[Air-L] New free online unit: Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation and Inclusion

[Tama Leaver]

Dear All,



Just a quick plug for the new free online course from Internet Studies at
Curtin called Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation
and Inclusion which is now open:
https://www.edx.org/course/disability-and-digital-media-accessibility-representation-and-inclusion



Disability and Digital Media tries to make some of the big issues and
questions around Digital Disability accessible to a more general audience,
but may be of interest to scholars and students more broadly.  This joins
our first free online short-course Social Media: How Media Got Social which
remains available to anyone interested:
https://www.edx.org/course/social-media-how-media-got-social



More detail about Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility,
Representation and Inclusion follows:



Curtin University’s latest Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will explore
how social media – including memes – is changing the face of disability, as
well as the opportunities and challenges the online age presents to people
with disabilities.



The free four-week MOOC, delivered through the edX online learning
platform, will help learners understand the impact of social media on
representations of disability and the role of accessibility in the digital
world.



The course, titled Disability and Digital Media, consists of four modules,
delving into the politics of experiencing and discussing disability online
and the presence of disability in memes, viral content and online culture.



Course Coordinator Associate Professor Katie Ellis, from the School of
Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, said the MOOC offered an
opportunity to learn about the relationship between digital technologies
and disability in an ever-changing online landscape.



“As an increasingly prevalent and pervasive part of our daily lives, the
internet is a reflection of who we are and the society we live in,”
Associate Professor Ellis said.



“This MOOC will help learners understand how a contemporary online
environment, including social media, is changing representations of
disability and will explore the opportunities and challenges of
representing disability online.”



Disability and Digital Media will cover a range of topics including social
and medical models of disability, key concepts and terminology for
understanding digital disability, how memes and viral content are being
used by disability activists and how the tools of digital accessibility can
benefit all media users.



Curtin University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Professor Jill Downie
said the digital world presented new and innovative ways for people to
learn, making education more accessible for many.



“This online course is relevant to online learners from all parts of the
world who are interested in learning more about the relationship between
digital technologies and disability in the internet age,” Professor Downie
said.



“By working with edX to deliver these online courses, Curtin is offering
greater flexibility to students, professionals and global learners looking
to develop their skills, study a passion or further their qualifications.”



Disability and Digital Media will run in self-paced mode for 2019, so
participants may enrol and complete it at any time. It is the second MOOC
from Internet Studies at Curtin, following on from Social Media: How Media
Got Social, which was launched in 2018 and is now available on edX in
self-paced mode.



Participants can enrol now in Disability-and-Digital-Media: Accessibility,
Representation and Inclusion, which started February 4, 2019:
https://www.edx.org/course/disability-and-digital-media-accessibility-representation-and-inclusion



Cheers,

Tama

-- 
Associate Professor Tama Leaver
Discipline Lead, Internet Studies,
School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry (MCASI)
Curtin University
GPO Box U1987 Perth WA Australia 6845
Ph: (+61 8) 9266 1258
Email: t.leaver at curtin.edu.au
Web: www.tamaleaver.net
Twitter: @tamaleaver <https://twitter.com/tamaleaver>
CRICOS Provider Code: 00301J (WA)