Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/inclusive-design

Introduction

### Course Review: Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education In today's digital learning environment, creating an inclusive and accessible experience for all students is not just an ethical obligation, but it is imperative for fostering an equitable educational landscape. "Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education," offered through Coursera, is a compelling course that equips educators, course designers, and administrative staff with the essential knowledge and skills needed to develop online courses that accommodate diverse learning needs. #### Course Overview "Basics of Inclusive Design" provides a comprehensive framework that emphasizes the importance of inclusion in online education. This course addresses critical aspects of course design, with a special focus on accessibility for students with varying abilities, including those with disabilities. By covering effective practices and common accessibility pitfalls, the course sets the foundation for creating inclusive learning environments. The course is well-structured into five distinct weeks, each focusing on essential elements of accessible online education: #### Syllabus Breakdown **Week 1: Introduction to Course, Demographics, Universal Design** In the first week, participants are introduced to the course logistics and the significance of accessibility in education. Through thought-provoking interviews with students who rely on Assistive Technologies, learners gain real-life perspectives on the challenges faced by marginalized groups. The assignments encourage reflection and practical solutions for accommodating diverse needs. **Week 2: Accessible Documents** This week dives into the nuts and bolts of creating accessible documents using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF. Participants learn the steps necessary for remediating documents, reinforcing the practical skills required for ensuring accessibility in course materials. This hands-on approach is crucial for translating theory into practice effectively. **Week 3: Complex Images, Tables, Graphs** Here, the course becomes increasingly technical, focusing on how to describe complex images and interpret data-related elements like tables and graphs. By creating meaningful text alternatives, participants learn how to enhance educational materials, making them comprehensible to all students. **Week 4: Captioning** The fourth week is dedicated to the art and science of captioning. As accessibility extends to multimedia, this segment provides essential techniques on how to caption videos effectively, illustrating its significance within Universal Design. The assignment allows participants to apply what they've learned practically, reinforcing the skill of making multimedia content accessible. **Week 5: Uncovered Topics, Resources & Review** In the final week, participants delve into various uncovered topics such as keyboard accessibility, color contrast, and the accessibility of Learning Management Systems (LMS). This week serves as a review and synthesis of learned material, encouraging the application of knowledge to real-life accessibility scenarios. #### Course Recommendation I highly recommend "Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education" for anyone involved in the field of education, whether as an instructor, instructional designer, or administrator. The course is masterfully curated, providing not just theoretical knowledge but also practical skills that are directly applicable in everyday online educational settings. This course stands out for its strong emphasis on real-world application, insightful discussions, and a supportive learning environment. Participants will walk away with a toolkit of resources and strategies that they can implement immediately, ensuring their courses are inclusive and accessible. By completing this course, educators will not only enhance their professionalism but also contribute to making the learning experience equitable for all students. The rise of online education makes this course especially relevant, and the commitment to inclusive design will resonate well beyond the classroom, fostering an environment where every learner can thrive. Overall, "Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education" is a pivotal course for those who believe in the value of inclusive education and wish to make a meaningful impact in the realm of online learning.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction to Course, Demographics, Universal Design

Welcome to the first week of Basics of Inclusive Design! This module will review the structure and logistics of the course and then introduce the issues that affect course accessibility. The topic of course accessibility will include an interview with two students who use Assistive Technology to access digital material. The assignment will allow you to learn more about the issues that students with different backgrounds and abilities face when taking a course and for you to offer your own solutions for addressing the needs of students who may need special adaptations for accessing course material.

Following a review of online accessibility issues, in this week we will explain the steps to create and remediate course documents in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF documents. The assignment will provide you with an opportunity to apply these skills to actual documents.

Week 3 will focus on creating appropriate text alternatives for complex images and other more complex material, such as data tables and graphs. The assignment will provide you the opportunity to add alternate text to images.

This week, we will introduce the topic of captioning, discuss its accessibility and Universal Design benefits and then provide step-by-step instruction for captioning videos using a variety of tools. The assignment will provide the opportunity to caption a video.

This final week of the course will cover topics not covered in earlier lessons: keyboard accessibility, color contrast and the accessibility of Learning Management Systems (LMS). The assignment will ask you to use a resource we have covered and one discovered by you to address one of a number of accessibility scenarios.