Moodle’s glossary feature is a hidden gem that offers a fun and effective way for students to share information and ideas using images and text. When you use this feature, you see a different image in the side-panel glossary block each time you log into Moodle. At the beginning of the semester, I use the glossary as a visual icebreaker. Students upload images and a few lines of text to introduce themselves to their fellow students. I start the glossary with a model posting, usually a picture of my dog or a favorite hiking spot or anything besides my family. (This year I used a picture of V-Mart pounding the ball and a few lines about being a Tigers fan.) Some students will post pictures of their family, but that’s up to them. I’ve used this in both online and face-to-face classes.

The personal images stay on Moodle until later in the semester when my English 111 and 112 students upload images and text explaining the allusions they plan to use in their argument essays. The exercise reinforces students’ understanding of the concept and lets them see what their classmates are writing about. This semester, students’ allusions range from Thomas Edison to Justin Beiber to The Magic School Bus. The Squidward posting is my model.

I’ve also used this feature as a way for students to share sources in English 112. They post images that represent a favorite source along with works cited entries and one-line summaries. Next semester, I plan to use the glossary as a way for English 111 students to share ideas about appropriate audiences for their public argument assignment.

Glossary posts can be graded, and instructors retain the ability to edit and delete them. However, the feature is not a particularly good tool for providing feedback because Moodle doesn’t attach a name to the posts. You need to know your students and their projects well enough to figure out who posted what.

Another potential drawback is that the directions for posting an image to the glossary are arcane. Some students will skip a step and post gigantic images that will require Help Desk intervention to edit. However, I have had relatively few problems with postings and high participation rates. As long as it’s a low-stakes exercise, the glossary feature is a fun way to personalize Moodle and build camaraderie.