Creating Printer-Friendly Documents for your Online Course

Acknowledging student propensity to print a majority of web pages for an online course, the author explains various reasons why and then provides tips on how to design a printer-friendly web page. The ten tips are: combine all sections of a document into one page, remove unncessary graphics and text, do not use dark-colored backgrounds or light-colored text, spell out the full location of hyperlinks, do not use frames, include the URL of the page, do not use graphics larger than the 'safe area' dimensions, include navigation back to the original page, use scripting to automate the printing function, and include a hperlink to a printer-friendly page. Each tip is succinctly discussed and examples are provided.

Keywords: student needs, online materials,online learning, web design, instructional design, teacher-student communication, University of Illinois

http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/pointers/2001_02/ionpointers0201.pdf

Focus Area: Teaching and Learning

Scope: Global

Resource Type: Publications

Entry Date: May 9, 2002