Multimodal Experiment 8: Disability, Media, and Access(ibility)

This response builds off of the webtext "Multimodality in Motion" assigned for this week, as well as this week's in-class writing prompt.

Part 1: Analyzing a Piece of Media

For the first part of this experiment, analyze a piece of media with disability and access in mind. The piece of media could be a website, video, videogame, or even one of your own past projects. Take a close look at this piece of media, thinking critically about its features from a disability perspective (consider audio, color, controls, animation & effects, video, keyboard layout, structure, flexibility, readability, layout, and icons & images). Consider these questions in your analysis:

• In what way is this piece of media accessible? Who is it accessible to?

• What features, modes, and elements would not be accessible, or would be more difficult to access or interact with? Who is potentially excluded or barred from completely accessing this piece of media?

• How are people with disabilities represented, considered, or made invisible by this piece of media?

• In what ways does or does not this piece of media take up the concept of universal design, or the principle that media should initially be made with a wide range of abilities and experiences in mind rather than "retrofitted" to account for disability after the fact?

• What recommendations do you have for making this piece of media more accessible and responsive to diverse abilities?

Here are some resources and places to start to help guide your analysis:

• Social Media and Accessibility Guide, from University of Minnesota

• Making Audio and Video Media Accessible, from the Web Accessibility Initiative

• "Hollywood's Disability Community Shares Why Disability Representation Matters" by Renee Fabian

• Designing for Disability series from Game Maker's Toolkit

• Design Needs of Disabled People from DesignMantic

Part 2: Considering the Accessibility of Your Own Designs

In the second part of the experiment, discuss how you will apply what you learned from the reading and your analysis to your own designs. Consider how you will make your final portfolio accessible, as well as how you will apply the concept of universal design to other projects and compositions beyond this course. In other words, how will working from the starting point of universal design inform and affect your process? Give examples to support your points.

Draw on the implications and recommendations from Yergeau et al. concerning media design in your reflection (they are outlined here at the bottom of the page, in case you read a different section).

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The format of your experiment is up to you: you can create a written reflection that includes screenshots of the features that you discuss, you can make a video either of you talking to the camera or screen-recording as you walk through the piece of media that you chose, or you can create an audio recording where you talk through your analysis and reflection. Consider how you can draw upon multiple modes in your response, from using drawings to explain concepts to including video clips that illustrate your point.

Submit your experiment to Moodle by Sunday, November 8 at 10pm.

People participate in the first annual Disability Pride Parade in New York City