Making Media Accessible
This video series is about a study focused on making media accessible, conducted by Chelsea Jones, Kim Collins, and Anne Zbitnew. In this study, media students were paired with disabled media-makers to work on films and podcasts. The main goal of the study was to support the development of both technical skills and attitudinal change in the students by having them work with content creators who have lived experiences of disability. One of the main takeaways of the study is that students’ views on access seemed to counter the dominant view in their field by the completion of the media projects; students saw accessibility as a desirable production feature and one that is important to plan for at the start of a production as opposed to an “add-on” at the final stages of a project. More information about the study can be found at https://bit.ly/3OTlFWV.
We were fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with some of the individuals involved in this study about the study itself and what they took away from it. The videos below reflect some of the highlights of our conversation – we hope you enjoy!
1) Can you tell us about your study on making media accessible?
In this video Chelsea Jones describes the study that she conducted with Anne Zbitnew on making media accessible. https://youtu.be/5ltrOue4bJw
2) As a student working on this project, what did you take away from this experience?
Yhasmina Garcia explains what she, as a student, took away from working on her project about making media accessible. https://youtu.be/ArcE25TbirE
3) As a professional media maker, how did you work with the students to give them agency to investigate and create?
Sheyfali Sujani shares how she worked with students as a professional media maker to give them agency to investigate and create. https://youtu.be/E0v7bnlXskI
4) What motivated you to conduct the study?
Anne Zbitnew shares what motivated her to conduct a study on making media accessible. https://youtu.be/PF57_mpKUp0
5) Do you think the students connected their work on accessible media with attitudinal change?
Chelsea Jones and Anne Zbitnew share their thoughts on whether the students involved in the study connected their work on accessible media with attitudinal change. https://youtu.be/uTGYnmobtPw
6) Do you have any examples of something that you did to incorporate different forms of access?
Sheyfali Sujani shares how her team incorporated different forms of access into their project. https://youtu.be/oZGx3NfVpak
7) How do you think the collaboration between professional media makers and students strengthened the learning process?
Chelsea Jones, Sheyfali Sujani, and Yhasmina Garcia describe how the collaboration between professional media makers and students strengthened the learning process. https://youtu.be/5MP6pkKwqrk
8) Based on your experiences conducting this project, do you have any suggestions for how educators can address access in their courses and the work they do?
Based on the study they conducted about making media accessible, Chelsea Jones and Anne Zbitnew share their suggestions for how educators can address access in their courses and the work they do. https://youtu.be/tRIdhJR4iww
Relevant links to the study:
Making Accessible Media – https://humber.ca/makingaccessiblemedia/modules/02/01.php
Article in Canadian Journal of Communication – https://cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/3897
Article in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator – https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10776958211000198
CICE content – https://humber.ca/makingaccessiblemedia/modules/02/13.php
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the creation of this video! A special thanks to Meagan Veneracion (animations and voice over), Bruno Di Pasqua (audio editing), Alliah Patawaran (closed captioning).