You Can Create Accessible Videos

Duane Crowe and Alisa Fisher


A laptop with photographic images on the screen sits on a desk next to an iPad and headphones.
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  • Introduction

    3

  • Why do I need to make my videos accessible?

    4

  • What does it mean to have an accessible video?

    5

  • What does an accessible video look like?

    6

  • How can I be sure my video is accessible?

     

    7

  • What are the tools I can use to make my video accessible?

    8

  • References

     

    9
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Two children gesture in excitement while pointing to a laptop computer screen.

Introduction

With the prevalence of online learning, many educators are using video as part of their instructional content. Video is a valuable way to engage students and represent material. Due to its visual and auditory nature, however, it may not be accessible to all people.

A person with a visual or auditory disability would have trouble seeing or hearing a video. Even a person viewing a video who is not a native speaker of the language used in the video, may benefit from features such as a transcript or controllable playback features. Therefore, it’s important for video creators to carefully consider their video's accessiblity. The best time to consider accessibiity is right from the beginning, so the accessibility features can be built in as the video is produced. This book will help you to

  • Understand why a video shoud be accessible
  • Know what makes a video accessible
  • Become aware of tools that can be used to add accessibility
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Why do I need to make my videos accessible?

Every one of our students deserves to be able to access and use the materials in a course, including videos.That is one of the reasons why the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard was created as part of the Disabilities Education Act in 2004. NIMAS ensures that individuals with disabilities have access to all of a curriculum by establishing a source file that allows for varied formats including audio, digital, Braille, and large print. Consider some of the individuals who would benefit from these accessibility features in videos in the chart below. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a set of examples to help you better understand the barriers that some individuals face.

 


The chart shows how some individuals with impairments would benefit from accessible video features.
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What does it mean to have an accessible video?

An accessible video is designed to provide all participants the same access to the content. For a video to be considered accessible, it must contain captioning, audio description, and a transcript.

Captioning

Captioning is syncing text to the spoken or sung, words featured in the video. This process is essential  to ensure your video is accessible to people who are deaf or suffer from a loss of hearing. Captioning is also imperative to the non-English speakers allowing  participants to witness a visual text representation of the video.

Audio Description 

Audio Description is designed to assist the blind.  A descriptive soundtrack is created to accompany the video.  The audio track will feature descriptive sounds and effects, along with text, so the participant can pull prior knowledge to visualize the video. A great example of this process are stories narrated on the radio using sound effects to match the tone of the story.

Transcript

A transcript is an exact  text representation of the video's spoken dialogue. Transcripts also provide on-screen descriptions to provide a clear setting for the hearing impaired.

 

http://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/

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What does an accessible video look like?

Click HERE to view an example of a Transcript for presentation

 http://celt.our.dmu.ac.uk/example-of-video-transcript/

Click HERE to view an example of an Audio Description of visuals in a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4WLeVc5l5k

Click HERE to view an example of video with Captions

https://dotsub.com/view/3f2e11e4-a8fb-47df-9d24-35ffadda60cb

 


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How can I be sure my video is accessible?

Creating videos that are accessible for all learners is not an easy task. Use this checklist to guide you.

CHECKLIST

1). Make sure you are designing with the lens of accessibility from the beginning. Do your research at the beginning and incorporate the proper tools that will allow your video to meet the needs of all learners.

2).  Make sure the video player you are using is accessible. Some videos players do not support captions or audio descriptions which are imperative for participants with impaired vision. 

3). Do not allow your video to autoplay.  Selecting audio play will start your video as soon as the participant opens the video. This is action can be very distracting for the participant.

4). Do not use flashing, strobe-like content. Similar to strobe lights, a video that displays strobe-like content could trigger an epilepsy seizure.

5). Include a transcript. Providing a transcript will allow the participant to follow along by reading and listening to the text.  Providing a transcript is one of the hallmark traits of an accessible video.

6). Include captions. Captions provide a visual representation of the spoken dialogue and sound. Captions are typically located at the bottom of the video and can be displayed in many languages.  Providing captions is another hallmark trait of an accessible video.

7). Utilize audio descriptions. Including audio descriptions will provide an aural description of the action featured in the video. This is imperative for participants with visual disabilities.

8). Incorporate sign language. Although this is not a common practice, the benefits far outweigh the cost. A video featuring sign language will include a small screen of an interpreter towards the bottom of the screen. 

 

https://www.sitepoint.com/accessible-video/

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What TOOLS can I use to make my videos accessible?

Transcript

Captions

Audio Descriptions

Paid services that transcribe audio files, there are many organizations that charge per minutes for transcribing.

MAGpie, free software for adding captions and video descriptions to QuickTime, Windows Media, Real and Flash multimedia

MAGpie, free software for adding captions and video descriptions to QuickTime, Windows Media, Real and Flash multimedia

Dragon Speech Recognition Software, several products to purchase to assist with voice recognition transcripts.

CCforFlash, a free Flash component that can be used to display captions of Flash video and audio content

Caption, description and Web-accessibilty symbols, copyright-free; use to indicate that you have provided these accessibility services

Express Scribe Transcription Playback Software, this is a free program.

ccPlayer and ccMP3Player, free players that incorporate CCforFlash components; useful for non-Flash authors who want to add captions to Flash video or audio, respectively

 

 

NCAM QA Favelet, a tool to help developers identify accessibility problems on Web pages

 

http://www.uiaccess.com/transcripts/transcripts_on_the_web.html

http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines
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References

 

University of Washington. Creating Accessible Videos. 2016 http://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/

CAST. Video. http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/media_video#.WBk4p7HD9Ms

Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology. Creating Video and Multimedia Products That Are Accessbile to People with Sensory Impairments. 2016http://www.washington.edu/doit/creating-video-and-multimedia-products-are-accessible-people-sensory-impairments

W3C. Multimedia Accessibility FAQ. 2016.https://www.w3.org/2008/06/video-notes

Gian Wild. Sitepoint. 8 Steps to Creating Accessible Video. 2000-2016. https://www.sitepoint.com/accessible-video/

Candace Cortiella. Insight on Federal Policy. What You Need to Know About NIMAS. 2008 https://canopy.uc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-18285306-dt-content-rid-47439923_1/courses/2168-1_18CI6082001/2168-1_18CI6082001_ImportedContent_20160816033509/15FS_CI6082002_ImportedContent_20150921022634/NIMAS.pdf

Anne Meyer, David H. Rose, and David Gordon. Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice. 2014. http://udltheorypractice.cast.org/login

Centre for Enhancing Learning Through Technology. Example of Video Transcript.http://celt.our.dmu.ac.uk/example-of-video-transcript/

YouTube. Web Accessbility Perspectives: Customizable Text - Audio Described Version. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4WLeVc5l5k

dotsub. Making the Web Accessible to People with Disabilities, UPS Technology Seminar, Malaysia, June 2008. https://dotsub.com/view/3f2e11e4-a8fb-47df-9d24-35ffadda60cb

 

 

 

 

 

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