3. Text

What does that mean?

It is advisable to choose a sans-serif font that is neither too thick nor too thin, in order to ensure optimum legibility. The main aim here is to enable individual letters and words to be recognised and distinguished.

Serifs are small decorative elements or lines found at the ends of letters. Sans-serif typefaces have clean, smooth lines and appear more modern and understated than serif typefaces.

It is important that the stroke width of typefaces is between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the mean height, to ensure sufficient contrast. Sans-serif typefaces, where the difference between the thickness of the letter strokes is minimal, are best suited and correspond to the ‘Normal’ or ‘Regular’ weights. Fine and bold weights, as well as typefaces with high stroke thickness contrast, should be avoided, particularly when formatting the entire text.

As a general rule, a suitable sans-serif font is already set in the Moodle editor. This should be used accordingly. When presenting content, the focus should be on accessibility rather than aesthetics.

Why is it important?

Sans-serif typefaces are particularly easier to read for recipients who have difficulty following the flow of the text or recognising and reading it. This is because serif fonts (e.g. New Times Roman) can cause letters to blur into one another or be more difficult to read for some readers, as the serifs result in greater variation in the shapes of the letters. Furthermore, fonts that are too thin or too thick can impair readability, particularly for recipients with impaired vision.

How can you put this into practice or check it?

You can remove highlighting as follows:

1. Select the relevant text.
2. Under "Format", select "Clear Formatting".

Please note that text formatting options, such as font size, are not available in all text editors in Moodle. When copying text from other programmes, be aware of any differences in formatting and remove them if necessary.

What does that mean?

Text that is left-aligned is aligned to the left-hand margin of the page. This means that the start of each line is directly below the previous one, and the ends of the lines extend freely to the right. By default, text in Moodle is already left-aligned. However, if text is copied and pasted from other programmes (e.g. Word), the formatting is carried over as well. Text that is not left-aligned should therefore be adjusted accordingly.

Why is it important?

Left-aligned formatting helps readers who find it difficult to follow the flow of the text, as the lines all begin at a common left margin and are therefore easier to follow. If the lines are of varying lengths, it is easier for the eyes to move from one line to the next. As justified text causes irregular spacing between words and more frequent hyphenation, particularly in narrow columns, left-aligned text is preferable.

How can you put this into practice or check it?

Select the relevant text. In the editor, under ‘Format – Alignment’, you will find the settings for text alignment; select "Left" here.

What does that mean?

List and bulleted list formats are specific formatting options that can be used to create a list of items or points. 

To improve readability and clarity, lists should be organised in a logical way. For example, advantages could be listed in one list and disadvantages in another. This structure helps readers to grasp and process the information more easily.

Generally speaking, when using lists and bulleted lists, you should always ask yourself whether it is really necessary and appropriate to use this formatting, and whether it helps the reader to understand the content.

Why is it important?

The use of manually created bullet points may result in the list not being recognised as a coherent list and therefore being inaccessible. If a list is not read out correctly by text-to-speech systems and screen readers, this may result in users having difficulty identifying the number of items in the list or possibly failing to understand it fully or in context. This can mean that important information cannot be correctly understood. By using list and bulleted lists formats, screen reader users can perceive these as lists and interpret them as a coherent whole.

How can you put this into practice or check it?

To mark up a list or bulleted list list correctly, proceed as follows:

1. Highlight the text you want to format as a list or bulleted list.
2. Click on the three dots ("…") in the editor.
3. Then select the relevant icon to format the text.

Alternatively, enter the text in the editor as follows:

1. At the start of the list item, type "1." (first) or "-" (hyphen).
2. Type the text.
3. Press "Enter". The formatting is now set automatically.

What does that mean?

The contrast ratio refers to the ratio between the brightness of the text and the background against which it is displayed. A high contrast ratio makes the text easier to read. A sufficient contrast ratio is achieved when the text colour stands out clearly against the background colour. Black text on a white background (or vice versa) provides the optimum contrast. If other colours are used, the contrast ratios must be checked.

The reason for these minimum requirements is that, in poor lighting conditions or for people with visual impairments, text with poor contrast ratios cannot be recognised or read properly. 

Why is it important?

A sufficient contrast ratio between the text colour and the background colour is of great importance, particularly for users with impaired vision. If the contrast is not high enough, the text may be difficult or impossible to read, leading to barriers to accessing information.

For example, people with colour blindness find it difficult to distinguish between certain colours. A sufficient contrast ratio helps to ensure that they can still read the text. If the contrast ratio between the text and the background is low, it can be more difficult to read the text, even if the text is large.

Adequate contrast not only makes it easier for readers with visual impairments to perceive content. Readers who work in poorly lit environments, have a black-and-white printout, or are following a presentation via a projector also benefit from a high contrast ratio. Sufficient contrast ensures that content is clearly and distinctly recognisable, thereby facilitating the absorption and processing of information.

How can you put this into practice or check it?

To check contrast levels, you can use various online tools or programmes. These often include the words "colour contrast" in their names. These tools allow you to check the selected text colour against the selected background colour. If the contrast is not high enough, adjust the colours in line with the recommendations.

What does that mean?

In Moodle, there are fewer options for formatting text. For example, there are only a few ways to use paragraph formatting to give the text a specific layout. However, it is important to format text that is not a heading as a "paragraph" if it is not already.

It is also important not to leave more than one blank line between paragraphs. Not even for visual purposes. This is because students who use a screen reader will have these blank lines read out as, for example, "New line" or "Blank line" (the output depends on which screen reader or text-to-speech programme is being used). This disrupts the flow of reading and should therefore be avoided.

Why is it important?

The use of paragraph formatting ("paragraph") to structure text is important, as it improves the consistency and readability of content. This ensures that paragraphs are clearly separated from one another and that students can grasp the text more easily, which is particularly beneficial for readers with reading or concentration difficulties.

Avoiding consecutive blank lines to create spacing or paragraphs is also of great importance, as this enhances the visual clarity and aesthetics of the text. It helps to maintain clean and professional formatting, which supports readability for all students, including those with visual impairments.

How can you put this into practice or check it?

To use paragraph formatting, click on "Paragraph" under "Blocks" in the "Format" menu in the editor.