Full course description
Course summary:
Interpretive media products connect the interests of the visitor to the significance and relevance of your site through a variety of formats, including publications, wayside exhibits, audio/visual materials, websites, and more. This course will introduce you to design concepts that you should be familiar with when developing interpretive media. For our purposes in interpretation, design is used for a specialized end: to facilitate engaging and meaningful user experiences that will lead to care and concern for a site, its values, and its resources. As you work on your interpretive media project, always keep the intent of the project in mind. Your design should emphasize the intention of the work; it should not be design for design's sake.
No matter what medium you and your team are working with, design and composition are the keys to a successful product. All interpreters who work on media projects, regardless of their role, should understand the basics of good design and composition and how they contribute to interpretive effectiveness. Whether you are designing an in-house project or working with a professional designer, you need to be able to recognize and articulate, as an interpreter, the ways in which design and composition can enhance access to resource meanings.
Course objectives:
After completing this course, learners should be able to:
- Explain how interpretive principles can be used to develop media products that enable visitors to form their own intellectual and emotional connections to a site.
- Identify appropriate media types for specific interpretive purposes and audiences.
- Recognize basic principles of design and composition and be able to use design terminology.
- Describe the importance of accessibility and Universal Design concepts in media products.
Course topics include:
- Media and Non-Personal Interpretation
- Planning for Your Media Project
- Interpretive Design
Elements of the course:
- Informational text
- Interactive practice activities
- Supplemental reference materials
- Final assessment
This course is self-paced, allowing learners the flexibility to complete the course as quickly or slowly as they need.
After completing all course content and activities, you will complete a final quiz to demonstrate your understanding of key course concepts. Upon successful completion of the quiz, you will be awarded a certificate of completion.
Recommended background
It is recommended that students taking this course have experience in interpretation. There are no required prerequisites, but it is recommended that students complete the free Foundations of Interpretation course prior to taking this one.
Note:
This course is also offered as part of the Intermediate Methods in Interpretation Certificate.
Course creators:
This course was designed and developed jointly by the National Association for Interpretation and the Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University.
How to access:
Upon enrolling, you will receive instructions and the link to the Canvas course. Note: When you register, you will receive an email invitation. Be sure to accept that invitation, or Canvas will not allow you to open the course modules.
Enrollees can move through content modules at their own pace within the course timeframe.