I am very excited that the new build-your-own-glossary feature is up on the Kids Open Dictionary. Try it out and let me know what you think. (We’re still refining and adding features.)
I’m excited about this for a couple reasons. First, I think it is a very useful feature that has immediate appeal to teachers and will help them see the value of the dictionary and adding words.
The second reason is broader. There is a lot of talk about remixing and reusing OERs — I think this is essential if they are to be used effectively to differentiate instruction. Every learner has different needs, styles, skills, etc., and learning resources need to be modified in order to be suitable. However, despite this, many OERs don’t lend themselves to customization. The reasons are many, but they include format (e.g. PDFs), content (lack of granularity), and simple logistics.
The dictionary, however, is ideally suited toward remixing and customization. Definitions of words are the right level of granularity and can be a valuable addition to almost any educational resource, whether it is a book, a web page, or a wiki. Everyone uses glossaries.
The glossary builder is great, because it outputs a variety of formats, including text, rtf, and pdf. (More formats are coming including wikitext and most likely an ipod format.) In addition, the glossary can be edited and refined, either within the dictionary system (so others can reap the benefits) or within the output file.
After you look at this (there are a couple samples up), please let us know if it is a valuable tool for you and what features you’d like to see added. We’ll also be producing a bunch of glossaries for various topics, books, etc. that everyone can use, so stay tuned for that.