2 Text
2.1 The role of text
Text is the dominant component in most education and training software, and on many websites. It also plays a central role in standard software applications such as word processors and spreadsheets. It is a flexible and powerful means of communication.
Activity 1
Look at a multimedia encyclopaedia. Identify four ways in which it uses text. For each, what are the characteristics of the text (for example, is it a single word or a block of text)? What is its purpose?
Discussion
On my encyclopaedia I identified the following uses of text.
- Blocks of text intended to provide information about a particular topic.
- Headlines in bold with a larger type size. These structure the information.
- Buttons with text on them. The text, usually a single word, communicates the meaning of the underlying command.
- Captions under illustrations to identify them and explain their content.
As we can see from this activity, text is used in very different ways within UIs. Thus there is a variety of issues to consider.