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Adding activities

Glossary

Adding a glossary

To add a glossary, switch editing on, go to your course’s homepage and click on the + Add an activity or resource button.

This will give you a screen full of options. Click on the Glossary icon to open the New Glossary page.

Enter the name of the glossary and (if you require one) a short description of it in the Name and Description fields. If you want this description to appear on your course homepage just below the link to the glossary, you can tick the Display description on main page tickbox.

Any glossary you build will usually be for the course that it appears on, so you don’t need to tick the Is this glossary global? tickbox. Similarly, keeping the Glossary type setting as the default Secondary glossary will usually be what any course on OpenLearn Create requires.

There’s a variety of settings for creating a glossary, each with a help icon that includes more information.

  • Entries includes settings for whether glossary entries are approved by default, or linked automatically, and to permit editing, duplicate entries or comments.
  • Appearance includes settings for the display format (listed below), how many entries are shown on a page and whether links in the glossary are shown and a print view is available.
    • Simple, dictionary style: This format shows the entry and its definition, but not the name of whoever created or edited the entry; attachments are shown as links.
    • Full with author: This is a forum-like display format that shows the author’s name and the date that the entry was created or edited; attachments are shown as links.
    • Full without author: This also uses a forum-like display format that shows the date that the entry was created or edited, but not the author’s name; again, attachments shown as links.
    • Encyclopaedia: The same display format as ‘Full with author’, but attached images are shown inline rather than as a link.
    • Entry list: Only the entry is listed, as a link to the full definition.
    • FAQ: The words ‘Question:’ and ‘Answer:’ are appended to the entry and definition respectively.
    • Continuous without author: Entries are displayed one after another without any separation, other that the editing icons. 
  • You probably will not need to change the Ratings if your learners are not going to be rated on the entries they add or the Common module settings unless you are using groups. Likewise you can ignore Restrict access unless you need to add a restriction: something that your learners need to do before the glossary is available. This is not usual for a glossary activity. 

Click on the Save and return to course button. Your new glossary will now display on your course’s homepage.