ELO Conference: Access Works
January 18-19, 2024
online
Please join in on our (Un)conference, Access Works! Two days of informal, interactive discussions and workshops to find ways to extend access to electronic literature for all. We will be global and online—come and join the discussion when you are awake!
Electronic literature uses games, images, videos, sounds, links, navigation, and other digital qualities as an essential part of the reading experience. What can we do to make these experiences more accessible: financially, technologically, physically, internationally?
Registration is free with a current Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) membership.
Program
This will be a 24-hour (un)conference with world-wide moderators. See the full schedule: tinyurl.com/ELoJan18-192024. Below are some highlights of what there is to look forward to.
Keynote Interactive Discussions
Access to and from Commercialized Platforms
Lai-Tze Fan will explore the asymmetry of access and accessibility in commercialized computational platforms, including those used to create and support electronic literature. As more and more platforms are restricting users’ and third-party developers’ access to code, databases, and application programming interfaces, Fan discusses social implications that may include misinformation, copyright restrictions, and biases in communication and technological literacy. What kinds of information and knowledge may still be accessed?
Barriers to Electronic Literature Works in India
Shanmugapriya T will address barriers in electronic works within the South Asian realm, with a focus on India. Shanmugapriya T is a Digital Humanities Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies (HCS) at University of Toronto. implications that may include misinformation, copyright restrictions, and biases in communication and technological literacy. What kinds of information and knowledge may still be accessed?
Virtual Tours
Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab
microsoft.com/en-us/inclusive-tech-lab
During the tour we will share the history of the lab, explore how we intentionally designed the space to be accessible, discuss our inclusive design process, and showcase a selection of Microsoft’s accessibility hardware and software products.
Electronic Literature Lab’s The NEXT
During the tour we will explore the accessible features and works of The NEXT and discuss best practices for accessibility in sharing, archiving, and preserving electronic literature.
Demonstrations
Internet in a box
An innovative hard drive to share knowledge and works in places without the internet.
Inky
A free open-source authoring platform for writing branching narratives and dynamic text. The talk will be informed by the research and writing that went into Creating Playable Stories with Ink and Inky, an online open-education resource.
The Worlding Difference Knowledge Platform
Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice will showcase the Worlding Difference Knowledge Platform, a cutting-edge, web-based platform featuring art and scholarship from the Bodies in Translation (BIT) research grant. This lively, digital born, multimedia teaching and learning platform will test the boundaries of multimedia scholarship and academic publishing.
Workshops and Roundtables
Tangled Arts
Tangled Arts will lead a workshop on Social Media Accessibility noting the various areas that need attention when creating accessible digital platforms (screen reader compatibility, alt text, image descriptions, audio descriptions, etc.)
Innovative Teaching Techniques for Electronic Literature
By sharing ways in which Electronic Literature lends itself to pedagogical experimentation, this roundtable will allow instructors to learn from one another.
Co-authoring Accessible Bits
ELO’s guide to Accessibility and Spreading the Word with Astrid Ensslin. Accessible Bits is a draft proposal for ensuring electronic literature works are accessible. Electronic literature writers love to play around the edges and push the boundaries of software. How can we engage in innovative practices while ensuring access? How can we spread the word about access and electronic literature? How can we increase visibility through documentation, analysis, and scholarship? Who can we partner with and reach out to?
But wait, there’s more!
We’ll also engage in discussions around low-vision designs (Patrick Lichty), AI issues (Vinicius Marquet), linguistic experiments (David Van Duzer) and so much more! Look forward to the full schedule releasing on December 18, 2023.