HTML 'Cleanup'

The HTML should be 'cleaned' in order to make sure that course content is consistently styled and can be easily read and understood by assistive technology. By 'clean' we mean rid of extraneous styling and HTML tags.

These extra tags and styling come in two forms:

  1. Styling added by course developer
  2. Styling and tags that come along by accident when content is copied into the course

For the first, in general, Blackboard default styling should be used across all SUNY Online courses. This means 12pt, black, Arial for regular paragraph text. There is no need to set any of this styling as it is the default, setting a section of text to be a paragraph will do this automatically. Avoid underlined, red (or any other color), and disparate typefaces as they can cause accessibility concerns (red text on a white background fails contrast standards and underlined text can be confused for links).

To the second point: as an example, text copied directly from Microsoft Word carries with it all the formatting information and extra tags that the software squeezes in there. This formatting does not necessarily match the defaults and the extra Word specific information is not necessary at all. Moreover, extra, unused tags can cause confusion for users of assistive technology.

Styling consistency can seem trivial on face-value but does go a long way to help create a uniform experience for SUNY Online learners. Clean HTML and consistency within and among courses reduces friction as learners navigate between different sections and courses, helps ensure the appearance of a sure-footed, authoritative product, and makes sure the content is as accessible as possible.

Tips

  • 'Clean' text before putting it into Blackboard from MS Word or any other source. One method is to paste text into Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac - be sure to set Format to Plain Text if using this program) or into a browser's address bar and then copy and paste from there into Blackboard.
  • For text already in Blackboard, consider using the Remove Formatting tool. Note that this clears all formatting including lists and headers.
  • Use bold or italics sparingly to denote importance or provide emphasis to passages of text.

View the following videos for more information on how to find sections that need to be 'cleaned,' how to 'clean' it once it's found, and how to bring in text from other sources without all the extra tags. Please consult with your campus ID and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

SUNYO_HTMLCleanup.mp4

Note that while the general concepts will remain true, the specific layout, names, etc. of the template shown in the video are subject to change.