Academy Modules: Modules developed for students in the three content areas are referred to as Academy modules. The instructor's modules are created for orientation purposes and are not intended for professional development. Rather, they are designed to convey information about Academy modules and how they can be integrated into teacher education programs.

Action plan: Generated by a student's teachers and other relevant parties, this document organizes the process of addressing student need by identifying who is going to do what and by when.

Active learning: The process in which an individual selects what is meaningful within an array of stimuli.

Alternative keyboards: Data-entry devices which are designed to accommodate the special needs of students with physical disabilities.

Assistive technology (AT): Equipment that improves the ability of people with disabilities to function within their environment.

Audiogram: A graph showing an individual's hearing sensitivity as measured by an audiometer.

Basic sciences: Basic science typically serves as a synonym for the hard sciences or natural sciences and refers to fields of study such as physics, chemistry, and biology. These terms contrast social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and economics.

Bohr's quadrant: Stokes (1997) proposed a figural model of scientific research goals with four quadrants, one of which represented basic research exemplified by the work of scientist Niels Bohr who created the theoretical model of atomic structure.

Cognitive organizers: also called "Advanced organizers" are used in teaching to bridge between new learning material and existing related ideas. They include instructional activities such as brainstorming, mind-mapping, and predicting activities.

Constructivist: An individual who aligns with a theory of learning based on the premise that knowledge is constructed by the knower. Learners are seen as actively participating in seeking meaning and arriving at conclusions through a cyclical process of discovery.

Content Areas: OSEP has specified three content areas within the teacher education curriculum for the Academy to focus on. The content areas include reading, positive behavioral supports and technology in education. These are the content areas from which research-based interventions will be selected and transformed into instructional modules.

Digital inclusion: The intentional effort to close the gap between highest users and the lowest users, or to reduce the uneven uses, of emerging computer technology within areas such as gender, income, ethnic and racial origins, and disability status.

Directed Questions: A series of questions about lesson content has been included as a feature in each module. A question is presented. Once students enter their response they are able to access exemplary answers. This allows them to compare their response to responses prepared by the Academy staff.

Edison's quadrant: Stokes (1997) proposed a figural model of scientific research goals with four quadrants, one of which represented applied research exemplified by the work of Thomas Edison who created commercially profitable electric lighting and other inventions.

Educating Marissa: This web site features a web-based case study enabling preservice and inservice teachers to explore (through text, video clips, graphics, and discussion features) issues related to the education of a deaf student.

Hadley the Hippo: Software program designed to combine word processing skills with reading instruction. Building upon the story of Hadley the Hippo, the program assists preservice teachers in becoming familiar with and integrating word processing into their writing classrooms.

Hypermedia technologies: Technology applications that allow users to access information in a nonlinear, self-tailored manner by providing instant links (hyperlinks) between different sources of information.

IEP: The acronym stands for an Individualized Education Plan required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) for exceptional children and youth. The plan must include a statement of present educational performance, instructional goals, educational services to be provided, and criteria and procedures for determining that the instructional objectives are being met.

Listserv: E-mail based communication forum, usually centered on a particular issue or interest, to which individuals may subscribe. When a message is sent to the list, the software sends it along to each of the subscribers on the list. Access to post messages on the list is controlled by the list owner.

Menu: There are menus for each level and lesson in an Academy module. Links to the level menus appear in the center of the menubar. Access any level menu by clicking the level titles in the center of the menubar. Click the up arrow (top right) to access the menu for the current level or to go to the next higher menu level. For example, if you are viewing a page in a lesson the up arrow takes you to the current Lesson menu then to the menu for all Lessons then to the Table of Contents (ToC) for the entire module.

Mobility aids: Devices and equipment that enables individuals with physical disabilities to gain better access to their environment.

Navigation: Navigation refers to the technical process of moving from one feature to another in an online module. The navigation system for Academy modules allows students to follow a critical path, but also to exercise flexibility when they wish to vary from the normal path of progressing through a module.

OERI: This acronym stands for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, a federal governmental agency administratively housed within the U.S. Department of Education (USDE).

Pasteur's quadrant: Stokes (1997) proposed a figural model of scientific research goals with four quadrants, one of which represented use-inspired basic research exemplified by the work of scientist Louis Pasteur who simultaneously searched for underlying understandings in the field of microbiology (basic research) and for various uses of the scientific concept fermentation (applied research).

Pre-existing knowledge: The composite of prior knowledge, skills, beliefs, and concepts that each learner brings to any new situation that significantly influences what the individual notices about the environment and how the learner organizes and interprets it.

RDDE: - The RDDE model refers to the way federally funded research results historically have been disseminated throughout the field of education by both the current Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in the U.S. Department of Education, and even its predecessor, the National Institute of Education.

Switches: Devices that function in a fashion similar to a single button of a computer keyboard or mouse. Switches are often used by individuals who have severe motor difficulties. The users will use any body muscle (head, hand, toe, eye, breath, etc.) that they can control to operate the switch and, thereby, the computer, communication, or environmental control device.

Table of Contents: Each module includes a general Table of Contents (ToC) covering the entire module. Click "ToC" in the top right of the menubar to access the Table of Contents

TopClass: Course management software which enables teachers to create online instructional modules by generating web pages from data they enter into the program's templates.

Visual aids: Devices designed to assist individuals with visual impairments, such as screen readers, large-type books, taped books, and Braillers.

Web Course in a Box: Course management software which enables teachers to create online instructional modules by generating web pages from data they enter into the program's templates.

WebCT: Course management software which enables teachers to create online instructional modules by generating web pages from data they enter into the program's templates.