Castleton Information & Educational Technology

#9 HyperLinks

Hyperlink

When linking to outside sites and pages, you should be creating links to these sites that are easy to navigate. Screen readers read every single word on the page, so including a long hyper-link, for instance this link to an article from one of the on-line databases http://csc-proxy.libraries.vsc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.csc-proxy.libraries.vsc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,url,uid&db=ehh&AN=117537144&site=ehost-live&scope=site would all be read by a screen reader. Unless the url is short, avoid using them to link to web-sites.

Conversely, short, non-descriptive terms, such as “Click Here,” “Here,” “More,” and “More Information” are also not useful terms for clickable links.
Instead, you should create descriptive words that explain what the link is or where it is going. The name of the web-site or article title are usually a safe bet.
Integrating Technology in Today’s Undergraduate Classrooms article.

Adding Hyperlinks

To add a Hyperlink, follow these steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Anytime you have the opportunity to add text to Moodle – think weekly summaries, labels, assignments and discussion forms – you should have ability to add a Hyperlink.
Locate the bar tool bar, just above your text. It should have one row of icons.
Hyperlinking tools are the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th icons. hat says shows three dots and lines, allows you to make bullet points.

• The first, chain icon, allows you to hyperlink
• The second, broken chain, allows you to remove a hyperlink
• The final, chain with an x, prevents auto linking on text

To create or edit a hyperlink write some text in the text box, then highlight the text you want to link.
Click the chain icon. The hyperlinking icons are only active when you have text highlighted.)

Paste or type the url into the Link Url box.
Press Insert.

You can also choose URL as an option when choosing from the Add Activity or Resource list.  

#8 Image Basics

Images

When posting images, include an alt-image tag to help students with visual impairments. You can set an alt-image tag when posting images by filling out the Image description box. An alt-image tag should convey enough information so that a user can understand what the image is meant to convey without being overly wordy.

This website has some great information on creating image tags.
http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/#basics

Adding Image Tags

To use bullets, follow these steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Add a photo by clicking to the Insert/edit image icon (the one in the top row that looks like a mountain with the sun).

Click where it says Find or upload an image.
Fill in the section that says Image description.
Click on Insert.

#7 Bullet Your Lists

When creating lists of information for students, use bullet points or numbered lists using the text tools. I know some people are cringing already. Screen readers won’t identify information as being in a list, leaving students who rely on these tools to access information lost or confused.

Headings

To use bullets, follow these steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Anytime you have the opportunity to add text to Moodle – think weekly summaries, labels, assignments and discussion forms – you should have ability to add bullets.
Locate the bar tool bar, just above your text. It should have one row of icons.
The fifth image, that says shows three dots and lines, allows you to make bullet points.
Put the cursor before the line you need to bullet point. Consecutive lines will be bulleted.
A double enter will stop bullet points from being created.

#6 Use Headings to Your Advantage

To help screen readers navigate your content more easily, you should use headings to organize and identify your text. Use Heading 1 for the primary title and include one for every page. Use further headings in descending order for groups of information (don’t skip from Heading 1 to Heading 3). The main body text should be set to paragraph.

Headings

To change your font, use the following steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Anytime you have the opportunity to add text to Moodle – think weekly summaries, labels, assignments and discussion forms – you should have ability to adjust your headings.
Locate the bar tool bar, just above your text. It should have one row of icons.
The second image, that says Paragraph, allows you to change the headings by clicking the down arrow to the right.
Make sure you highlight your text before you try to change the font.

#5 Table It!

Use tables to present data and be sure to label the rows and columns, so users can understand and navigate the table. Screen readers identify tables to readers and indicate the number of rows and columns, so be sure to label them properly.

Tables should not be used for layout purposes (to place images and text). If you don’t have headers for your table rows and columns, you probably shouldn’t be using a table.

NOT APPROPRIATE USE OF TABLE

Screen readers won’t make sense of this data and it will become confusing for students.

1 – Read pages 45-53 in Defending the Master Race	2 – If you don’t have a personalized copy, you can buy one here: https://www.amazon.com/Defending-Master-Race-Conservation-Eugenics/dp/1584657154	3-
4 – Write 5 page paper on Fake News. Use multiple citations to defend your stance.		5 –
6 – Post to the discussion forum and post to two other student’s posts. Make sure you are making a coherent statement.	7 – Read the Moodle Book on Fake News and watch the two videos posted for this week.

 You should avoid using spaces, line breaks, or tabs as a way to create the illusion of tables.

 PRETENDING TO MAKE A TABLE, but not.

NAME                        YEAR                         MAJOR
Melanie                      Freshman                  History
George                      Junior                         Communications
Amy                          Senior                        Education

TABLES

To add a table, use the following steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Anytime you have the opportunity to add text to Moodle – think weekly summaries, labels, assignments and discussion forms – you should have ability to add a table.
Locate the bar tool bar, just above your text. It should have one row of icons.
Click the very first icon to expand the tool bar giving you access to the Table icon.

In the pop up box, identify how many Columns and Rows you would like in your table (You can always adjust later.) Press Insert.

#4 Color with Care

The use of color can affect how readable a page is for students with vision disabilities. For instance, color-blind individuals have a hard time discriminating between specific colors and hues. Therefore, you should never rely solely on color to convey information (using red to indicate homework and green to indicate readings).  Color should instead be used to compliment what is already implied in your text.

If you must use color, make sure there is considerable contrast between the background and text colors. You should also limit how many colors you use on your page to help alleviate confusion for students with vision impairments.

The image below shows how color-blindness can affect what information a person sees.

#3 Choose the Right Font

Choose one font for your Moodle page and stick with it. Keep in mind that sans-serif fonts such as Arial and Veranda are easier to read on-line than serif fonts (Times New Roman). You should avoid using narrow or decorative fonts as these can be incredibly hard for students with visual impairments to read. Fonts should be no smaller than 10 points.

Fonts

To change your font, use the following steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Anytime you have the opportunity to add text to Moodle – think weekly summaries, labels, assignments and discussion forms – you should have ability to change fonts.
Locate the bar tool bar, just above your text. It should have one row of icons.
Click the very first icon to expand the tool bar giving you access to the Font Family and Font Size settings.
Make sure you highlight your text before you try to change the font.

#2 Organize

Choose an organization design and use it consistently in your Moodle sections. This can be as simple as always posting readings first, followed by a Powerpoint, video, or other resource, and then a discussion forum. You can use Labels to help identify sections (Assignments, Lectures, Discussions, etc.). Use the Move Right/Left option for activities and resources (Edit – Move right) to organize data. Name assignments and forums consistently.

This will help students anticipate where to find information from week to week.

How to Add Labels

To add a label to a section, perform the following steps.
Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing on.
Locate the week you want and choose “Add an Activity or Resource.”
Scroll to the bottom of the popup and choose Label.
Insert your text and save changes.

[You can easily duplicate a label by clicking the Edit drop down and choosing Duplicate.
Clicking and dragging labels (once you have duplicated them) will allow you to move them to subsequent weeks.]

#1 Summarize

Provide a summary of each week or section of your course. Weekly summaries should be brief, no more than a few sentences, written with the intention of informing students to your goals for the week. This will help students navigate your course and understand learning goals and objectives.

To add a summary for each week, do the following.

Open your Moodle course.
Turn Editing On.
For each week/topic click the gear and add your summary.
Save changes.