LabSpace

Software used to read documents in etext .pdf format. This allows edits with useful functions such as bookmarking and highlighting.

Each unit in OpenLearn is currently allocated one of four levels – Introductory Level, Intermediate Level, Advanced Level and Masters Level– indicated in the summary description of each unit in the lists of Units by Topic. These refer to the degree of sophistication and knowledge normally expected of someone who can successfully study and meet all the intended learning outcomes. For Advanced Level units you need to have previous educational experience at higher education level.

There is a badging system in the LabSpace which indicates the provenance of the different units. In particular it distinguishes between the following types of units using icons and in some cases banner text:‘Current Open University resource’; ‘Archived Open University resource’; ‘User contribution – Draft’ ; ‘User contribution’ and ‘Project contribution’. ‘Archived Open University resource’ is taken from older Open University courses (or other Open University educational materials) which are no longer being taught. This means that the material is unlikely to be academically current but is still pedagogically sound as it will originally have still been through a quality assurance process. It is usually the case that thirty-party materials, with copyrights not owned by the University, has been removed from this kind of OpenLearn material.

Cohere is a Knowledge Mapping tool for OpenLearn. Working inside your web browser, it enables you to:

• record ideas, and add relevant websites.

• make meaningful connections between ideas.

• visualize the emerging network of your ideas, and the world's, in different ways.

• import social bookmark feeds from tools like del.icio.us or OpenLearn, ready for connecting.

• share maps as weblinks, or embed them in other websites.

is the name of the software tool in the LabSpace on OpenLearn that allows you to manage, share, analyse and track information and ideas, and the connections between them.

The units on OpenLearn are made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons licence. This means that you are free to copy, distribute, display and use these resources and to make derivative material but you must acknowledge the original source of material. You cannot use the resources for commercial purposes and if you alter, transform or build upon them, the resulting work must be distributed only under a licence identical to this one.

A ‘Current Open University resource’ is usually taken from existing Open University courses or other quality-assured educational materials which the University teaches or provides for its students. The resource is deemed academically and pedagogically sound as it has been through our normal quality assurance procedures.

A group of university staff who work together to develop and maintain a range of courses and research in a particular subject area. Some of these groups are called schools.

This is an application in the LabSpace on OpenLearn that allows virtual meetings to happen online via video-conference.

Flash technology has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages. Many OpenLearn units contain Flash objects to help you learn through interacting with the materials. There are many software products, systems, and devices which are able to create or display Flash. If your internet browser is not already equipped to play Flash content, free Flash players are available to download online.