Reflection on comment made following Group Task PCE, Longslade

“Comic Sans 14pt is the font you use for dyslexics”

Further to the reflective writing required for the assignment I have expanded my reflection on font sizes. I appreciate that using a 10-point font was not ideal for readability. I had reduced the font size to enable the text to fit onto one page. I had, therefore, allowed style to rule over functionality and had made the documents less accessible for learners with problems such as dyslexia. Whilst I accept, and uphold this criticism I did disagree with the statement “Comic Sans 14-point is the font you use for dyslexics.” Previously, I have had conversations with a dyslexic colleague in Nottinghamshire, who works within LLDD, about appropriate fonts and document format. Her feelings are that any Sans Serif font is acceptable as long as it is well spaced and has the ‘a’ formed as is found in handwriting rather than most print. Her personal choice in fonts is 12-point Century Gothic and Berlin Sans. She would rarely use 14-point or above, or use Comic Sans as her opinion, shared by other people she knows with dyslexia, is that documents produced in Comic Sans in a large font are seen as patronising. Whilst some of this is opinion I can back some of this up with information from The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) website.

Fonts should be rounded, allow for space between letters, reflect ordinary cursive writing and be ‘easy on the eye’. Look for a font that spaces letters rather than running them closely together. Bear in mind that fonts that have unusual shaped letters can create difficulties.

• Select sans serif fonts such as Arial or Comic Sans. Other suggestions include Verdana, Helvetica, Tahoma, Trebuchet and Sassoon.
• Use a minimum of size 12pt or 14pt.
• Where possible use lower case letters rather than capitals. Using capital letters for emphasis can make text harder to read.
• Don’t write sentences entirely in capitals; this infers that the reader is being shouted at.

Unknown (2006) The British Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Style Guide [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 30 September 2006].

PCE, Longslade

Mark has suggested a reason why the projector at Groby is not picking up a signal from my laptop. I shall try pressing Function+F10 once the projector and laptop are switched on. It helps to discuss problems with other tutors as they may have come across similar problems and have solutions.

The use of my laptop will enable me to use PowerPoint presentations and effectively achieve FENTO standard D5e, select and develop resources to support learning – use information technology where appropriate. A simple conversation like this is also an example of how easy it is to cover FENTO standard D6, establish and maintain effective working relationships, in particular point f, work collaboratively with colleagues to deliver the learning programme. Also from Mark’s point of view he was addressing D6h, share expertise with colleagues and respond to their needs, for the benefit of the learners and the learning programme. Finally, our collegiality was a good example of H1j, work within a professional value base – work effectively with other others for the benefit of the learners.