A new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was started to help any instructor across the world learn how to deliver more accessible online courses and content to their students. It was developed by Marlene Zentz and Aaron Page from the University of Montana.
As it says on their homepage:
Building an inclusive classroom means enabling everyone in the classroom to achieve the same goals, even if the method of doing so is different.
There are many factors influencing the shift towards a more inclusive education environment, including but not limited to:
- Higher expectations for accessibility in education
- Greater awareness around advocacy and the rights of the learner
- Increase in digital content delivered in a non-traditional fashion
- Lower number of students disclosing disabilities
- Institutions proactively seeking solutions with technology
Delivering accessible online courses and content is a big part of inclusivity. Traditionally, the conversation around accessibility in online courses has often stopped at the learning management system (LMS) itself, without offering a solution for addressing issues with the course content.
Unfortunately, students can be impeded or seriously delayed in their learning due to inaccessible course content and the time involved in gaining access to alternative formats that accommodate their needs for completing coursework.
Today, institutions need to understand how their online courses and content measure up in terms of accessibility standards, regardless of the LMS in use. Building instructor awareness is a big part of that, and as more instructors gain more insight and understanding, they can identify opportunities to improve the accessibility of their own courses and content.
Building inclusive classrooms may seem like a lot of extra work. However, it is important to remember that the value is not in the completion, but in the time and attention that's put into it.
With that, we hope you can take what you learn from this course and think more inclusively with your own instruction so you can set students up for success now and in the future.
Dates
The first session of this 4-week moderated MOOC will start October 16 and will run until November 10, 2017.
Registration
To register visit the MOOC's homepage.