Glossary
2004 Graduation Program - This is the 2004 Graduation Program, which was introduced for students entering Grade 10 in 2004 or later. It is required for students wishing to receive a BC School Certificate of Graduation or Dogwood Diploma. This link will also provide information on the 1995 Graduation Program.
Aboriginal Student - A student who has self-identified as being of Aboriginal ancestry.
Academic Counselling - Counselling provided by a school, district or professional, related to the student's educational program. Examples include assisting a student in selecting courses required to graduate, or providing information so that students can meet the entrance requirements for a post-secondary institution.
Administrator - Typically a principal or vice-principal of a school.
Adult Student - A student 20 years of age or older as of June 30 at the end of the school year.
Assessment - The systematic gathering of information about what students know, are able to do, and are working toward. Assessments include: student self-assessments, teacher reviews of performance, portfolio assessments, etcetera. Assessment tools may include observation, daily practice assignments, quizzes, samples of student work, pencil-and-paper tests, holistic rating scales, projects, and oral and written reports. Some assessment may be done using a computer.
BC College of Teachers - The body responsible for certifying teachers in the province of British Columbia. http://www.bcct.ca
BC Home Learners’ Association - A registered non-profit society that provides parents with support on homeschooling issues. http://www.bchla.bc.ca
BC School Trustees Association - A group that represents elected school board members. http://www.bcsta.org/
BCcampus – Established in 2002 to provide British Columbia students with a single access point to online post-secondary programs and services. http://www.bccampus.ca
BCCPAC (BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils) - The provincial organization that represents district and school Parent Advisory Councils (PACs). BCCPAC is registered under the Society Act of BC. http://www.bccpac.bc.ca/.
BCEd Online – A K-12 umbrella organization that builds strong partnerships related to distributed learning. BCEd Online currently helps create the services being offered by the BC Virtual School Society. http://www.bcedonline.com/
BCTF (BC Teachers Federation) – The provincial union representing BC Teachers. http://www.bctf.ca/
Blended Learning – When a student attends both a classroom in a school and participates in distributed learning.
CMEC (Council of Ministers of Education, Canada) – National organization that represents provincial ministers of education. Allows ministers of education to consult and cooperate with national education organizations, each other and the federal government. CMEC also represents the educational interests of Canada internationally.http://cmec.ca/
Competencies - The skills demonstrated to meet the requirements of a specific task (ie: reading and writing).
Continuous Entry - An educational program where students can enroll throughout the calendar year.
Correspondence - A term used to describe distributed learning in its early days when school work was mailed between the student and the school.
Counsellor - An educational professional whose primary role is to assist students in their educational planning and support them while enrolled at school.
Credits - Value given to a course or other educational work used toward meeting the requirements of graduation.
Distance Learning - Learning that takes place when a student does not attend a classroom in a school. This term has been replaced by distributed learning.
Distributed Learning - Takes place when a student is primarily at a distance from the teacher, whether the student is at home or connecting from another learning facility.
DL – Distributed learning.
Dogwood - The British Columbia Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded upon successful completion of the provincial graduation requirements.
DPAC – (District Parent Advisory Council)- An organization of all PACs within a school district. Through elected officers, the council may advise the district board and staff on any matters relating to the district.
e-Learning - A term often used to describe an educational program that uses technology such as computers or the Internet. This term is commonly used by the software industry.
ESL - English as a Second Language
ERAC (Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium) - Formed in 2003, a partnership of BC school districts to generate financial savings on the evaluation and aggregated purchase of software, video and other learning resources. http://www.bcerac.ca/
Foundation Skills - A term used in British Columbia to apply to areas of a student’s educational program that are critical to future success. The Graduation Program has a requirement for students to complete a certain number of foundation skills courses; the province also tests these skills in the Foundation Skills Assessment.
Graduation - A Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded upon successful completion of the provincial graduation requirements.
Homeschooling – Please see Ministry of Education website.
Immersion - Where a student receives instruction in a language other than the language commonly used in their home.
Independent Distributed Learning Schools – An independent school that offers an educational program that takes place when a student is primarily at a distance from the teacher, whether the student is at home or connecting from another learning facility. Some of the independent schools that offer distributed learning courses are faith-based. For more information, click here.
Independent School - A person or organization outside the public school system providing an educational program to 10 or more school-age students.
Ministry of Advanced Education - The Ministry responsible for post-secondary education and trades training in British Columbia.
Montessori Program - A term used for pre-Kindergarten and elementary education that follows an educational style linked to child development models. Decision to offer this type of school is made by school districts in consultation with parents and the community.
Online Learning - A generic term that is used to refer to education that uses Internet-based tools for instruction. Some or all components of distributed learning utilize online learning.
PAC – (Parent Advisory Council) - Under the School Act, parents may establish an advisory council for the school their child attends. Through elected officers, the council may advise the board, principal, and staff on any matters relating to the school.
PASBC - (Post-Secondary Application Service of British Columbia) - A centralized, online application service open to anyone wishing to apply for admission to BC post-secondary institutions (university, college, university college or institute). http://www.pas.bc.ca
Peer - Typically refers to people of a similar group. In education, a student's peers will be other students. Peer collaboration is when students work together on a project or assignment. Peer collaboration can be done using computers and the Internet.
Permanent Record - The record of a student's progress through the educational system including all schools attended and grades and courses completed.
Personal Education Number (PEN) - This is a nine digit number assigned to each student as they enter the BC education system. This number follows you through your K-12 and post secondary education.
Provincial Exams - Assessment conducted by the Ministry of Education for selected courses in grades 10, 11 and 12.
Registered - A term used for a child that is homeschooled by their parents. A student taking distributed learning is not necessarily being homeschooled. Should parents choose to homeschool their children, they must register their child with a School Board or Independent School.
Residency - The location that a student is deemed to live for the purpose of funding.
Resource - Materials such as text books, web content, and videos used by students in their educational program. Educational resource materials are either provincially or locally approved by school boards. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp_resources/lr/lrbc.pdf
Virtual School - The Virtual School does not have a building or location. It is an alliance of public distributed learning (DL) schools.
Virtual School Society (VSS) - An independent, non-profit entity founded in 2006. Its purpose is to enhance the use of distributed learning in British Columbia.
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