Five Common eLearning Industry Acronyms (And What They Mean)

The eLearning industry is full of acronyms. In fact, the word eLearning itself is an abbreviation for electronic learning! Interested in learning the common industry jargon? If you’re at all involved in customer training or customer eLearning experiences, learning these abbreviations will be helpful. Here is our handy guide to the top five eLearning industry acronyms.

1. LMS (Learning Management System)

A learning management system is a software system that is used by training organizations to deliver and track learning activities, with an emphasis on eLearning.

There are two common types of LMS systems: Installed and SaaS.

• Installed LMS systems require hosting on an organization’s own server.
• Saas, or Software as a Service, LMS systems are hosted in the cloud.

The features that an LMS includes can differ greatly. Depending on the platform or a company’s specific training needs, an LMS might include features like:

• Course authoring tools
• Course delivery
• Course catalog
• Assignments and gradebooks
• Discussion forums
• Analytics
• Student registration
• E-commerce
• Data integrations

Want to learn more about the LMS meaning and what a learning management system is? We answer the question ”What is an LMS?” in this article.

→ Take a tour of Skilljar LMS now

2. ILT (Instructor-Led Training)

ILT refers to courses facilitated by an instructor as opposed to self-paced, on-demand courses. ILT is an example of synchronous learning, where learning occurs in real time.

However, ILT doesn’t have to be in person — ILT eLearning is relatively common too. In fact, ILT in education can be further subdivided into several categories:

• Face to face training (F2F) delivered in a physical location like a classroom.
• Virtual live training (VLT) delivered via webinar software or specially built virtual environments.
• Private courses delivered for a private audience, often customized.
• Public courses with open enrollment where any member of the public can sign up.

Learn more about the meaning of ILT and the benefits of instructor-led training.

3. CBT or WBT (Computer-Based Training or Web-Based Training)

The CBT or WBT acronym refers to self-paced, on-demand courses, as opposed to instructor-led learning. CBT or WBT is often provided in an asynchronous learning format in which learners are not reliant upon real-time facilitation or collaboration.

The terms CBT and WBT are used fairly interchangeably. They are becoming increasingly outdated, however, as historically CBT has also referred to courses delivered via CD-ROM.

This article shares more on the meaning of WBT vs. CBT vs. eLearning.

4. ISD (Instructional Systems Design)

ISD is the practice of designing effective training, independent of delivery format. The ISD process usually follows a process of analyzing learning needs and systematic curriculum development to achieve training goals around effectiveness and engagement.

Instructional designers may work closely with subject matter experts and/or content developers to ultimately produce the assets needed for the training course.

5. SCORM (Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model)

SCORM is an eLearning standard originally developed by the Department of Defense (yes really!). It defines content format specifications. It is used by course authoring tools, such as Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate, to ensure that the resulting output can be delivered in different LMS systems. SCORM content is prevalent in legacy content and traditional LMS scenarios.

Learn more about the SCORM acronym and creating training content with SCORM or built-in course authoring tools.