Glossary

A reference glossary of product-specific terms used in OpenOlat. These are terms that have specific meaning within the OpenOlat LMS context.

System roles

Absence manager

Can manage attendance tracking and absence records across the system.

Administrator

Has full system administration rights.

Author

Can create and manage learning resources.

Course planner

Can manage curricula and products in the Course Planner module.

Education manager

Can manage educational programs.

Group manager

Can manage groups across the system.

Learning resource manager

Can manage learning resources across the system.

Line manager

Has line management permissions for user oversight.

Principal

Has principal oversight permissions.

Project manager

Can manage project spaces across the system.

Quality manager

Can manage quality management processes.

Question bank manager

Can manage the question bank pool.

Roles manager

Can manage role assignments.

System administrator

Has full system-level administration rights including server configuration.

User

A registered account holder in the system with basic access rights.

User manager

Can manage user accounts and roles.

Course/Resource roles

Coach

Tutors/coaches participants in a course or group.

Owner

Owner of a learning resource or course.

Participant

A learner enrolled in a course or group.

Curriculum roles

Master coach

Supervises coaches across curriculum implementations.

Course Planner roles

Product owner

Manages a complete product (curriculum) in Course Planner.

Element owner

Manages a specific curriculum element within Course Planner.

Selectus roles

Applicant

Person who submits an application for a position in Selectus.

Staff

Administrative staff who set up positions, manage the applications and handle the correspondence.

Committee member

Member of the appointment committee who rates and reviews the applications assigned to them.

Head of Committee

Chairs the appointment committee, sees all applications and steers the procedure.

Secretary

Supports the appointment committee administratively and prepares the correspondence.

Ex-Officio

Person who belongs to the appointment committee by virtue of their office. Visibility of comments and reviews is configured separately for this role.

Faculty member

Member of the faculty who is asked for feedback on an application without being part of the appointment committee.

Referee

Person named by the applicant who writes a letter of recommendation.

Expert

External specialist appointed by the committee who writes an expert assessment of an application.

Comparative assessment expert

Expert who assesses several applications for the same position against each other in one comparative assessment.

Access roles

Guest

Anonymous user with limited read-only access.

Invitee

External user invited to access specific resources.

Modules

Access control

Booking and offer management for learning resources.

Assessment management

Central overview and management of assessments.

Catalog

Structured catalog for publishing and finding learning resources.

Certificates

Automatic or manual PDF certificate generation.

Course Planner

Manage curricula, implementations, and educational structures (formerly "Curriculum").

Room management

OpenOlat module for the central management of physical rooms in buildings and their booking by course events in the Course Planner.

Course reminders

Automated email reminders based on course conditions.

Document pool

Taxonomy-based document management area.

Events / Absences

Lecture block management with absence tracking.

Groups

Collaborative groups for learning and project work.

Levels/Grading

Configuration of grading scales and performance levels.

Library

Document library for shared reading materials.

Media Center

Central repository for media elements reusable across content.

Organisations

Hierarchical organizational structure for role-scoped management.

Projects

Project management tool with to-dos, files, and decisions.

Quality management

Tools for quality assurance surveys and data collections.

Question bank

Shared pool of assessment questions across courses.

Taxonomy

Hierarchical classification system for competences and content.

To-do

Personal and course-related task management.

ePortfolio

Electronic portfolio for learner reflection and evidence collection.

Absence management

Module for tracking and managing participant absences from lectures.

Contact tracing

Location-based contact tracing system.

Selectus

Module for faculty recruiting: advertising professorships, collecting online applications, and running the appointment committee through to the final decision.

Features

Assessment inspection

Supervised review of completed assessments.

Assessment mode

Controlled exam environment with restricted browser access.

Badges

Digital badges awarded for achievements.

Coaching

Cross-course overview for coaches to monitor learners. See also: Coaching Tool.

Coaching Tool

The name used in OpenOlat for the tool in which coaches view learners, test corrections, and assessments across courses. See also: Coaching.

Reports

Button in the Coaching tool that opens the Reporting area.

Reporting

Area of the Coaching tool in which authorised roles create Excel reports based on report templates.

Report templates

Table in the Reporting area of the Coaching tool; lists the available reports with name, category, description and type (static/dynamic).

Generated reports

Section in the Reporting area of the Coaching tool; lists the generated Excel files, which are available for download for 10 days.

Conventional course

Traditional course design with menu-based navigation (non-learning-path).

Evidence of achievement

Record of a user's performance in assessable course elements.

File Hub

Central file browser aggregating files from courses, groups, and personal storage.

Learning path

Sequential course design with progress tracking and completion criteria.

REST API

RESTful API for external system integration.

WebDAV

Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning for file access.

AI module

Integration of AI capabilities for content generation and assistance.

AI provider

The service provider whose AI models are used for the AI-powered features in OpenOlat. Multiple providers can be configured in parallel in the AI module (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, generic OpenAI-compatible services).

AI feature

An AI-powered area of use in OpenOlat (e.g. MC Question Generator, Image Description Generator) to which an AI provider and a model are assigned in the AI module.

MC Question Generator

AI feature that creates suggestions for multiple-choice questions in the question pool from a source text.

Image Description Generator

AI feature that generates title, description, alt text and keywords for uploaded images.

Essay Question Generator

AI feature that creates open-text (essay) questions with grading criteria from a source text or an uploaded file.

Essay Grading

AI feature that produces formative feedback on learners' essay answers.

Import (content editor)

Import function of the content editor that automatically converts markdown files, Word documents (.docx) or pasted markdown text into content editor blocks.

Assessment tool

Central interface for coaches and owners to evaluate, grade, and manage learner assessments.

Audio/Video recording

Recording capabilities for audio and video content.

Transcoding

The conversion of uploaded video files into formats and resolutions that play back across browsers. The transcoding mode determines where the conversion takes place: Local on the OpenOlat server, Service via an external transcoding service, or Remote with a transcoding directory outside the OpenOlat data area.

Bulk assessment

Feature allowing coaches to assess multiple participants simultaneously.

Calendar

Personal and course calendar for scheduling and event management.

Content editor

WYSIWYG editor for creating rich content, used in the Page course element, the Form learning resource and the portfolio.

Inspector

Collapsible panel in the Content Editor used to configure the properties of a selected layout or content block: layout and spacing, style, and the settings specific to the element type.

Alert box

Display format for layouts and content blocks in the Content Editor that highlights the content with a colour and an icon. The selected alert type determines colour and icon; the box can optionally be made collapsible.

Course editor

Tool used to build and modify course structure and course elements.

Credit points

System for awarding and tracking academic credit points for course completion.

Data collection

Surveys used within the Quality Management module to gather feedback.

Data collection generator

Automated rule sets that create data collections (surveys) based on triggers like course start or end.

Full-text search

System-wide search for content across courses, learning resources, and user data.

Instant messaging

Built-in chat/messenger for real-time communication between users.

Licenses

Management of content licenses for learning resources.

Notes

Personal note-taking feature for users.

OAI-PMH

Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting, used for catalog exposure.

Passkey

Passwordless authentication via WebAuthn allowing users to log in with biometric or hardware keys.

Peer review

Feature enabling participants to review each other's work in task elements.

Recertification

Process of re-earning a certificate after expiration within a certification program.

Role switching

Ability for multi-role members to change their active role perspective within a course.

Safe Exam Browser

Integration with Safe Exam Browser (SEB) for secure online exams.

Subscriptions

User subscriptions to notifications about changes in courses and resources.

Video collection

Central area aggregating all shared video learning resources.

Web catalog

Externally accessible catalog that allows non-registered users to browse and book course offerings.

Whiteboard

Visual collaboration tool (powered by draw.io) within the Projects module.

Display mode in which content (documents, media, details) is opened in a modal overlay above the current page, without leaving the page.

Dashboard

Personal start page with configurable widgets.

Widget on the Dashboard showing catalog offers from a Course Planner implementation.

Widget on the Dashboard showing course contents of a Course Planner implementation.

Widget on the Dashboard showing implementations or offers in table format.

Widget on the Dashboard showing upcoming appointments from the Lectures and Absences module.

Widget on the Dashboard of the Coaching tool, showing the courses coached by the current coach.

Widget on the Dashboard of the Course Planner, showing the implementations relevant to the person with key figures and a table.

Widget on the Overview tab of an implementation in the Course Planner, showing the number of participants and the course staff responsible for that implementation.

Access for coach

Key figure label in the Course widget for courses with the publication status "Access for coach".

Success status

Metric in course and people lists of the Coaching Tool, shows the assessment status graphically and in figures: "Passed", "Not passed", "Not specified".

Responsible for the topic

Group in the "Topic assignment" course element listing the topic authors assigned to a topic.

Participants accepted

Group in the "Topic assignment" course element listing the course participants accepted for a topic.

All correct answers

Scoring method for multiple-choice, hotspot, hottext, drag&drop, matrix, and gap questions (text, numerical, mixed, with dropdown): the full score is only achieved if all correct answers are selected, otherwise the final score is 0.

Score per answer

Scoring method for multiple-choice, hotspot, hottext, drag&drop, matrix, and gap questions (text, numerical, mixed, with dropdown): positive and negative points are configured individually for each answer option.

Partial score

Scoring method for multiple-choice, hotspot, hottext, drag&drop, matrix, and gap questions (text, numerical, mixed, with dropdown): a weighted score is added for each correctly selected answer and subtracted for each incorrectly selected answer.

External course tool

Configurable link in the course toolbar to an external web application. Up to four external course tools with name, URL, icon, and role-based visibility can be configured per course.

Icon catalog

Predefined selection of around 30 icons from which the symbol for an external course tool is chosen.

Areas

Working area

The area in the main navigation assigned to a role, where the tasks belonging to that role are carried out. The main navigation is composed depending on the user's roles: participants work in "Courses", coaches in "Coaching", authors in the "Authoring" area.

Administration

The system administration area for configuring modules, managing users, and system settings.

Authoring

The area where authors create and manage learning resources.

Courses

The main area where users find and access their enrolled courses.

Concepts

Certification program

A structured certification path with recertification requirements.

Active member (certification program)

Membership status in a certification program: the person holds a certificate in this program and is therefore an active, certified member.

Candidate (certification program)

Membership status in a certification program: the person participates in an implementation linked to the program but does not yet hold a certificate in this program. Membership can thus begin before the first certification.

Curriculum element

A node in the curriculum tree representing a module, semester, or subject.

Implementation

A concrete offering of a curriculum element with dates and members.

Implementation status

Lifecycle status of an implementation in the Course Planner: preparation, provisional, confirmed, active, cancelled, finished. Separate from the publication status of a learning resource.

Offer

A booking configuration that controls access to a learning resource.

Repository entry

A managed learning resource in the authoring area (course, test, form, etc.).

Access code

A password-based booking method restricting course enrolment to code holders.

Booking order

A record created when a user books or enrolls in a course through the catalog.

Coach folder

A dedicated file area visible only to coaches within a course.

Competence

Skill or competence assigned to users via taxonomy.

Corrector

A person assigned to manually grade test submissions within a correction workflow.

Course element

A building block that can be added to a course structure in the course editor.

Course lifecycle

The automated process by which a course transitions through statuses based on its execution end date.

Delivery format

A metadata field indicating the mode of delivery (online, blended, in-person) shown in catalog cards.

Drop box

The file submission area within a Task course element where participants upload their work.

Educational product

A Course Planner product consisting of multiple courses and implementations, visible in the Coaching tool.

Reference

An identifier for a learning resource, e.g. from a course catalog or lecture directory.

Grading assignment

A task assigned to a corrector to manually grade a specific test submission. Completed grading assignments are additionally logged permanently and listed in the "Archive" worksheet of the Excel report, so that the data relevant for remuneration (grading time, completion date) is retained even if the assignment itself is deleted.

Launcher

A configurable section in Catalog 2.0 that dynamically assembles and displays course offerings.

Learning area

A named grouping of course groups used to simplify group-based visibility rules.

Learning progress

Tracking of user progress through a learning path course.

Learning resource

A managed content object in the authoring area (course, test, form, video, etc.).

Lesson block

A schedulable teaching unit within the Events/Absences module, comprising 1 to 12 individual lessons.

Metadata

Descriptive information about a learning resource (title, description, authors, license, etc.).

Product

Top-level entity in Course Planner representing a curriculum with implementations and courses.

Publication status

Lifecycle state of a learning resource: Preparation, Review, Access for Coach, Published, Finished.

Rubric

A form element for evaluating multiple criteria against the same rating scale, used in assessments and surveys.

Return box

The file area within a Task course element where coaches return graded work to participants.

Sample solutions

Model answers or reference solutions provided within a Task course element.

Storage folder

Internal file management area within a course for storing course files.

Subject

A taxonomy-based classification term assigned to a learning resource to enable catalog filtering and grouping in taxonomy launchers.

Teaser

A short preview text used for compact announcements, currently available for courses.

Template course

A source course from which implementation instances are automatically created in Course Planner. See also: Course template.

Trash can

The area where deleted learning resources are moved before permanent deletion.

Waiting list

A queue for users who cannot be immediately enrolled, with automatic promotion when places become available.

Occasion

A named topic within the Appointment Scheduling course element, to which multiple time slots can be assigned.

Course template

A course template in the Course Planner that can be instantiated as a course for a curriculum implementation at a later date. See also: Template course.

Administrative access

Assignment of a learning resource to one or more organisations. It determines which administrators and learning resource managers can manage the resource.

Usage

Setting of a course that determines how it is used: standalone, as a template, embedded in a course, or in the Course Planner. Among other things, it determines whether the course has its own member administration.

Room Scheduling

Overview of all room bookings in the Rooms module, with filters and a calendar view. Shows conflicts such as double bookings and insufficient seats as warnings.

Building

Higher-level unit of room management. Every room belongs to a building; the building carries the address, colour and organisation restriction.

Course staff

Collective term for the roles with coaching or ownership function assigned to a course or implementation, as shown by the Members widget.

Selectus concepts

Position

An advertised professorship in Selectus. It holds the advertisement text, the application form, the deadlines and the appointment committee.

Application

A submission by an applicant for a position, consisting of personal data, academic background and the uploaded documents.

Application status

The state of an application in the procedure: active, on hold, granted, hired, not eligible, rejected or withdrawn.

Screening

The phase in which the appointment committee reads and rates the applications received.

Committee

The appointment committee of a position, consisting of the head, the secretary, committee members and ex-officio members.

Committee assignment

The allocation of applications to individual committee members. It determines who has to rate which application.

Rating

An A, B or C assessment of an application by a single committee member.

Abstention

The explicit decision of a committee member not to rate an application.

Decision

The A, B or C result of the committee for an application. A marks the strongest candidates, C is the basis for a rejection.

Decision tool

A rubric-based scoring grid in which the committee weights criteria to support its decision.

Review

A structured assessment of an application by a committee member, using a questionnaire with sliders and free text.

Review questionnaire

The configurable set of sliders and text fields that committee members fill in for each application.

Review discussion

Comments and replies that committee members can add to a review.

Expert assessment

A written assessment of an application by an external expert appointed by the committee.

Comparative assessment

A single assessment in which an expert compares several applications for the same position with each other.

Letter of recommendation

A reference letter written by a referee named by the applicant.

Referee management

The area in which applicants enter their own referees and track whether the requests have been answered.

Faculty feedback

Feedback on an application requested from faculty members who are not part of the appointment committee.

Public feedback

Feedback submitted through a public link without login, for example after a trial lecture.

Profile paper

The document describing the profile of the advertised professorship, available to the appointment committee.

Combined document

All documents of an application merged into a single PDF for reading and printing.

Academic age

The number of years worked since the doctorate, in full-time equivalents.

Professorship type

The type of professorship advertised, for example full professor or assistant professor.

Organisation unit

The faculty or institute that owns a position and provides its own sender address and e-mail signature.

Mail center

The area for bulk correspondence with applicants, with a template per decision group.

Form letter

A PDF letter generated from a template and sent together with an e-mail, for example a rejection letter.

Standards

QTI 2.1

Question and Test Interoperability standard for assessment items.

SCORM

Sharable Content Object Reference Model for e-learning content packaging.

Integrations

LTI

Learning Tools Interoperability standard for external tool integration.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams virtual meeting integration.

Zoom

Zoom video conferencing integration.

BigBlueButton

Web conferencing integration for virtual classrooms.

card2brain

card2brain flashcard learning integration.

draw.io

draw.io diagramming integration used for Whiteboard in Projects.

Edubase

Edubase digital textbook integration.

edu-sharing educational content repository integration.

frentix cloud transcoding service

A service operated by frentix that OpenOlat communicates with via an API. It transcodes uploaded videos into multiple resolutions and automatically generates subtitles. Not part of the standard OpenOlat distribution. Contact frentix support if interested: contact@frentix.com

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting/GoToTraining virtual meeting integration.

JupyterHub

JupyterHub interactive computing integration.

Mediasite

Sonic Foundry Mediasite lecture capture integration.

Opencast

Opencast lecture recording and video management integration.

OpenMeetings

Apache OpenMeetings web conferencing integration.

SharePoint / OneDrive

Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive file access integration.