooms, and instructors while satisfying constraints around room capacity, faculty availability, student demand, and institutional policies.

The delivery of computing services (servers, storage, databases, networking, and software) over the internet, letting institutions access technology resources on-demand without owning physical infrastructure.

A set of K-12 academic standards for English language arts and mathematics defining what students should know at each grade level, adopted by most U.S. states.

An approach where students progress by showing they have mastered specific skills or knowledge areas, rather than spending a fixed amount of time in courses.

The structured set of courses, learning objectives, content, and assessments that define what students are expected to learn within a program or course of study.

Software that manages interactions with prospective and current students, tracking communication, inquiries, and the enrollment pipeline from first contact through graduation.

The process of transferring data between systems, formats, or platforms, particularly when moving from legacy education software to a new system.

A degree audit is a comprehensive check of a student's progress toward completing their degree requirements, comparing coursework against what their program requires.

A technology-enabled learning environment using digital tools and platforms to support teaching and learning, whether fully online or as a tech-enhanced physical classroom.

The ability to effectively navigate, evaluate, and create information using digital technologies, covering technical skills, critical thinking, and responsible digital citizenship.

A system for storing, organizing, tracking, and retrieving electronic documents and records, essential for handling the extensive paperwork in educational institutions.

A U.S. federal program providing 20-90% discounts on telecommunications, internet access, and internal connections for eligible schools and libraries.

The practice of using technology tools, platforms, and digital resources to improve teaching, learning, and educational administration.

A platform for managing and improving an institution's interactions with prospective students, current students, alumni, and other stakeholders throughout the relationship.

The process by which students formally register for courses or programs, covering application, admission, registration, and fee payment.

An integrated software system that manages and automates core business processes across an organization, covering finance, HR, procurement, and operations.

A modern e-learning specification that collects data about learning experiences from many different technologies, going beyond SCORM with broader tracking capabilities.

The processes and systems for managing faculty information, teaching assignments, qualifications, performance reviews, and professional development.

A U.S. federal law that protects student education record privacy and gives parents and eligible students rights to access and control how their educational information is shared.

The processes and systems for creating, tracking, collecting, and reporting on tuition, charges, and financial transactions between a school and its students or families.

A teaching model where students study new content at home through videos or readings, and classroom time is used for hands-on activities like discussions, problem-solving, and projects.

Using game design elements like points, badges, leaderboards, and levels in educational settings to boost student motivation and engagement.

The EU regulation on data protection and privacy governing the collection, processing, and storage of personal data of individuals in the EU, including students and staff at educational institutions.

A digital tool that lets educators record, calculate, and manage student grades, track academic performance, and create reports for students, parents, and administrators.

A legally binding document outlining specific special education services, goals, and accommodations for a student with a disability, developed collaboratively by educators and parents.

A U.S. federal law ensuring students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education tailored to their needs through special education and related services.

A professional organization that develops technology standards for students, educators, and administrators, providing a framework for effective technology use in education.

The collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, used to understand and improve learning and the environments where it happens.

A software platform for creating, delivering, managing, and tracking online learning content and courses for students and employees.

A protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services, commonly used to store and authenticate user accounts, organizational structures, and access permissions.

Short, focused certifications that verify a learner has demonstrated competency in a specific skill, often earned through online courses or professional development programs.

A software architecture where a single instance of the application serves multiple customers (tenants), with each tenant's data kept separate and invisible to others.

The leading professional organization for early childhood education that sets quality standards and provides accreditation for programs serving children from birth through age 8.

A software installation model where the application runs on servers physically located at and maintained by the institution, giving full control over data, security, and customization.

The digital process of registering for courses, programs, or institutions through web-based platforms, replacing paper forms and in-person registration with self-service workflows.

An open standard authorization framework that lets third-party applications access user resources without exposing credentials. You have seen it as "Sign in with Google."

Software whose source code is publicly available for anyone to view, modify, and distribute, giving you transparency, customization freedom, and community-driven development.

A modular, community-driven software platform that provides core business functionality such as accounting, CRM, and HR, serving as the foundation for building vertical solutions like Education ERP.

An educational framework focused on measuring student achievement of clearly defined learning outcomes, where curriculum and assessment are designed backward from desired results.

A teaching method where students learn by working on real-world, meaningful projects over time, building knowledge and skills by investigating and responding to complex questions.

An architectural style for designing networked applications that uses standard HTTP methods to access and work with resources. It is the most widely used approach for building web APIs.

A security approach that restricts system access based on defined user roles, so people only see and modify data relevant to their responsibilities.

An integrated software platform that manages all core administrative, academic, and financial operations of a school within a unified database and interface.

An XML-based open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between an identity provider and a service provider, making Single Sign-On work across different domains.

A set of technical standards for e-learning that governs how online learning content and LMS platforms communicate, making sure content created in one tool works in any SCORM-compliant LMS.

An authentication method that lets users access multiple applications with a single set of login credentials, so they don't need separate passwords for each system.

A cloud-based software delivery model where applications are hosted by the provider and accessed over the internet through a web browser, typically on a subscription basis.

An interdisciplinary approach that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics into connected, hands-on learning experiences.

A software application that keeps track of student data like enrollment, demographics, grades, attendance, and academic records throughout their time at a school.

The entire journey of a student through an institution, from initial inquiry and application through enrollment, academic progression, graduation, and alumni engagement.

A secure, web-based gateway giving students centralized access to academic information, institutional services, and self-service features like registration, grade viewing, and fee payment.

An institution's ability to keep enrolled students progressing through their programs from one term to the next, ultimately through to graduation.

A detailed document outlining a course's objectives, topics, schedule, assignments, grading criteria, and policies that serves as a contract between instructor and students.

A structured schedule that organizes classes, faculty assignments, room allocations, and other academic activities across time periods, making efficient use of institutional resources.

A U.S. federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.