This is a selection of comments from teachers about ways they used glossaries in moodle
the original thread is here:
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=54403
I have used the glossary in my classroom in mostly the traditional sense
as a resource for vocabulary words. I typically have each of my
students submit one word to a large group resource glossary, and each of
their entries must contain the definition, an original
sentence using the word correctly, and some type of visual
device to help classmates remember its meaning
a glossary for students to create
mini research projects on the organs of the body. Each student had to
do the research on an organ and then post information, including photos
and other graphics in kind of an encyclopedia format. The work the
students did was very impressive.
A glossary to have students create three quiz
questions from the research that they did in the organ study glossary.
This glossary was setup so that the students were given one of the
Moodle quiz format types, and they created quiz questions matching one
of the import formats. The glossary was set so that teacher approval
was required before any posts were live so students couldn't see each
others questions. After all the questions were submitted, the teacher
exported them into a text document and imported all the questions into
the quiz module and then tested the students. It worked flawlessly.
In a similar style to this. For helping students train for debating and public speaking.
Put
a list of topics into a glossary and set's up the random glossary entry
block. A laptop is set up at the front of the classroom so that the
person at the front can see it. Students take it in turns to come up to
the front, refresh the page and speak for 1 minute on that topic off the
top of their head.
After the class make the glossary open for
all to see and their homework is to pick another topic than the one they
spoke on and write another 1 min speech for next week.
I
think that's an important point for collaborative glossaries where
students are sharing (like Lesli describes) as I found that the random
entry really encouraged students to contribute so their entry had a turn
to come up.
Also if you are able to make the glossary public you can share it
with another class. A blogging glossary developed by masters students
was made available to first year students as a resource for their
research on their own blogging assignment.
I used the Glossary as a test review tool. As students walked into
the classroom, they drew a topic from the hat that was going to be on
the test. They then worked with a partner to gather everything they
could from their individual practice activities, quizzes, textbooks, and
online resources like Discovery Education Science. They then added
this information to their glossary item in a 15 minute time period.
Once that time was up, we worked through the glossary as a whole
group with students adding information or correcting information that
they had entered.
My students loved this way of reviewing because they had ownership of
their glossary item, but also were able to add to the other entries as
we discussed. Those students with special IEPs could print out the
sheets or could review from home 24/7.
This entry is great:
Creative glossaries - tips and tricks
Teacher predetermined wordlist vs students creating definitions as they come across new words.
Peer evaluation:
- Assign individuals to contribute a term and its definitions.
- Ask students to rate each others contributions.
- Ask students to comment on each others contributions - help each other define the new terms.
Remember - the author can be kept anonymous, but the comments are not!
- Ask
students to write their own definitions and then other students rate
them - highest rated definition becomes the entry for the final class
glossary.
Helpful hint: you can restrict the date range for ratings to keep students progressing through the topics.
- Have
a different glossary for each topic/unit/week. Ask different groups in
the class to take responsibility for each topic's glossary.
- The other groups are the reviewers of the definitions and they have
to comment on the definitions to help that group define the terms
correctly.
Collaborative glossaries engage the learner in writing, examining
and refining definitions so they are more likely to remember the term
and its correct definition.
- Random glossary block - terms that "make the grade" get put into
the glossary used in the random glossary block on the main course page.
This may help encourage students to write high quality definitions that
they can be proud of.
Helpful hint: don't forget that you can import/export entries to/from other glossaries.
- Entries
require approval - to get high quality definitions you can choose
"entries require approval". The teacher must approve all entries into
that glossary.
- Use roles to allow selected students the right to approve entries -
this is a good way to recognise and reward outstanding students.
What about in language learning?
- Ask students to enter a
new word in the concept field, then in the definition field write an
example sentence using the new word. Teachers can use the "requires
approval" option to check the entries before the other students see
them, or use the other students to help that student get the sentence
right.
Helpful hint: allowing students to edit their entries means they
can adapt their definition based on other students feedback and when
their understanding deepens.
- Credit for word use. The
autolinking feature makes it is easy to see when students use the new
terms. Teachers could give credit for frequency and correct use of the
terminology. It is important for students to regularly use the new
terms. This technique may help some students overcome fear of trying to
use new terms.
Helpful hint: enter some terms and definitions to get the students started.
- Collaborative
quiz questions - Using "requires approval", teachers can ask the
students to contribute the quiz questions for their class assessment.
Teachers can setup the categories as question types (to match the quiz
activity). Students can then put a key word in the concept field and the
question in the definition field. Teachers can then export all the
entries and add them to the question pool.
Cool ideas for topic review: give students the last twenty minutes
of the day to make as many entries as they can based on the topic they
were learning. This is later an excellent study tool.
An option for equation writing is to use
MathType to generate the LaTeX. MathType is a
WYSIWYG
equation editor that can be configured so that when you select the
equation you've created and copy (ctrl-C), MathType puts LaTeX on the
clipboard. Then you can paste the LaTeX into the Moodle HTML editor.
There's also a free version of MathType called TeXaide, but it has a
limited palette of symbols.
Storyboard activity Worksheet
Nice image of an idealised flower
Screencast - Ways of usng these Flashcards in a lesson (4 mins)