Recommendations

1. • • Add a description to modules and content items within modules to provide context and introductory explanations for learners. Descriptions can add context and provide guidance on your files and content. You can add descriptions to a file or link (topic) that will be visible to students. (Note that students must be in the module in which the topic is located in order to see the description text. The will not be able to see descriptions in the table of contents view.) 
       
       

     • Both modules and content items allow instructors to add accompanying HTML content via the Brightspace Editor. Descriptions appear below a module or topic title and can be edited by clicking the action button, and selecting “Edit Properties in Place.”
       
       

     • Brief description text should be used to explain, supplement, and support module and content titling in a way that helps prepare learners for the task.
       
       

     • Module descriptions can be a great place to embed instructor videos that introduce the topic, but instructors should avoid using content description fields to embed videos as they will often lose functionality and will not register for completion tracking.
       
       

     • Descriptions should be as brief possible to maximize module visibility. Avoid large decorative images that will take up valuable screen space and require additional scrolling by learners.
       
       

     • The Brightspace Accessibility Checker is a feature of the Brightspace Editor and should be used to evaluate the accessibility of description text. Ally currently does not check Brightspace description fields for accessibility.
       
       

     • To ensure maximum accessibility, DIID recommends instructors left-align all text in description fields, minimize the use of colors in your description text, and avoid using tables as a stylistic elements in description fields.
       
       

     • Assignment instructions and discussion prompts also serve as the description text that students see when the assignment is added to a content module. DIID recommends keeping these fields from becoming too lengthy to prevent extra scrolling. An alternative option for longer assignment instructions or discussion prompts could be to create them in a Google Doc and then paste the view-only link in these fields. 

The Department of Instructional Innovation and Design has set the header font sizes for LMS courses:

Heading 1: 26pt (34.2px) (Bold)

Heading 2: 19pt (25.6px) (Bold)

Heading 3: 15pt (20.5px) (Bold)

Heading 4: 13pt (17.1px) (Bold)

Paragraph: 13pt (17.1px)

Recommendations

• Lato, the Brightspace default font, is the standard font used within Brightspace pages for NICC courses. 

• Documents within courses should use sans-serif fonts for readability. 

• Avoid cursive or overly-decorative fonts in your course design. 

• Body and paragraph text within Brightspace courses should be black. 

• DIID recommends instructors limit themselves to three or fewer fonts and font colors within any pages or documents. 

• Underlining should be reserved for links; use other methods for emphasizing passages of text, such as headers or bolding, etc. 

• We recommend writing out numbers under 10 (one, two, three..) in paragraph text.