[Athen] Distance learning course for online faculty and course designers focuses on inclusive teaching practices

[Sheryl E. Burgstahler]

A 6-week fully online course for e-learning faculty and course designers will begin May 18. Please forward this message to others who might be interested in enrolling in the course.

Accessibility and Compliance in Online Education introduces online learning educators basic concepts, issues, approaches, strategies, beneficiaries, and resources with regard to the creation and delivery of online courses that are welcoming to, accessible to, and usable by all students, including those with disabilities.

A link to registration for the course—which is offered through Rutgers University at $300 for non-Rutgers, $100 for Rutgers employees—can be found at https://ce-catalog.rutgers.edu/searchResults.cfm?sorter=c.couTitle&sorter2=sch.schDateStart

Participants are expected to engage at least two hours per week in the course. Listed below are specific course objectives. By the end of the course it is expected that students will be able to:

  *   state the definition, describe the principles processes, and give examples of universal design applied to educational settings and how this approach benefits all faculty and students, including those with disabilities.
  *   describe at least four ways that students in online courses represent a diverse group.
  *   share some of the experiences, challenges, and perspectives of people with disabilities and reflect on how they might impact participation in online learning as students and instructors.
  *   describe how individuals with different types of disabilities—including mobility impairments, sensory impairments, and learning disabilities—use technology to engage with online tools and resources.
  *   discuss international and US views regarding the civil rights of people with disabilities and related international efforts and US legislation and  examples of the basic issues presented in accessibility-related complaints and resolutions in the US.
  *   name and compare (with respect to author, target audience, and content) guidelines and standards most relevant to the development of online courses.
  *   give examples of access barriers and related solutions for individuals with specific types of disabilities enrolled in online courses.
  *   describe accessible design issues and approaches or specific strategies for online tools and methods—including LMSs; page layout and style; writing style and academic supports; images; video and audio content; PDFs, PowerPoints, and Word documents; organization and navigation; and communication and collaboration.
  *   give an example of how disability/accessibility topics can be integrated into course content.
  *   suggest what might be a reasonable accommodation for a student with a specific disability who enrolls in your course and some aspect of the content you have prepared, tool you are using, or resource students need to access is not fully accessible to him or her.
  *   design an online lesson that is welcoming and accessible to all potential students, including those who have disabilities, are English language learners, have different learning styles and preferences, have a variety of technical expertise, and have other diverse characteristics.

------------------------------------------------------------
Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.
Director, UW Accessible Technology & DO-IT, UW-IT
Affiliate Professor, Education
University of Washington, Box 354842
Seattle, WA 98195
206-543-0622          FAX 206-221-4171
http://staff.washington.edu/sherylb
sherylb at uw.edu


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/pipermail/athen-list/attachments/20150508/c4789095/attachment.html>