In September 2020, we held a class at Furukawa Reimei Junior and Senior High School on creating slides using UD (Universal Design) fonts. Furukawa Reimei Junior and Senior High School is also designated as an SSH school, and its aim to foster inquisitiveness (the ability to continue to explore independently and create new value) led to the implementation of this industry-academia collaboration project.
Even though students have created materials using PowerPoint, they rarely learn the key points of creating materials that are easy to understand.A layout that communicates"and"Font selectionMorisawa shared the key points of ". Through the class, with a little ingenuity,Ease of communicationThe aim of this lesson is to help students realize that writing can make a big difference. This lesson also fits into Morisawa's vision for a sustainable society, which is to "preserve the culture of writing."
(For more information on Morisawa's SDG initiatives, please seeHere)
In this article, we will introduce the lessons we held for students and what the students actually said.
[Student Lesson Contents]
Two lessons were given to each class of first-year students.
In the first lesson, students learn about layout points such as line spacing and font size, and how small changes can make it easier for others to understand. Students then use what they learned in class to edit a sample prepared by Morisawa (a slide with an explanation of the SDGs and a logo).
In the second lesson, students will learn what UD fonts are and how to select characters, and will reflect what they learned in class on the slides they created in the previous lesson.
Each student created slides while thinking about who they wanted to communicate with.
Many creative ideas were seen, such as using UD fonts mainly, with fewer, bolder, and larger characters when communicating with elderly people, and omitting complicated explanations and using softer UD fonts when communicating with elementary school students.
[Post-class survey]
Here are some comments from students after the class!
We will introduce some excerpts below.
[Question] In what ways will the content of the two-day class be useful to you in the future?
【answer】
・I am thinking of becoming a nursery school teacher, so I think I will be able to make newsletters that are easy for children and parents to read.
・My dream is to become a teacher, so I think I can use it for both children and parents.
・When I go out into the world and create materials, the way I create them and the content may change depending on who I'm communicating with, so I thought this would definitely be useful!!
[Question] Where on campus would you like UD fonts to be used?
【answer】
- Printouts, tests, etc. I have low vision in my left eye, so I have difficulty reading small letters in Mincho or Pop fonts.
・School handouts.
・Slides from teachers' lessons.
- Places where customers enter, such as gymnasiums and toilets.
[Question] If you have any comments or thoughts about the two-day class, such as wanting to hear more details, please let us know.
【answer】
・I wanted to learn more about ways to communicate with people.
・I learned about creating materials and wanted to make them easy to understand for readers.
・I learned a lot and it's all things that I will use in the future. I want to use it to create slides and other things.
[Throughout the two-day class]
I was very pleased that many of the students were able to imagine specific situations in which they would use the font. Some of the students also have low vision and find it difficult to read. I hope that the use of UD fonts will help promote minimum consideration so that all students can learn in the same environment.
This initiative was featured in the local newspaper, Osaki Times.
In the next article, we will introduce slides by students that greatly reflected the content of the class, as well as comments from the teacher.