Katherine wants to start an extra discussion category for things that come up as she works through your posts and comments. For these discussions, feel free to reply in comments (rather than sharing a separate post).
To start it off, her first topic is:
FONTS!
Do you have any favourite fonts when you create materials? Are there any fonts that you dislike? Writers have been talking about fonts for decades and one of the big questions is 'Comic sans: yes or no?' Here is an article from the TES that might be of interest. It's long!
https://www.tes.com/news/long-read-whats-so-bad-about-comic-sans-anyway
https://www.tes.com/news/long-read-whats-so-bad-about-comic-sans-anyway
Oh, I have to change my font every year or I go bananas. Last year I went from Trebuchet MS to Arial Rounded, and this year I'm thinking of trying Candara. I suppose it's more about the feel of the font, and the aesthetic I want for the materials in the school year. Comic Sans... now there's a font I haven't used in a while!
ReplyDeleteAs for fonts I dislike, those would have to be ones that mimic handwriting, I really dislike them as they seem harder to read for students.
One thing is for sure, no matter what font you choose, please stick to it. I've seen so many materials and PPTs that switch up fonts, and it ruins the cohesiveness and professionalism of the whole thing. It's so distracting that your message can be lost!
I generally use Arial or Helvetica for my main text but titles and special text are usually in my favourite font - Throw my hands up in the air - yes that's the name of the font!
ReplyDeletehttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_tRtVM-Xyy0T3gl-58QCNn_IkDQTM9gh77mPLAN3GdAo0O7wUVtmC1KPYAOKcdZDgJusJt3xNVVQWw=s0
I usually try to use a FONT which is easy to understand and read for the text, but for the title and the subtitle, well, I like to experiment! I buy FONTS online and I love changing them.
ReplyDeleteAdi Rajan I love this font! And its name :) In fact, I like fonts which mix capital letters with lowercase - unconventional :) Not for student materials though; for special text, as you nicely put it.
ReplyDeleteAnd re Comic Sans, maybe in the past it was indeed the only font with the "proper a", and therefore a necessary choice for teachers. But now, with hundreds of fonts to choose from, I think we can get more creative than that :) I like consistency (it is important, as Emel Ortac mentioned), but I like experimenting, too. Finally, sometimes fonts go with topics. I don't like fonts which imitate handwriting either, but I might choose a more readable font of this sort in materials about writing a letter, for instance.
ReplyDeleteWell, I haven't done much in changing fonts but after reading this article and comments, I'm going to start experimenting.
ReplyDeleteI love using a variety of fonts, but if I had to choose the ones I like the most those would be Lato, Raleway and Bebas. If I want to add a cartoon - like feel I use Action Mans. I try to avoid using fonts which imitate handwriting or fonts that are very light.
ReplyDeleteAction Man, not Mans:)
ReplyDeleteI like all fonts that clean and easy to read. I most use 'print bold' in my work.
ReplyDeleteWhen I put together my first conference program book (as an editor), I took a look at a lot of different fonts. I was looking to add a bit of style. I also asked a few people which they preferred, and that got me a few strange looks, a number of 'I've never thought about that' responses, and one witty "use comic sans" reply. I ended up using the standard (TNR), as there didn't seem any point in taking the time to switch all the text over.
ReplyDeleteI attended a presentation on materials design at a conference a couple of years ago, which went over things like layout, white space, and use of colour. The presenter also stressed that sans-serif fonts were a bad idea for ESL / EFL students. He gave some examples, which I dutifully wrote down (and have now lost). Perhaps someone else can back me up on this point.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I like a clean-looking font for my students.
Michael Free But aren't sans serif fonts more readable or was that the speaker's point that using serif fonts is more challenging and prepares learners for the real world?
ReplyDeleteAdi Rajan A good question! This was, as I said, a couple of years ago now, so I may well have it mixed up. I believe, though, that what he said was something like this: for 'us' (Eng = L1) sans-serif are cleaner, but for some ESL / EFL students the serifs help avoid confusion between similar-looking characters. I do remember printing out something using both a serif and sans-serif font and asking some students if either one was any easier to read - they said they were both the same (hardly a large-scale study, I know). I'll try to dig up the handout the next time I'm in my office (but don't hold your breath, it's probably gone!). :)
ReplyDeleteI liked reading about the Dyslexie font. It really couldn't hurt to use that one and see if "slow" students are able to understand the material more (even with the studies that show this font does not help dyslexic students, I would like to try using is and see the results)
ReplyDeleteWith regard to comic sans, it always reminds me of emails from the 90s and early 00s. This font has helped my teaching though. As a TESOL instructor, when I've had to teach really young children how to write roman characters, it really helps to show the students the written "a". I've had to teach students as young as 3 or 4 how to write these characters. The font helps model what you're wanting to say, and it helps cut down on teacher talk time.
I don't think I would use the font outside of an elementary classroom though. I would feel like I'm being too patronizing because there it's kind of childish to me.
Amy P you're right about Comic sans having a 90s feel about it but weren't emails in Courier back then?
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying reading all these comments. I've heard that sans fonts are better for print and serif fonts are better for screen ... or was it the other way around? I'll find out and get back to you!
ReplyDeleteSee page 2: abilitynet.org.uk - www.abilitynet.org.uk/quality/documents/StandardofAccessibility.pdf
ReplyDeleteKatherine Bilsborough Thanks Katherine. The article says sans serif is better for the screen but then goes on to say "Serif fonts are said to work better in print, but for accessibility it is often recommended that Sans Serif fonts are used as the characters are easier to distinguish for those with reading difficulties or a visual impairment."
ReplyDeleteWhen they say "work better", do they mean look nicer?
Recently I've been working with a teachers who are trying to meet the extra needs of EFL students who have challenges processing text -- some are dyslexic, others not diagnosed. Fonts can make a huge difference in readability -- sans serif fonts with distinct shapes for letters in at least 13-14 pt (think children's coursebooks) seem to be easier to process. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of the same font accommocations that help dyslexic students seem to also support non-dyslexic English language learners as well, since ELLs share the same tendancy to depend on word shape and first/last letters of words for reading fluency. Anyway, there's a lot if you search for 'best fonts for dyslexia' but here's an article I thought you might enjoy because it rates Comic Sans as one of the more readable fonts :) dyslexicadvantage.org - The Best Fonts for Dyslexia
ReplyDeleteOne question comes to my mind. I have learnt here about wordcloud and I was wondering if an exercise including wordcloud should be avoided for students with dyslexia or which compensatory measures could we adopt to help them. Thank you
ReplyDeleteAs long as they are easily readable, I don't mind any of the existing fonts. Seems like I like all of them. And I haven't had experience with dislexic learners.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Comic Sans article Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto. Have never thought such an issue exists. I am learning and happy to participate in the course ❤️ What a summer. Love learning.
The font I use for everything I write is Calibri. I find it easy to read and I get some sort of warmness out of it. I rarely use another font and when I do is to offer a “real-life perspective” to texts that belong to specific genres. For example, I sometimes use Times New Roman for newspaper articles and Helvetica for magazine articles or blog posts. I’ve never worked with dyslexic learners and I haven’t done any research on how fonts affect the learning process for them.
ReplyDeletePS: I've never liked Comic Sans but do I understand why some people are so fond of it.
Hi everyone! I always try to use common and readable fonts. AsMargarita Kosior says, I like consistency too. I use the same one for the tasks, another one for headings etc but being consistent through the whole material. I´ve discovered SHAR FORMAL FUNNYNESS and I use it a lot for headings. Have a great day! Laura
ReplyDeleteI have nothing against Comic Sans. I have eye trouble, especially reading on computer screens. As long as I can read it, I don't care.
ReplyDeleteAriel seems to be the easiest for me.
Miss Alex I've never bought a font online. But I think that's a sign of your creativity.
ReplyDeleteSwim Finn Being able to read is pretty important, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteI generally use Arial for online documents and Times New Romans for paper documents. I don't know where I read this but it seems these are suitable for accessibility considerations. However, I would like to experiment with other fonts.
ReplyDelete