New terms and existing terms from the global glossary may be added to a course glossary. 

Add a new term to a course glossary

  1. From either the Manage Course or Manage Module view, click the Manage button and select Glossary. (If you do not see a Glossary option there, you first need to enable the glossary in your course settings.)

  2. Click the Add Term button.

  3. The Add New Term form will appear. Complete the form as follows:

    • Term:* Enter the name of the term. This field has a 255 character limit.
    • Long Definition:* Enter the definition. Notice that this field is a text editor, similar to the Content block, which allows you to format the text, add equations, links, etc. Typically, definitions are not written as complete sentences and therefore are in lowercase with no punctuation.
    • Short Definition: The short definition will only be used to populate glossary terms into blocks where there is a character limit (e.g., Matching block). This field has a 255 character limit. This field is not required, but it is recommended to configure it in order to have the flexibility to use it in character-limited block fields. 
    • Image:  Use the File Manager to choose an existing image or upload a new image.
    • Image ALT Text: Describe the image by telling viewers about the image, but at the same time using as few words as possible. The purpose of the alternative text is to allow the content or purpose of the image to be available to someone with visual or cognitive disabilities. Alt text is only visible to those with screen readers. To learn more about alternative text visit http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/.
    • Image Caption: Add a caption to the image which will be displayed on the screen for all viewers. 
    • Audio: Use the File Manager to choose an existing audio file or upload a new audio file. This field is optional.
    • Audio Transcript: Use the audio transcript field to ensure the multimedia is accessible to students with auditory impairments. This field should be populated if audio is included.
    • Once the Add New Term form is complete, select the Save button.

  4. The term now appears in the course glossary.

Add a global glossary term to a course glossary

  1. From either the Manage Course or Manage Module view, click the Manage button and select Glossary.

  2. Click the Import Global Terms button.

  3. Select the term(s) to be imported and click the Import button.

  4. The global glossary term aggressor is now listed in the course glossary.

    Global glossary terms can only be added to or removed from a course glossary. Global glossary terms cannot be edited in a course glossary. To remove a global glossary term from a course glossary, select Remove Term.


    Course glossary terms can be edited by clicking on the term or selecting Edit Term. To remove a course glossary term from a course glossary, select Delete Term.


    Learner view of a course glossary


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