Creating a Glossary

Requires Teacher role

Glossaries are a good way for an iLearn class to provide a list of Concepts and Definitions and can either be created entirely by the instructor or have student contributions.

Adding a glossary
Adding a random glossary entry block

To add a glossary

From the course page, in the upper right corner, select the Edit icon (⚙) and select Turn editing on.
In the week/section you want to add the glossary, select the +Add an activity button.
In the menu list, under Activities, select Glossary and the Add button.
In the Name field, enter a name for your glossary. This will become the link that your students click on to access the glossary, so make sure the name is something descriptive
Select what kind of glossary you want to create in Glossary type
Note: Glossaries have two styles, Main glossary and Secondary glossary. A main glossary is the primary glossary for the course. A secondary glossary can contribute terms to a main glossary, allowing for a situation where the main glossary has everything in it, but secondary glossaries can focus on specific topics. If you are uncertain, select Main glossary.
Under Appearance, select which Display format you want to use. The default is Simple, dictionary style, but there are a few other options that may suit your needs better
Select Save and return to course to save your glossary and return to the course page

Glossary has a lot of options that you can tweak and modify to your liking. Every option has a blue question mark icon that you can click on to find more information about that particular setting.

Random glossary entry block

One of the features that glossary has is called the Random glossary entry block. This block can be added to your course and serves as a sort of "word of the day" type display for any glossary in your course. When used effectively, it can provide a quick way of reinforcing concepts and terms that you've covered in your course.

To add a random glossary entry block

From the course page, in the upper right corner, select the Edit icon (⚙) and select Turn editing on.
In the drawer on the left, select Add a block

Note: Don't see the drawer on the left? Click on the expand icon in the upper left corner of the page, directly to the left of the iLearn logo.
Select Random glossary entry
The block will be added to the right side of your course page. Locate the block and select the gear wheel menu and choose Configure random glossary entry block
Select the glossary you want to use for this block from the Take entries from this glossary drop down menu
Select how often you want the random glossary entry to change by filling in the Days before a new entry is chosen, noting that leaving this at 0 effectively means the entry will change every time you visit the page
Hit Save changes at the bottom of the page