This glossary highlights the technical, product, interoperability, privacy, accessibility, and learning-science acronyms relevant to the Education sector’s technology ecosystem. It helps executives, operators, educators, and solution providers navigate terminology used across EdTech Practice strategy, procurement, product development, implementation, and performance discussions.
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X
| A | |
| A11y | Accessibility: A numeronym used for designing digital products, content, and services so people with disabilities can perceive, operate, understand, and use them effectively. |
| AAC | Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Methods and technologies that supplement or replace speech, including communication boards, symbol systems, and speech-generating devices used by learners with communication disabilities. |
| ACR | Accessibility Conformance Report: A document describing how a digital product conforms to accessibility standards, typically produced using a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template and reviewed during procurement. |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act: A U.S. civil rights law that prohibits disability discrimination and influences accessibility requirements for educational software, websites, applications, and digital services. |
| ADL | Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative: A U.S. government program that develops and supports learning-technology standards and architectures, including the reference model for shareable learning content and the Experience API. |
| AES | Automated Essay Scoring: The algorithmic evaluation of written responses for characteristics such as structure, grammar, and content, used for formative feedback or assessment with appropriate validation and human oversight. |
| AGS | Assignment and Grade Services: A Learning Tools Interoperability Advantage service that allows external learning applications to create gradebook columns and return scores or related results to a learning platform. |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence: Computer systems that perform tasks associated with human intelligence, supporting capabilities such as adaptive instruction, automated feedback, content generation, tutoring, and learner-risk detection. |
| AICC | Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee: The organization that created an early set of specifications for communication between digital courseware and learning management systems; its standards remain relevant to some legacy platforms and content libraries. |
| AIED | Artificial Intelligence in Education: The research and application field focused on using intelligent systems to support learning, teaching, assessment, feedback, and educational decision-making. |
| API | Application Programming Interface: A defined mechanism through which platforms exchange data or invoke functions, enabling integrations among learning systems, student systems, content providers, analytics tools, and identity services. |
| AR | Augmented Reality: Technology that overlays digital objects or information onto a user’s physical environment, enabling interactive simulations, visualizations, and contextual learning experiences. |
| ASR | Automatic Speech Recognition: Technology that converts spoken language into machine-readable text, supporting language learning, oral assessment, captioning, voice interfaces, and accessibility features. |
| AT | Assistive Technology: Hardware, software, or equipment that helps people with disabilities access information, communicate, and participate in learning activities. |
| B | |
| BESA | British Educational Suppliers Association: A United Kingdom trade association representing suppliers of educational products and services and providing market, policy, export, and procurement support. |
| BKT | Bayesian Knowledge Tracing: A probabilistic method for estimating whether a learner has mastered a skill based on a sequence of observed responses, commonly used in adaptive learning and intelligent tutoring systems. |
| BYOD | Bring Your Own Device: A technology model in which learners or staff use personally owned devices to access institutional applications and content, affecting compatibility, security, support, and equity planning. |
| C | |
| CAI | Computer-Assisted Instruction: The use of software to deliver or supplement instruction through tutorials, practice activities, simulations, feedback, and assessment. |
| CAL | Computer-Assisted Learning: A broad approach in which computers and digital applications support learning activities, practice, collaboration, or individualized instruction. |
| CALL | Computer-Assisted Language Learning: The use of digital tools for language instruction, practice, feedback, assessment, speech recognition, and learner interaction. |
| CASE | Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange: A 1EdTech specification for digitally exchanging standards, competencies, skills frameworks, and their relationships across learning and assessment systems. |
| CAST | Center for Applied Special Technology: The nonprofit organization that developed the Universal Design for Learning framework and guidelines widely used to improve the accessibility and flexibility of learning products. |
| CAT | Computerized Adaptive Testing: A testing method that selects subsequent questions according to a learner’s prior responses, improving measurement efficiency and tailoring item difficulty. |
| CBE | Competency-Based Education: A learning model in which progression depends on demonstrated mastery rather than time spent in a course, requiring systems that can track competencies, evidence, and flexible pathways. |
| CBT | Computer-Based Testing: The delivery of assessments through computers or other digital devices, enabling automated administration, scoring, item management, and results reporting. |
| CBT | Computer-Based Training: Self-paced instruction delivered through computer software, often incorporating multimedia, practice exercises, simulations, and assessments. |
| CC | Common Cartridge: A 1EdTech packaging and exchange standard that allows course materials, assessments, links, and related content to move between compatible learning platforms. |
| CC | Creative Commons: A standardized licensing framework through which creators specify how educational materials may be copied, adapted, attributed, and redistributed. |
| CCPA | California Consumer Privacy Act: A California privacy law governing how covered organizations collect, use, disclose, and respond to requests concerning personal information, including data handled by qualifying technology providers. |
| CDM | Cognitive Diagnostic Model: A psychometric model that uses item responses to estimate mastery of specific attributes or skills, supporting fine-grained diagnostic and adaptive assessment. |
| CEDS | Common Education Data Standards: A U.S. initiative providing standardized data definitions, domains, and models to improve interoperability and comparability across education systems. |
| CIPA | Children’s Internet Protection Act: A U.S. law requiring certain schools and libraries receiving federal connectivity support to implement internet safety policies and filtering measures. |
| CLR | Comprehensive Learner Record: A 1EdTech standard for representing courses, competencies, achievements, skills, and other verified learning evidence in a portable digital record. |
| CMS | Content Management System: Software used to create, organize, publish, govern, and update digital content, including institutional websites and learning-resource libraries. |
| COPPA | Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act: A U.S. law regulating the online collection and use of personal information from children under 13, making consent, notices, data minimization, and vendor practices central product requirements. |
| CoSN | Consortium for School Networking: A professional association serving education technology leaders through guidance, professional development, cybersecurity resources, and technology leadership frameworks. |
| CPRA | California Privacy Rights Act: A California law that amended and expanded state privacy requirements, including consumer rights, sensitive-information protections, and regulatory enforcement affecting covered providers. |
| CSCL | Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: A field and design approach focused on how digital environments facilitate group learning, shared problem-solving, discussion, and knowledge construction. |
| CTDL | Credential Transparency Description Language: An open schema for describing credentials, skills, assessments, organizations, and learning opportunities so they can be discovered, compared, and connected across systems. |
| CTT | Classical Test Theory: A psychometric framework that treats an observed score as the combination of a true score and measurement error, informing reliability and test-quality analysis. |
| D | |
| DAISY | Digital Accessible Information System: An accessible digital publishing standard that synchronizes text, audio, and navigation to support readers with visual, print, or learning disabilities. |
| DID | Decentralized Identifier: A globally unique identifier designed for verifiable, decentralized digital identity, with applications in learner-controlled credentials and portable achievement records. |
| DIF | Differential Item Functioning: A statistical condition in which an assessment item performs differently for comparable learners from different groups, making its analysis important for fairness and validity. |
| DKT | Deep Knowledge Tracing: A neural-network approach that predicts learner knowledge from sequences of interactions, supporting adaptive practice and personalized recommendations. |
| DLE | Digital Learning Environment: The integrated collection of platforms, applications, content, data, and services through which an organization delivers and supports digital learning. |
| DPA | Data Privacy Agreement: A contract defining how an education technology provider may collect, use, secure, retain, disclose, and delete learner or institutional data. |
| DPA | Data Processing Agreement: A contract allocating privacy and security obligations between a data controller and processor, commonly required for services subject to European data-protection law. |
| DPIA | Data Protection Impact Assessment: A structured evaluation of privacy risks associated with high-risk processing, used to document necessity, proportionality, safeguards, and residual risk before deployment. |
| DRM | Digital Rights Management: Technologies and controls that restrict access to, copying of, or redistribution of digital content, affecting licensing and user access to e-books, courses, and media. |
| E | |
| EAA | European Accessibility Act: European Union legislation establishing accessibility requirements for specified products and services, including relevant digital and e-commerce experiences offered to consumers. |
| ECD | Evidence-Centered Design: An assessment-design framework that links claims about learner competence to observable evidence and the tasks needed to elicit that evidence. |
| EDM | Educational Data Mining: The application of statistical, machine-learning, and computational methods to educational data to identify patterns, model learning, and improve products or interventions. |
| EPUB | Electronic Publication: An open standard for reflowable digital publications that supports structured text, multimedia, metadata, and accessibility features in e-books and learning materials. |
| F | |
| FERPA | Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: A U.S. law protecting the privacy of education records and governing when institutions may disclose personally identifiable information to technology providers and other parties. |
| FTC | Federal Trade Commission: The U.S. agency responsible for enforcing federal consumer-protection and competition laws, including rules and enforcement actions involving children’s privacy and technology-provider data practices. |
| G | |
| GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation: The European Union’s principal data-protection regulation, establishing requirements for lawful processing, transparency, individual rights, security, contracts, and international data transfers. |
| GenAI | Generative Artificial Intelligence: Models that generate text, images, audio, software code, or other content, enabling tutoring and content-creation applications while raising accuracy, copyright, privacy, and academic-integrity considerations. |
| H | |
| H5P | HTML5 Package: An open framework and content format for creating reusable interactive videos, presentations, quizzes, and other browser-based learning activities. |
| I | |
| IAM | Identity and Access Management: The policies and technologies used to create identities, authenticate users, assign permissions, and manage account lifecycles across connected education systems. |
| ICT | Information and Communication Technology: A broad term covering computing, networking, communications, devices, and digital services used to support instruction and institutional operations. |
| IdP | Identity Provider: A trusted system that authenticates users and supplies identity information to connected applications, supporting centralized access and single sign-on. |
| IEEE LTSC | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Learning Technology Standards Committee: A standards committee responsible for technical standards and recommended practices related to learning technologies, including learning-object metadata. |
| IRT | Item Response Theory: A family of psychometric models relating learner ability to item characteristics, widely used in assessment calibration, adaptive testing, and score interpretation. |
| ISTE | International Society for Technology in Education: A professional organization that publishes technology-use standards, convenes practitioners, and provides resources for educators and education technology leaders. |
| ITS | Intelligent Tutoring System: Software that models learner knowledge and delivers individualized instruction, hints, feedback, or practice without requiring continuous human tutoring. |
| K | |
| KC | Knowledge Component: A skill, concept, principle, or unit of knowledge required to perform a learning task, used in cognitive models, assessment design, and adaptive systems. |
| KT | Knowledge Tracing: The process of estimating changes in learner mastery over time from observed interactions, enabling personalization and predictions of future performance. |
| L | |
| LA | Learning Analytics: The measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of learner and learning-context data to understand participation, improve experiences, and inform interventions. |
| LCMS | Learning Content Management System: Software for creating, managing, assembling, reusing, and publishing modular learning content, often separately from learner enrollment and course administration. |
| LIS | Learning Information Services: A 1EdTech interoperability specification for exchanging information about people, groups, courses, memberships, and outcomes among educational systems. |
| LLM | Large Language Model: A machine-learning model trained on large text collections to understand and generate language, powering conversational tutors, feedback tools, search, summarization, and content development. |
| LMS | Learning Management System: A platform used to deliver courses, enroll learners, distribute content, manage assignments, track progress, and report learning activity and results. |
| LO | Learning Object: A discrete, reusable digital resource designed to support a specific learning objective, such as a lesson, simulation, video, or assessment activity. |
| LOM | Learning Object Metadata: An IEEE metadata standard for describing learning resources through fields such as title, format, educational characteristics, rights, and technical requirements. |
| LOR | Learning Object Repository: A searchable system for storing, organizing, governing, and sharing reusable digital learning resources and their metadata. |
| LRMI | Learning Resource Metadata Initiative: A metadata framework for describing educational resources by characteristics such as learning objectives, educational level, audience, and alignment to standards. |
| LRS | Learning Record Store: A system that receives, stores, and provides access to structured learning-experience statements generated through the Experience API. |
| LTI | Learning Tools Interoperability: A 1EdTech standard that enables secure launches, identity exchange, role sharing, and grade return between learning platforms and external tools. |
| LXP | Learning Experience Platform: A learner-centered platform that aggregates, recommends, organizes, and tracks learning resources from multiple sources, often emphasizing discovery and personalization. |
| M | |
| MathML | Mathematical Markup Language: A web standard for representing mathematical notation and meaning in a machine-readable form, supporting accessible rendering and assistive-technology interpretation. |
| MDM | Mobile Device Management: Software for configuring, securing, monitoring, updating, and remotely supporting institution-managed tablets, laptops, and phones. |
| MFA | Multi-Factor Authentication: An account-security method requiring two or more independent forms of verification, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to learner and institutional data. |
| ML | Machine Learning: Computational methods that learn patterns from data to make predictions or decisions, supporting personalization, recommendation, scoring, classification, and learner-risk models. |
| MOOC | Massive Open Online Course: An online course designed for large-scale participation and broad access, typically combining digital content, assessments, discussion, and automated course administration. |
| MR | Mixed Reality: Technology that blends physical and digital environments so users can interact with virtual objects situated within real-world spaces. |
| N | |
| NGDLE | Next Generation Digital Learning Environment: A concept for an interoperable, component-based learning ecosystem that combines multiple tools rather than relying on a single monolithic platform. |
| NLG | Natural Language Generation: Technology that produces human-readable language from data or model outputs, enabling automated explanations, feedback, summaries, and learning content. |
| NLP | Natural Language Processing: Computational techniques for analyzing, understanding, and generating human language, used in tutoring, writing support, search, assessment, translation, and conversational interfaces. |
| NRPS | Names and Role Provisioning Services: A Learning Tools Interoperability service that allows an authorized external tool to retrieve course membership and role information from a learning platform. |
| O | |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition: Technology that converts images of printed or handwritten text into machine-readable text, supporting digitization, search, accessibility, and content extraction. |
| OER | Open Educational Resources: Teaching, learning, and research materials released under open licenses that permit access, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution under specified conditions. |
| OIDC | OpenID Connect: An identity layer used to authenticate users and communicate identity claims securely between platforms and applications. |
| P | |
| PENS | Package Exchange Notification Services: A specification for transferring packaged learning content from authoring or publishing tools to learning management systems and notifying recipients of the transfer. |
| PII | Personally Identifiable Information: Information that identifies or can reasonably be linked to an individual, requiring appropriate collection limits, access controls, contractual safeguards, retention rules, and breach procedures. |
| PLE | Personal Learning Environment: A learner-directed collection of applications, resources, communities, and services used to organize and manage learning across formal and informal contexts. |
| PPRA | Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment: A U.S. law governing certain student surveys, evaluations, and collection of sensitive information, with implications for consent, notice, and product data practices. |
| Q | |
| QTI | Question and Test Interoperability: A 1EdTech standard for exchanging assessment items, tests, response processing, results, and related metadata among compatible platforms. |
| R | |
| RAG | Retrieval-Augmented Generation: An artificial-intelligence architecture that retrieves relevant source material before generating a response, improving grounding for tutors, support tools, and content assistants. |
| RBAC | Role-Based Access Control: A security approach that assigns permissions according to roles such as learner, instructor, administrator, or guardian rather than configuring every user individually. |
| RLO | Reusable Learning Object: A self-contained digital learning resource designed for use across multiple courses, audiences, or delivery contexts. |
| RSD | Rich Skill Descriptor: A structured, machine-readable description of a skill that supports linking, comparison, discovery, and alignment across credentials, curricula, assessments, and employment data. |
| S | |
| SAML | Security Assertion Markup Language: An XML-based standard for exchanging authentication and authorization information, widely used to provide single sign-on between institutions and learning applications. |
| SAMR | Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition: A framework for discussing how technology changes a learning task, ranging from direct replacement to the creation of previously impractical activities. |
| SCIM | System for Cross-domain Identity Management: An open standard for automating user provisioning, updates, group assignments, and account deactivation across connected cloud applications. |
| SCORM | Sharable Content Object Reference Model: A collection of technical standards that allows packaged e-learning content to launch in compatible learning management systems and communicate status, scores, and completion data. |
| SDPC | Student Data Privacy Consortium: A collaborative community that develops resources and standardized agreements to help education agencies and vendors manage student-data privacy obligations. |
| SETDA | State Educational Technology Directors Association: A U.S. membership association representing state education technology leaders and producing guidance on digital learning, infrastructure, interoperability, cybersecurity, and policy. |
| SIF | Schools Interoperability Framework: A data standard and architecture for exchanging information among school applications, including student, enrollment, scheduling, assessment, and operational data. |
| SIIA | Software & Information Industry Association: A trade association representing software and digital-content companies, including providers serving education and learning markets. |
| SIS | Student Information System: A core institutional platform for managing student records, enrollment, schedules, attendance, grades, demographics, and related administrative data. |
| SOC 2 | System and Organization Controls 2: An independent assurance-reporting framework evaluating controls related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy, frequently requested during vendor reviews. |
| SOPIPA | Student Online Personal Information Protection Act: A California law restricting how operators of services designed and marketed for school purposes may use, disclose, sell, secure, and retain student information. |
| SPOC | Small Private Online Course: An online course limited to a defined participant group, combining scalable digital delivery with controlled enrollment and often greater instructor interaction. |
| SSO | Single Sign-On: An authentication arrangement that lets users access multiple connected applications through one institutional login, reducing password burden and simplifying account management. |
| STT | Speech-to-Text: Technology that transcribes spoken language into written text, supporting captions, dictation, oral assessment, note-taking, and accessible participation. |
| T | |
| TEL | Technology-Enhanced Learning: The purposeful use of digital technologies to improve access, interaction, personalization, assessment, collaboration, or other aspects of learning. |
| TPACK | Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A framework describing the integrated knowledge educators need to align technology choices with subject matter and appropriate teaching methods. |
| TTS | Text-to-Speech: Technology that converts digital text into synthesized speech, supporting accessibility, literacy development, language learning, and multimodal content delivery. |
| U | |
| UDL | Universal Design for Learning: A framework for designing flexible learning experiences that provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action or expression. |
| V | |
| VC | Verifiable Credential: A cryptographically secured digital claim whose issuer and integrity can be verified, supporting portable academic records, certificates, badges, and skill evidence. |
| VLE | Virtual Learning Environment: A digital platform or ecosystem for delivering content, communication, assignments, assessments, and course administration, particularly common terminology outside North America. |
| VPAT | Voluntary Product Accessibility Template: A standardized template vendors use to document how a product conforms to specified accessibility criteria, supporting institutional evaluation and procurement. |
| VR | Virtual Reality: Technology that immerses users in a computer-generated environment, enabling simulations, virtual laboratories, skills practice, and experiential learning. |
| W | |
| WCAG | Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: Internationally recognized recommendations for making web content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for users with disabilities. |
| X | |
| xAPI | Experience API: A specification for recording learning and performance experiences as structured statements that can be transmitted to and stored in a learning record store. |
| XR | Extended Reality: An umbrella term covering augmented, virtual, and mixed-reality technologies used for immersive simulations, visualization, remote collaboration, and experiential learning. |