Digital literacy and accessibility
Digital literacy programs are designed to help people overcome barriers to participate actively in a digital society. But what about participants with physical or cognitive disabilities?
To address the needs of all digital literacy participants, you need to ensure that your organization’s programs and spaces include people of all abilities. This is possible when you know the fundamentals of accessible communication, assistive technologies (both hardware and software), and adaptive spaces. As a bonus, focusing on accessibility improves usability for all participants.
In this course, you’ll study three key elements of digital literacy and accessibility. First up, you’ll dive into the fundamentals of accessibility within the context of digital literacy programs. Next, you’ll learn how to identify and implement new strategies for including people with disabilities. Finally, you’ll examine important considerations for evaluating and modifying the physical space for program delivery.
You’ll leave this course with the skills you need to make accessibility and inclusion a central part of your new or existing digital literacy programs.
Next course
Check back soon for course schedule updates.
Cost per course
MEMBERS $125/NON-MEMBERS $250
Qualifying credits
NTEN professional certificate
Certified Fund Raising Executive
Certified Association Executive
Course overview
Awareness
Learn about the practices and technologies that support digital inclusion for people with a range of abilities.
Strategy development
Develop strategies for successfully engaging people with disabilities, including creating accessible websites and documents.
Assessment
Examine your current tools and spaces to identify potential barriers for people with disabilities and discover adaptive techniques.
I loved the resource links, as well as examples. They were really helpful to take back to our agency.
- Former course participantMeet the presenter
Melissa Helquist
Pronouns: She/her
Director
SLCC Community Writing Center
Dr. Melissa Helquist is Director of the SLCC Community Writing Center and Professor of English at Salt Lake Community College. Melissa is a community educator and a passionate accessibility advocate. She has helped to develop accessible publishing guidelines adopted by the Society for Disability Studies and University of Michigan Press. She is an accessibility trainer for higher education and is a founding participant of Utah Communities Connect, a digital inclusion initiative.
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