‘ACCESSIBILITY TOUCHES EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES’
Online course focuses on making media inclusive to people with disabilities
Humber College, says one of its professors, is leading the charge in making Ontario accessible with the launch of a unique — and free — online course that teaches broadcast content creators how to make media inclusive and accessible.
“The making accessible media: accessible design in broadcast media course stems from a strong feeling at Humber that accessibility touches every aspect of our lives,” says Mike Karapita, who teaches journalism and was involved in the creation of the offering along with four other Humber faculty and staff members. “So, it really is for anyone interested in learning about inclusive design and accessibility in broadcasting.
“It is also closely tied to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which is working towards making Ontario fully accessible by 2025.”
Comprised of six modules, the course covers universal and inclusive design, live and closed captioning, transcription, described video, alternative text, and how to make documents and presentations accessible. It also takes the subject matter a step further by asking learners to consider the representation of disability in broadcast media, and providing resources for further reading at the end of each module.
“It was really important for us to emphasize that language is powerful and if used wrongly, it can stigmatize people with disabilities,” says Karapita. “So, we worked from a philosophy when it came to people with disabilities that it would not be about them without them. We consulted dozens of groups and resources to make sure we were saying what we needed to say.
“As a result, students will come away, first and foremost, with an understanding of the necessity to make all media accessible and the hands-on tools to do that.”
The accessibility tools used in the course, says Karapita, are also being incorporated into upcoming online courses at Humber.