Adaptive and mobile
Programs like Microsoft PowerPoint and Word have an online component that makes it possible to view these documents online or on a mobile device. These online files do not, however, always look good on both a smartphone screen or a large format display. Because Sway is only online and is device- and browser-agnostic, it is ideal for viewing on both large and small screens.
Sway will adapt to its environment and adjust font and image size to fit its space. The creator doesn't have to do anything to make this happen. Sway is able to detect the size of the browser window and adjust accordingly. This feature lets students focus on the content of their digital story and not worry about the format.
There are some features that the creator can control (or at least provide input on). Most of these features are found by selecting Styles in the design tab. Some options that can influence how the author's digital story is received by the audience are:
- Layout - A Sway can be viewed with vertical, horizontal, or slides layout. Each layout will adjust how pictures are viewed and how text appears. Newsletters might benefit from a vertical layout so that the message flows from top to bottom. A horizontal layout might support a digital story that retells a student's family history. The slide layout closely mimics a PowerPoint presentation and could be used for sharing a story with a large group.
- Styles - Sway selects a font and color scheme at random when you start building it. Both of these can be changed by selecting pre-determined combinations of fonts and colors. Or, for more input, adjust the color scheme to match a photo in the Sway and select the fonts that you like best. Select Customize in the Design tab to pick color inspiration, color palettes, font choices (there are only a handful to pick from) and to adjust text size and animation emphasis. The animation refers to how pictures and text appear in the Sway.
- Focus Points (not in the design tab) - Sometimes pictures that are chosen for the Sway may not display the way the author wants them to, which could affect the story's overall tone or mood. The best part of a picture could get cut out on a mobile device if the picture is very large. To make sure the most important parts of images are seen, use the focus points features. Select an image in your Sway and select Focus Points. You will see a preview of what the image looks like on a large and small screen. Select the most important part that needs to stay in view or select The entire image is important. This way students and educators can make sure the digital story is told in the right way.
- Remix - If you still don't like your Sway, but don't know what to change, try the Remix! option. Sway will pick a new layout, color, and font combination for you. Keep selecting Remix! until you find the one that is just right for your digital story.
Take note that there are not endless adjustments to be made. These few adjustments that can be made support the students' focus on the content, not the format.
To be sure that a Sway is visible to all viewers, it is always a good choice to run the Accessibility Checker. This short clip explains how to find the Accessibility Checker in Sway.
Sway has built in accommodations for viewers, no matter which Sway they are reading. To learn more, read Inclusion in action: Veronica scores 100% with Sway magnified to 225%.
Professional journal
Edit the design, navigation, and color scheme of your Sway. Make it personal to you and meaningful for your audience. Also notice which navigation method is better for the images you used. Or, if you can't decide, use the remix feature and see what happens. Then run the Accessibility Checker to make sure that everyone will be able to view your Sway.