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Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world
Digital skills: succeeding in a digital world

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Glossary

Browser
Short for web browser, a program used to navigate the internet by connecting to a web server, allowing the user to locate, access and display web content.
Facebook
A popular free social networking website, used by millions of people around the world.
Search engine
A programme that enables users to find information on the internet.
Selfie
A self-portrait in the format of a digital photograph, most commonly taken with a camera or mobile phone held at arm’s length. Posting selfies is popular among users of social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram.
Social media
The blanket term for online sites and applications which allow a large number of users to interact and share information digitally, for example social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter or media sharing sites such as YouTube.
Social networking
In this context, the use of internet-based social media sites and applications to connect with friends, family, colleague and other personal contacts.
Tablet
Tablets are mobile computing devices which are operated by a touchscreen. For example, iPads and Microsoft Surface.
YouTube
A free video sharing site where anybody can watch online videos, and also upload videos they have created themselves.
Information age
A time when large amounts of information are widely available to many people, largely through computer technology.
Plagiarism
Using the work of other people to gain some form of benefit, without formally acknowledging that the work came from someone else.
Podcast
A digital audio recording made available on the internet, usually as part of a series and released at regular intervals. Podcasts can be listened to online or downloaded to a computer or portable media player.
Wikipedia
A free encyclopaedia, written collaboratively by the people who use it, using a website called a wiki which can be easily edited by anyone.
Citizen science
A term describing scientific research carried out by members of the general public, often under the supervision of scientists or organisations. It is often used for basic analysis of vast sets of data provided online for people to work through on behalf of scientific researchers, facilitated by ‘Citizen Science’ websites. An example of Crowdsourcing.
Copyright
The legal provision which protects the rightful creator of an original work or concept from plagiarism and intellectual theft by others.
Creative commons
An organisation whose philosophy and work are focused on promoting a variety of copyright licences which allow creators to grant more generous and flexible levels of usage of their work by others.
Crowdsourcing
A term that refers to the largely online practice of asking for input from a large number of people on a specific project. Citizen science is an example of crowdsourcing.
Data
Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis. In an online context, data refers to information stored and transmitted electronically for others to see.
Digital citizenship
A person who develops the skills and knowledge to effectively use the internet and other digital technology, especially in order to participate responsibly in social and civic activities. (Dictionary.com, 2015)
Digital footprint
The trail or traces that people leave online.
Digital identity
How a person presents themselves online.
Emoticons and emoji
A method of conveying emotional tone and intention, either online or in text messages, using characters or small images. It began by using simple punctuation, e.g. the classic ‘smiley’ :-) but has evolved to include many different formats of small pictures, commonly called emoji.
Flickr
A social media site for sharing photographs and videos – it was one of the biggest sources of photography on the internet in the 2000s. Some content can be downloaded by anyone under Creative Commons copyright licences.
LinkedIn
A social networking site designed specifically for the business community, which enables registered members to connect and create networks with others they know and trust professionally.
Online campaigns
Using electronic communication technologies such as social media to engage in activism, advocacy, marketing, and online petitions, especially by citizen movements. An example of an online campaigning site is change.org.
Right to be forgotten
The right to have information about you on the web removed from search engines so that it no longer comes up in search results.
Search engine
A programme that enables users to find information on the internet.
Social media
The blanket term for online sites and applications which allow a large number of users to interact and share information digitally, for example social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter or media sharing sites such as YouTube.
YouTube
A free video sharing site where anybody can watch online videos, and also upload videos they have created themselves.
Acknowledgement
When you credit someone else’s work by stating their name, the title of the piece of work, the date of its publication and its source.
Antivirus software
Software designed to protect computing devices from virus attacks.
Bibliography
A list of other people’s work that may have influenced your own work, perhaps an essay as a student, but which you haven’t directly quoted from or provided a summary of. The list provides the title of each piece of work, the date of their publication, source and author’s name.
Cloud storage
A public or semi-public space online where data can be stored and accessed from anywhere.
Copyright
The legal provision which protects the rightful creator of an original work or concept from plagiarism and intellectual theft by others.
Copyright holder
The person or organisation who usually created the piece of work and has the right to control its reuse or reproduction.
Copyright user
Someone who uses someone else’s work.
Creative Commons
An organisation whose philosophy and work are focused on promoting a variety of copyright licences which allow creators to grant more generous and flexible levels of usage of their work by others.
Credit
When using someone else’s work and you make it clear that it is not your own work.
Cybercrime
Criminal activities carried out computers and a network like the internet. This includes computer-related crime, such as hacking, and traditional crimes conducted through the internet, for example, hate crimes or identity theft.
Digital well-being
Ensuring that digital technologies do not impact negatively on safety, relationships or mental and physical health.
Dropbox
A personal cloud storage service often used for file sharing and collaboration.
Fair dealing
Also knowing as fair use. Using someone else's copyright material without acquiring permission from the rights holders, under one of the following exempt conditions: criticism, news reporting, personal research or educational purposes, parody. The term ‘fair use’ is more used in the US, and ‘fair dealing’ in the UK.
Firewall
A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to or from a private network such as your computer.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
This is an EU policy which sets rules for businesses and individuals who collect and process information so as to protect privacy and personal data.
Hacking
When someone gains unauthorised access to data in a system or computer.
Malware
Software that is specifically designed to disrupt or damage a computer system.
Plagiarism
Copying or using someone else’s material without crediting them.
Reference list
A list of other people’s work that you have quoted from or referred to in a summary, perhaps in an essay as a student. The list provides the title of each piece of work, the date of their publication, source and author’s name.
Remix
Take existing online material and rework it for your own purposes.
Rightsholder
The person or organisation who own the legal rights of a piece of work.
Synchronise
or sync – link all your computers and mobile devices together so that you can easily access your information from anywhere.
Social media
the blanket term for online sites and applications which allow a large number of users to interact and share information digitally, for example social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter or media sharing sites such as YouTube.
Two-factor authentication
describes gaining access to an online account using two pieces of information such as a password and a code sent to your mobile phone for example.
Virus
A computer programme that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect such as corrupting the system of destroying data.
The 5 Ds
A system for dealing with information overload. The 5 Ds stand for: Discard, Deal with it, Determine future action, Direct / Distribute it, Deposit it (i.e. file it).
Apps
Abbreviation of ‘applications’, usually meaning programs that run on a computer or mobile device.
Browser
Short for web browser, a program used to navigate the internet by connecting to a web server, allowing the user to locate, access and display web content.
CAN
A framework developed by the Open University for evaluating information. The letters CAN stand for Credibility, Agenda, Need.
Cortana
A virtual intelligent personal assistant created by Microsoft for Windows devices. Cortana can be set up to work on your PC (personal computer) and phone, enabling you to keep track of information and events wherever you are.
Data
Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis. In an online context, data refers to information stored and transmitted electronically for others to see.
DuckDuckGo
A search engine that does not track your online activity and therefore protects your privacy.
Filtering
Dealing with large amounts of search results by using the options in a search engine and / or reading quickly through to focus on the most relevant.
Information overload
Difficulty or stress caused to someone by the presence of too much information.
Personal assistant
In the context of life online, a personal assistant is a kind of virtual secretary who will do tasks for you such as scheduling appointments, organising travel arrangements, or just waking you up in the morning.
PROMPT
A framework developed by the Open University for evaluating information. The letter PROMPT stand for Presentation, Relevance, Objectivity, Method, Provenance and Timeliness.
Scanning
A technique to help you read large amounts of text online to decide whether you should read further.
Search engine
A programme that enables users to find information on the internet.
Search operators
Punctuation or characters that you can use in a search engine query to narrow or widen the focus of your search.
Siri
A built-in ‘personal assistant’ computer programme on Apple devices (iPhones, iPads and iPods) that enables users to speak voice commands in order to operate the mobile device and its apps.
Skimming
A technique for reading online text quickly in order to get an overview.
Viral
To ‘go viral’ describes the way a piece of online content can quickly be seen and shared across the world by a large number of people via the internet.
Wolfram Alpha
A specialist search engine for finding data.
App
Abbreviation of ‘application’, usually meaning programs that run on a computer or mobile device.
Cloud storage
A public or semi-public space online where data can be stored and accessed from anywhere.
Remix
Take existing online material and rework it for your own purposes.
Sync
Or synchronise - link all your computers and mobile devices together so that you can easily access your information from anywhere
Tags
Where web pages, blogs and other online resources can be labelled with names that allow users to easily search for similar or related content.
Taskscape
A term invented for this course, to describe the sorts of everyday tasks that make up our lives, ranging from the daily and the mundane to the less frequent but still important things we need to get done.
Tool
A digital programme or app that enables you to carry out a particular function.
Open Educational Resource (OER)
A resource (such as a document, tool or video) which is made freely available via the internet for educational use.
Acknowledgement
When you credit someone else’s work by stating their name, the title of the piece of work, the date of its publication and its source.
Plagiarism
Using the work of other people to gain some form of benefit, without formally acknowledging that the work came from someone else.
Referencing
Giving credit to other people’s work that you have quoted from or referred to. The reference list provides the title of each piece of work, the date of their publication, source and author’s name.