Glossary of Terms

This glossary provides ISO 11179-compliant definitions for key terms used in MicroSim search and similarity systems. Each definition is precise, concise, distinct, non-circular, and free of business rules.

3D Model

A three-dimensional digital representation of an object or scene that can be viewed from multiple angles.

3D models in MicroSims allow students to explore spatial relationships and structures that cannot be adequately represented in two dimensions.

Example: A 3D model of a molecule allows chemistry students to rotate and examine bond angles from any perspective.

A/B Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a resource to determine which performs better based on measured outcomes.

Example: Testing whether students learn better from a step-through animation versus a continuous animation of the same concept.

Accessibility

The design of resources to be usable by people with disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.

Accessibility in MicroSims includes features like keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and high contrast modes to ensure all learners can benefit from interactive content.

Example: A MicroSim with keyboard navigation allows students who cannot use a mouse to adjust sliders using arrow keys.

Adaptive Elements

Components of a MicroSim that automatically adjust based on learner performance or preferences.

Example: A quiz MicroSim that presents easier questions after detecting incorrect answers.

Adult Learning

Educational content and approaches designed for mature learners who bring life experience and self-direction to the learning process.

Advanced Level

Content designed for learners with substantial background knowledge who can handle complex, nuanced material with minimal guidance.

AI Generation

The use of artificial intelligence systems to create content, code, or educational materials from natural language descriptions.

AI generation enables educators without programming skills to create functional MicroSims by describing what they want in plain language.

Example: A teacher types "create a simulation showing how compound interest grows over time with sliders for principal and rate" and receives working code.

Algorithms

Step-by-step procedures for calculations or problem-solving that can be visualized through MicroSims.

Example: A sorting algorithm MicroSim shows how bubble sort or quicksort rearranges elements step by step.

Analyze Level

The fourth level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving breaking information into parts to understand relationships and organizational principles.

Analytics

The collection, measurement, and analysis of data about learner interactions with educational resources.

AND Operator

A Boolean search operator that requires all connected terms to appear in results, narrowing the search to documents matching all criteria.

Example: The query physics AND pendulum AND undergraduate returns only documents containing all three terms.

Animation

A visualization that displays movement or change over time through a sequence of frames or continuous motion.

Example: An animation showing planetary orbits demonstrates how different planets move at different speeds around the sun.

Apply Level

The third level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving using learned information in new situations to solve problems or complete tasks.

Assessment Rubric

A scoring guide that lists criteria for evaluating student work and describes levels of quality for each criterion.

Assumptions

Simplifications or conditions taken as true within a simulation that affect the accuracy of the model.

Example: A projectile motion simulation might assume no air resistance to simplify calculations.

Beginner Level

Content designed for learners with minimal background knowledge, featuring maximum scaffolding, clear instructions, and limited complexity.

Behaviorism

A learning theory focusing on observable behaviors and the role of environmental stimuli and reinforcement in shaping learning.

Bloom Taxonomy

A hierarchical classification of cognitive learning objectives consisting of six levels: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.

Bloom's Taxonomy provides a framework for designing learning objectives and MicroSims that target appropriate cognitive complexity for the intended audience.

Example: A MicroSim for the "Apply" level might require students to use a formula to calculate pendulum period with different parameters.

Bloom Verb Alignment

The matching of interaction patterns in MicroSims to specific action verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy to ensure pedagogical effectiveness.

Example: A template tagged with "experiment" and "investigate" aligns with Analyze level objectives.

Boolean Operators

Logical connectors (AND, OR, NOT) used in search queries to combine or exclude terms for more precise results.

Boolean Search

A search method using logical operators to create precise queries that combine, include, or exclude specific terms.

Example: The query (physics OR chemistry) AND simulation NOT video finds physics or chemistry simulations while excluding videos.

Browser Compatibility

The ability of a web application to function correctly across different web browsers and browser versions.

Button Control

An interactive element that users click to trigger an action such as starting, stopping, or resetting a simulation.

Canvas Dimensions

The width and height specifications that define the drawing area for a MicroSim's visual elements.

CCSS Standards

Common Core State Standards, a set of educational benchmarks for English language arts and mathematics in US K-12 education.

Chart

A graphical representation of data using visual elements like bars, lines, or areas to show quantities, trends, or relationships.

Example: A bar chart MicroSim lets students enter data and see how changing values affects the visual representation.

Chart.js Library

A JavaScript library for creating responsive, animated charts including line, bar, pie, and scatter plots.

Checkbox Control

An interactive element allowing users to select or deselect options, often used for enabling multiple features simultaneously.

Classification Systems

Frameworks that assign resources to categories based on defined criteria across multiple dimensions such as subject, level, and type.

Example: A MicroSim can be classified by subject (Physics), grade level (High School), Bloom's level (Apply), and difficulty (Intermediate) simultaneously.

Client-Side Search

A search implementation that runs entirely in the user's web browser using downloaded data, providing instant results without server communication.

Client-side search is ideal for MicroSim repositories with hundreds to thousands of items, offering fast response times and privacy since queries never leave the user's device.

Coaching

An instructional strategy where an expert provides guidance, feedback, and encouragement as learners practice skills.

Cognitive Levels

The hierarchical stages of mental complexity in learning tasks as defined by taxonomies like Bloom's.

Cognitive Load

The mental effort required to process information, consisting of intrinsic, extraneous, and germane components.

Understanding cognitive load helps MicroSim designers create simulations that teach effectively without overwhelming learners.

Cognitivism

A learning theory emphasizing internal mental processes, schemas, and how learners acquire, organize, and retrieve information.

Color Picker

An interactive control allowing users to select colors visually, often used in art or design MicroSims.

Color Scheme

The coordinated set of colors used consistently throughout a MicroSim's visual design.

Completeness Score

A metric indicating what percentage of recommended metadata fields have been filled in for a MicroSim.

Complexity

The degree of intricacy in a MicroSim, measured by factors such as number of variables, relationship types, and required prerequisites.

Component Reuse

The practice of using standardized MicroSim building blocks (sliders, buttons, coordinate systems) across multiple simulations for efficiency and consistency.

Example: A well-designed slider component can be reused in every physics simulation, ensuring consistent user experience.

Constructivism

A learning theory holding that learners actively construct knowledge through experiences rather than passively receiving information.

Context Window

The amount of text an AI system can process at once, relevant when using AI to generate or analyze MicroSims.

Contributor Element

A Dublin Core metadata field identifying persons or organizations that contributed to a resource without being the primary creator.

Control Region

The area of a MicroSim's interface dedicated to user input controls such as sliders, buttons, and menus.

Control Types

The categories of interactive elements available in MicroSims including sliders, buttons, dropdowns, and checkboxes.

Controlled Vocabulary

A predefined list of approved terms that must be used for specific metadata fields to ensure consistency and searchability.

Example: Subject areas might be limited to: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, and a few other approved terms.

Cosine Similarity

A mathematical measure of similarity between two vectors based on the cosine of the angle between them, ranging from -1 to 1.

Cosine similarity is used to find semantically similar MicroSims by comparing their embedding vectors.

Example: Two MicroSims about pendulum motion have embeddings with cosine similarity of 0.92, indicating high semantic similarity.

Coverage Element

A Dublin Core metadata field specifying the spatial or temporal scope of a resource's content.

Create Level

The highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things by combining elements in novel ways.

Creator Element

A Dublin Core metadata field identifying the primary person or organization responsible for creating a resource.

Curriculum Standards

Formal specifications of what students should know and be able to do at specific grade levels in specific subjects.

Dashboard

A visual display organizing multiple data visualizations or controls in a single interface for monitoring or analysis.

Data Aggregation

The process of collecting and combining data from multiple sources into a unified dataset.

Data Flow

The movement and transformation of information through the components of a MicroSim.

Data Gathering

The process of collecting information from various sources for analysis or indexing.

Data Quality

The degree to which data is accurate, complete, consistent, and suitable for its intended purpose.

Data Visualization

The graphical representation of information and data to communicate patterns, trends, and insights visually.

data.json File

A JSON file containing the data that drives a MicroSim's content, separate from the simulation logic.

Date Element

A Dublin Core metadata field recording when a resource was created, modified, or published.

Description Element

A Dublin Core metadata field providing a summary or abstract of a resource's content and purpose.

Device Requirements

The hardware specifications needed to run a MicroSim effectively, including processor speed, memory, and screen size.

Diagram

A static or interactive visual representation showing the structure, relationships, or process of a concept.

Example: A Venn diagram MicroSim lets students drag items into overlapping circles to classify them.

Difficulty Levels

Classifications indicating how challenging content is for its target audience, typically Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced.

Dimensionality Reduction

Mathematical techniques that reduce the number of variables in data while preserving important relationships, used to visualize high-dimensional embeddings.

Download Count

A metric tracking how many times a MicroSim has been downloaded, indicating popularity.

Drawing Region

The area of a MicroSim's canvas dedicated to displaying visual output and animations.

An interactive control presenting a list of options from which users select one item.

Dublin Core

A metadata standard consisting of 15 elements for describing digital resources, widely adopted for its simplicity and flexibility.

Dublin Core provides the foundation for MicroSim metadata, enabling discovery across different platforms and repositories.

Dublin Core Elements

The 15 standardized fields (Title, Creator, Subject, Description, Publisher, Contributor, Date, Type, Format, Identifier, Source, Language, Relation, Coverage, Rights) that comprise the Dublin Core metadata standard.

Educational Simulation

A digital environment where learners can experiment with concepts without real-world consequences, learning through doing.

Embeddings

Dense vector representations of content that capture semantic meaning, enabling similarity comparisons between resources.

Embeddings transform MicroSim metadata into numerical vectors where similar simulations have similar vectors, enabling semantic search beyond keyword matching.

Example: The embedding for "pendulum motion" is mathematically close to the embedding for "simple harmonic oscillator" even though they share few words.

Engagement Metrics

Quantitative measures of how users interact with a MicroSim, including time spent, interactions performed, and completion rates.

Equations

Mathematical formulas that can be visualized or manipulated within a MicroSim.

Evaluate Level

The fifth level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving making judgments based on criteria and standards.

Experiential Learning

A learning approach emphasizing learning through direct experience and reflection on that experience.

Extensions

Additional features or modifications that can be added to a MicroSim to expand its functionality.

Extraneous Load

Cognitive load that does not contribute to learning, often caused by poor instructional design.

Faceted Search

A search method allowing users to filter results by multiple independent dimensions simultaneously.

Faceted search enables teachers to find MicroSims matching specific combinations of subject area, grade level, difficulty, and visualization type.

Example: Filtering for "Physics" + "High School" + "Animation" + "p5.js" narrows thousands of MicroSims to a manageable list.

Independent dimensions or categories used to classify and filter search results.

Feedback Mechanisms

Systems within a MicroSim that provide learners with information about their actions and progress.

FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, US legislation protecting the privacy of student education records.

File Organization

The structure and naming conventions used to arrange MicroSim files within a directory.

Filter Controls

Interface elements that allow users to narrow search results by selecting specific criteria.

Findability

The ease with which users can discover and locate relevant resources through search or browsing.

Good metadata dramatically improves findability by providing rich information for search systems to match against user queries.

Fixed Height Iframe

An iframe element with a specified pixel height rather than responsive sizing, commonly used for MicroSim embedding.

Fixed Layout

A MicroSim layout with predetermined dimensions that do not change based on screen size.

Flowcharts

Diagrams using shapes and arrows to represent processes, decisions, and workflows.

Folksonomies

Classification systems that emerge from user-generated tags rather than expert-defined categories.

Folksonomies capture real-world terminology that users actually search for, complementing formal taxonomies.

Example: Users might tag a simulation with "flipped-classroom" or "test-prep," terms not in formal subject taxonomies but useful for discovery.

Format Element

A Dublin Core metadata field specifying the file format or physical medium of a resource.

General Data Protection Regulation, European Union legislation governing data protection and privacy.

Germane Load

Cognitive load that contributes directly to learning by supporting schema construction and automation.

GitHub API

The programming interface for interacting with GitHub repositories programmatically to access files and metadata.

Grade Levels

Educational stages indicating the target audience for content, such as K-2, 6-8, High School, or Undergraduate.

Graduate Level

Educational content designed for students in post-baccalaureate programs pursuing advanced degrees.

Graph Visualization

A visual representation of nodes and edges showing relationships between entities.

Example: A social network visualization shows people as nodes and friendships as connecting lines.

Guided Discovery

An instructional approach combining student exploration with strategic scaffolding and hints from the system or instructor.

High Interaction

A level of user engagement where learners actively manipulate multiple parameters and explore freely.

Hints System

A feature providing progressive assistance to learners who are struggling, without giving away answers.

Hover

An interaction triggered when the user moves the cursor over an element without clicking.

Identifier Element

A Dublin Core metadata field providing a unique string that unambiguously identifies a resource.

Iframe Element

An HTML element that embeds another document within the current page, commonly used to embed MicroSims in web pages.

The iframe creates an independent sandbox where the MicroSim runs without interfering with the host page.

Example: <iframe src="sims/pendulum/main.html" width="100%" height="500px"></iframe> embeds a pendulum simulation.

index.md File

A Markdown file containing the documentation and description for a MicroSim, typically displayed above the embedded simulation.

Indexing

The process of organizing documents into data structures that enable fast search retrieval.

Indexing transforms a collection of MicroSim metadata into an inverted index where each term points to the documents containing it.

Infographics

Visual representations combining text, images, and data to communicate information clearly and efficiently.

Information Retrieval

The science of obtaining relevant information from a collection of resources in response to user queries.

Instructional Strategies

Planned methods and techniques used to facilitate learning and achieve educational objectives.

Interaction Level

The degree to which users can engage with and manipulate a MicroSim, from passive viewing to full exploration.

Interactivity

The quality of allowing users to engage with content through actions that produce meaningful responses.

Interactivity transforms passive learners into active participants by letting them manipulate variables and see immediate results.

Example: Dragging a slider to change pendulum length and watching the swing period change creates visceral understanding.

Interactive Demo

A demonstration that allows user input to explore concepts rather than simply showing predetermined content.

Intermediate Level

Content designed for learners with foundational knowledge who can handle multiple variables and less explicit guidance.

Intrinsic Load

Cognitive load inherent to the complexity of the material being learned, determined by element interactivity.

Inverted Index

A data structure mapping terms to the documents containing them, enabling fast keyword lookup.

Example: An inverted index entry for "pendulum" might list [Doc1, Doc5, Doc12], indicating which MicroSims mention that term.

ISTE Standards

International Society for Technology in Education standards defining skills students need to thrive in a digital world.

ItemsJS Library

A JavaScript library for client-side faceted search that powers the MicroSim search interface.

JavaScript Libraries

Collections of pre-written JavaScript code that provide functionality for creating visualizations and interactions.

K-12 Education

The educational stages from kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States school system.

The ability to operate all interactive elements using only keyboard input, essential for accessibility.

Keyword Search

A search method that finds documents containing the specific words entered in the query.

Example: Searching "projectile motion" finds MicroSims whose metadata contains both words.

Keywords

Specific terms chosen to connect content with anticipated search queries.

Effective keywords include both technical terminology and everyday language that users might type when searching.

Language Element

A Dublin Core metadata field specifying the language of a resource's content.

Layout Types

The structural arrangements of visual elements in a MicroSim, such as fixed, two-panel, or three-panel layouts.

leaflet.js Library

A JavaScript library for creating interactive maps with layers, markers, and geographic data.

Learning Graph

A directed graph representing prerequisite relationships between concepts, showing the optimal order for learning.

Learning Indicators

Observable behaviors or outcomes that suggest learning is occurring.

Learning Objectives

Specific statements describing what learners should know or be able to do after engaging with educational content.

Well-crafted learning objectives guide both MicroSim design and appropriate Bloom's Taxonomy alignment.

Example: "Students will predict where constructive interference occurs given two wave sources."

Learning Theory

Frameworks explaining how people acquire, process, and retain knowledge during learning.

Lightweight Search

Search functionality that operates with minimal computational resources, suitable for static websites.

Limitations

Constraints or simplifications in a simulation that affect its accuracy or applicability.

Low Interaction

A level of user engagement with minimal manipulation, such as play/pause controls only.

main.html File

The primary HTML file containing a MicroSim's structure, scripts, and styling.

Map Visualization

A geographic display showing spatial data, locations, and regional patterns.

mermaid.js Library

A JavaScript library for generating diagrams and flowcharts from text descriptions.

Metadata

Data that describes other data, providing information about a resource's content, format, and context.

Metadata makes MicroSims findable by providing the descriptive information that search systems match against queries.

Example: A MicroSim's metadata includes its title, subject area, grade level, and learning objectives.

Metadata Standards

Agreed-upon conventions specifying which fields to include, acceptable values, and data formats for resource description.

metadata.json File

A JSON file containing structured metadata about a MicroSim following the schema specification.

MicroSim

A small, focused, interactive visualization designed to teach a single concept or explore one idea.

MicroSims are the foundational unit of the search system, representing self-contained educational simulations that can be embedded anywhere on the web.

Example: A pendulum period explorer that lets students adjust length and observe how swing timing changes.

MicroSim Completeness Score

A metric indicating what percentage of schema fields have been populated in a MicroSim's metadata.

MicroSim Likes

A social metric tracking how many users have favorited or endorsed a MicroSim.

MicroSim Quality Score

A composite metric evaluating overall MicroSim quality based on metadata completeness, technical standards, and educational alignment.

MicroSim Repositories

Collections of MicroSims organized for discovery, often hosted on platforms like GitHub.

MicroSim Standards

Specifications defining metadata structure, file organization, and quality criteria for MicroSims.

MicroSim Structure

The organization of files and components that comprise a complete MicroSim.

Misconceptions

Incorrect beliefs or understandings that learners hold, which effective instruction should address and correct.

Model Types

Categories of mathematical or conceptual models used in simulations, such as discrete, continuous, or agent-based.

Modeling

An instructional strategy where experts demonstrate skills or thinking processes for learners to observe and emulate.

Multi Select

An interactive control allowing users to choose multiple options from a list simultaneously.

Nearest Neighbors

Items in a collection that are most similar to a query item based on a distance or similarity measure.

In semantic search, nearest neighbors are the MicroSims whose embeddings are closest to the query embedding.

Network Diagram

A graph visualization showing connections and relationships between entities.

NGSS Standards

Next Generation Science Standards, a multi-state framework for K-12 science education in the United States.

NOT Operator

A Boolean search operator that excludes documents containing the specified term from results.

Example: The query wave AND physics NOT ocean finds physics wave content while excluding ocean wave simulations.

Optional Fields

Metadata fields that enhance discoverability but are not required for basic functionality.

OR Operator

A Boolean search operator that accepts documents containing any of the connected terms, broadening results.

Example: The query simulation OR visualization OR animation finds documents containing any of these terms.

P5 Describe Function

A p5.js accessibility feature that adds text descriptions of canvas content for screen readers.

p5.js Framework

A JavaScript library for creative coding that simplifies drawing, animation, and interaction, widely used for MicroSims.

Passive Viewing

A level of interaction where users observe content without the ability to manipulate or control it.

PCA

Principal Component Analysis, a dimensionality reduction technique used to visualize high-dimensional embeddings in 2D or 3D.

Pedagogical Metadata

Metadata describing how a MicroSim teaches, including interaction patterns, pacing, and Bloom alignment.

Pedagogical metadata enables template matching systems to recommend MicroSims that support specific learning objectives, not just topically similar content.

Pedagogical Patterns

Recurring instructional designs that effectively support particular types of learning, such as worked-example, exploration, or guided-discovery.

Peer Review

Evaluation of a resource by qualified individuals to assess quality, accuracy, and educational effectiveness.

Performance Metrics

Measurements of how efficiently a MicroSim runs, including load time, frame rate, and memory usage.

plotly.js Library

A JavaScript library for creating interactive, publication-quality graphs and charts.

Popularity Ranking

Ordering search results based on usage metrics like views, downloads, or endorsements.

Precision

The fraction of retrieved search results that are actually relevant to the query.

Example: If a search returns 20 results and 16 are relevant, precision is 80%.

Prerequisites

Concepts or skills that learners must understand before engaging with new content.

Privacy

The protection of personal information and user data from unauthorized access or disclosure.

Progress Tracking

Systems that monitor and record learner advancement through educational content.

Progressive Disclosure

An interface design pattern that reveals information gradually as needed, reducing initial complexity.

Example: A MicroSim showing basic controls initially with an "Advanced Options" button for additional parameters.

Publisher Element

A Dublin Core metadata field identifying the entity responsible for making a resource available.

Quality Score

A composite metric evaluating the overall quality of a MicroSim based on multiple factors.

Radio Button

An interactive control presenting mutually exclusive options where only one can be selected at a time.

RAG

Retrieval-Augmented Generation, a technique combining search retrieval with AI generation to produce grounded responses.

Range Slider

A slider control that selects a range of values rather than a single value.

Ranking

The process of ordering search results by estimated relevance so the best matches appear first.

Example: A MicroSim matching on title, subject, and grade level ranks higher than one matching only on description.

Recall

The fraction of all relevant documents in a collection that are successfully retrieved by a search.

Example: If 25 relevant MicroSims exist and a search finds 16 of them, recall is 64%.

Relation Element

A Dublin Core metadata field describing relationships to other resources.

Relevance

The degree to which a search result satisfies the user's information need across dimensions like topic, level, and format.

Remember Level

The first level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving retrieving relevant knowledge from memory.

Repository Mining

The process of extracting and analyzing data from code repositories to gather metadata.

Required Fields

Metadata fields that must be populated for a MicroSim to be considered minimally complete.

Responsive Design

Design that adapts layout and functionality to work effectively across different screen sizes and devices.

Reuse

The practice of using existing MicroSims in new contexts rather than creating from scratch.

Reuse multiplies the impact of every MicroSim creation—a simulation built once can serve thousands of classrooms worldwide.

Rights Element

A Dublin Core metadata field specifying intellectual property and usage permissions for a resource.

Scaffolding

Temporary instructional support that helps learners accomplish tasks beyond their current ability, gradually removed as competence develops.

Scaffolding Adaptability

The ability of a MicroSim to adjust its level of support based on learner performance.

Scenarios

Preset configurations or situations that users can load to explore specific cases within a simulation.

Schema Compliance

The conformance of metadata to defined structural rules, field requirements, and value constraints.

Schema Validation

The process of checking whether metadata conforms to the specification defined in a JSON Schema.

The ability of a MicroSim to convey information to users through assistive technology that reads screen content aloud.

Search

The process of finding specific information within a larger collection by matching queries against indexed content.

Search Engines

Complete systems that index documents, process queries, and return ranked results.

Search Fundamentals

The core concepts underlying search systems including precision, recall, ranking, and indexing.

Search Result Item

A single entry in a list of search results, typically showing title, description, and metadata.

Search UI

The user interface for entering queries, viewing results, and filtering by facets.

Semantic Search

A search approach that understands the meaning of queries and documents to find conceptually related results beyond keyword matching.

Semantic search uses embeddings to find MicroSims about similar concepts even when they use different terminology.

Example: Searching for "oscillating motion" finds simulations about "pendulums" and "springs" because they share semantic meaning.

Similar MicroSims

MicroSims identified as conceptually related based on semantic similarity of their content and metadata.

Similarity Score

A numerical measure of how closely two items match, typically ranging from 0 (unrelated) to 1 (identical).

Simplicity

A design principle favoring focused, single-concept simulations over complex multi-feature implementations.

MicroSims that do one thing well outperform those that try to do many things adequately.

Simulation Display

The visual output area where simulation results and animations are rendered.

Simulation Types

Categories of simulations based on their underlying model, such as physics-based, agent-based, or data-driven.

Slider Control

An interactive element allowing users to select a value from a range by dragging a handle along a track.

Example: A pendulum MicroSim uses a slider to adjust the pendulum length from 0.5m to 2.0m.

A platform or system connecting users around shared interests, enabling collaboration and resource sharing.

Source Element

A Dublin Core metadata field referencing a resource from which the current resource was derived.

Start-Pause Button

A control that toggles between starting and pausing an animation or simulation.

State Management

The handling of application state including variable values, user inputs, and simulation status.

style.css File

A CSS file containing the visual styling rules for a MicroSim.

Subject Element

A Dublin Core metadata field specifying the topic or keywords describing a resource's content.

Subject Normalization

The mapping of variant terms to standard forms so that different phrasings can be matched to the same concept.

Example: "Math," "Mathematics," and "Maths" all normalize to "Mathematics" for consistent search matching.

t-SNE

t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding, a dimensionality reduction technique for visualizing high-dimensional data in 2D or 3D.

Taxonomies

Hierarchical classification systems organizing concepts from broad categories to specific subcategories.

Example: STEM → Science → Physical Sciences → Physics → Mechanics is a path through a subject taxonomy.

Technical Metadata

Metadata describing implementation details including JavaScript framework, file size, and browser compatibility.

Template Matching

The process of finding existing MicroSims that can serve as starting points for creating new simulations with similar characteristics.

Text Input

An interactive control allowing users to enter text or numerical values directly.

Three Panel Layout

A MicroSim layout dividing the interface into three distinct areas, typically for controls, visualization, and information.

Timeline

A visualization showing events or data points arranged chronologically along a time axis.

Title Element

A Dublin Core metadata field providing the name of a resource.

Transfer Skills

The ability to apply knowledge or skills learned in one context to new situations.

Two Panel Layout

A MicroSim layout dividing the interface into two areas, typically for controls and visualization.

Type Element

A Dublin Core metadata field categorizing the nature or genre of a resource.

Undergraduate Level

Educational content designed for college students pursuing bachelor's degrees.

Understand Level

The second level of Bloom's Taxonomy involving constructing meaning from instructional messages through interpretation, comparison, and explanation.

User Controls

Interactive elements that allow users to manipulate simulation parameters and settings.

User Engagement

The degree to which content captures and maintains user attention and motivation.

User-Generated Tags

Classification labels created by users rather than defined by system administrators or experts.

Variables

Changeable quantities within a simulation that affect its behavior and output.

Vector Representations

Mathematical encodings of content as arrays of numbers that capture semantic properties.

vis-network.js Library

A JavaScript library for creating interactive network graphs showing nodes and edges.

vis-timeline.js Library

A JavaScript library for creating interactive timelines displaying events over time.

Visual Elements

The graphical components displayed in a MicroSim including shapes, text, images, and animations.

Visualization Maps

2D or 3D plots showing the relationships between items based on their embedding vectors.

Visualization Type

The category of visual representation used in a MicroSim, such as animation, chart, simulation, or diagram.

Web Crawling

The automated process of discovering and fetching content from websites for indexing.

Web Embedding

The inclusion of external content within a web page, typically using iframe elements for MicroSims.

Example: A MicroSim hosted on GitHub can be embedded in any course website using a simple iframe tag.

Width Responsive

A design approach where content automatically adjusts its width to fit the available container space.

Worked Examples

An instructional pattern showing step-by-step solutions with concrete data at each stage to build understanding.

Example: A step-through animation showing data transformation at each stage of a processing pipeline.

Workflows

Sequences of steps or processes that can be visualized to show how work or data flows through a system.

xAPI Verbs

Standardized action terms (like "completed," "attempted," "experienced") used in the xAPI learning analytics specification.