Slides for 2015 Thailand TESOL presenation

1. CameronRomney
Increase the impact
of your materials with visual design
Kyoto Sangyo University
Cameron Romney
ThailandTESOL
International Conference 2015
January 29, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 15

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• Typography
• Page Layout
• Graphics: Illustrations/Photographs, etc.
Sunday, May 31, 15

3. Connect
Theory and Practice
with
‘Best Practices’
Sunday, May 31, 15

4. Do you know anything about typography/
page layout/graphics?
Do you think it (they) are important?
Why or why not?
Sunday, May 31, 15

5. “Unfortunately, most of the materials made at
home, no matter how good in content, are
atrocious in terms of layout. In my experiences
with both publishers and students, I have come
to the conclusion that
layout is just as important as...no, even
more important than...content”
Curtis Kelly, 1998
Sunday, May 31, 15

6. Visual design effects
on readers
• Motivation
Smiley (2004); Misanchuk (1992); Bell & Sullivan (1981)
• Comprehension
Gasser, Boeke, Haffernan, & Tan (2005); Romney (2004); Smiley (2004);Walker (2001), Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997); Garofalo
(1988), Lewis & Walker (1989)
• Recall
Gasser, Boeke, Haffernan, & Tan (2005); Smiley (2004); Lewis & Walker (1989)
• Efficiency/Speed
Smiley (2004); Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)
Sunday, May 31, 15

7. “...more easily perceiving ... text on a
page ... less attentional resources are
required for the process of reading. More
attentional resources can then be
devoted to attending to the message in
the text, which results in deeper
processing and an easier recall of the
information presented.” (p. 185)
Gasser, Boek, Haffernan & Tan (2005)
Sunday, May 31, 15

8. Typeface
i.e. font
Sunday, May 31, 15

9. Common Problems
for
L2 Learners
Sunday, May 31, 15

10. Legibility
Sunday, May 31, 15

11. LC l and UC I
Sunday, May 31, 15

12. LC d, b, q and p
Sunday, May 31, 15

13. Lowercase i and j
Sunday, May 31, 15

14. Lowercase c and o
Sunday, May 31, 15

15. Lowercase f and t
Sunday, May 31, 15

16. Double story minuscules
Images from Wikipedia
Sunday, May 31, 15

17. Use the font students
are FAMILIAR with
Best Practice #1
Sunday, May 31, 15

18. “people most easily read material
printed in the typefaces with
which they are most familiar.” (p. 32)
Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)
Theory
Sunday, May 31, 15

19. Copyright page
Sunday, May 31, 15

20. Identifont & WhatTheFont
http://new.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont
(includes an iPhone app)
www.identifont.com
Sunday, May 31, 15

21. Use a font with good
LEGIBILITY
Best Practice #1 (version two)
Sunday, May 31, 15

22. Recommended
Typefaces
Serif
• Georgia
• (Bembo) Schoolbook
Sans Serif
• Verdana
• Helvetica Textbook
Sunday, May 31, 15

23. Georgia
Image from Identifont
Sunday, May 31, 15

24. Bembo Schoolbook
Image from Identifont
Sunday, May 31, 15

25. Verdana
Image from Identifont
Sunday, May 31, 15

26. Helvetica Textbook
Image from Identifont
Sunday, May 31, 15

27. set the typeface at a
LARGER size
Best Practice #2
Sunday, May 31, 15

28. • Less skilled readers benefit from larger text
Carter, Day & Meggs (2006); Petterson (1989)
• 9-12 pt is standard for adults
Carter, Day & Meggs (2006)
• 18 pt for 1st grade, 14 pt for 3rd grade, 11 pt
for 6th grade
Hoener, Salend & Kay (1997)
Theory
Sunday, May 31, 15

29. Don’t forget the
PRINTING & COPYNG
Tip
Sunday, May 31, 15

30. Sunday, May 31, 15

31. Page Layout
Sunday, May 31, 15

32. Use INCREASED
line spacing
and
white space
Best Practice #3
Sunday, May 31, 15

33. Theory (line spacing)
“...the reader has an effortless
return path to the left edge ... for
the next line.” (p. 115)
White (2002)
Sunday, May 31, 15

34. Sunday, May 31, 15

35. Theory (white space)
“Space attracts readers by
making the page look accessible,
unthreatening, and manageable”
White (2002)
Sunday, May 31, 15

36. Sunday, May 31, 15

37. Use lines & shapes to
ORGANIZE the page
Best Practice #4
Sunday, May 31, 15

38. Theory
“...directing the readers eye
around the page, drawing attention
to specific parts... breaking copy
into sections” (p.86)
Dabner (2004)
Sunday, May 31, 15

39. Sunday, May 31, 15

40. Sunday, May 31, 15

41. Sunday, May 31, 15

42. Graphics
Sunday, May 31, 15

43. Only use graphics with
INSTRUCTIONAL
purpose
Best Practice #5
Sunday, May 31, 15

44. Graphics can be a distraction
Evans,Watson and Willows (1987); Peeck (1987)
Clark & Lyons (2011); Romney & Bell (2011)
Theory
Sunday, May 31, 15

45. “If instructional facilitation is not
highly probable, then ... graphics
should not be used in instructional
material.” (p. 239)
Misanchuk (1992)
Theory
Sunday, May 31, 15

46. White (2002)
“The fear of ‘wasted space’ drives
design novices to fill in any empty
space with unnecessary clip
art.” (p. 37)
Theory
Sunday, May 31, 15

47. Three kinds of images
Instructional
Supportive (strong and weak)
Decorative
Sunday, May 31, 15

48. Putting it all together
A Before and After
Sunday, May 31, 15

49. Sunday, May 31, 15

50. Sunday, May 31, 15

51. CameronRomney
CameronRomney.com
Thank You!
CameronRomney
Sunday, May 31, 15