The courses to be offered are Community Media, Online Journalism and Information/Media Literacy. The ones in Community Media and Online Journalism will begin in September 2007.

These online courses were created to bridge the gap between practical media education and the accessibility of training in the region. Both courses will provide students with practical training and media education, and assist in meeting the media development needs of the region.

The certificate in Community Media consists of a two-part course that seeks to provide formal training, over 21 weeks, to community media practitioners and individuals who are interested in developing community media. Topics will include:

• Alternative media concepts,
  
• Theoretical framework,
  
• Forms, products and channels for community media,
  
• Case studies,
  
• Community Radio – ROOTS FM,
  
• Multimedia telecentres,
  
• Mobilization and animation techniques and skills,
  
• Writing news, programming for special interest groups and marketing for community radio.

The Online Journalism course highlights aspects of web journalism. At the end of this course participants should be able to use the various online tools to enhance how information is reported on the web.

This course lasts 12 weeks and includes topics such as:

• Introduction on online journalism,
  
• Ethics for online reporting,
  
• Legal considerations – validity and reliability,
  
• Writing for the web – Caribbean content for Caribbean audience,
  
• Editing print content,
  
• Editing multimedia content,
  
• Using web blogs, podcasts, chat.

Registration has already begun and will close on 12 August 2007. Interested persons are encouraged to register now as spaces are limited. Students will not be required to attend face-to-face classes in order to participate.