Module 4: Multimedia

Text 4 Multimedia

Audio and video elements add richness to course content, but they can present accessibility challenges, particularly for blind and/or deaf users. In this section, we'll look at some of the ways we can remove those barriers.

Check out this report on the accessibility features built in to the film Finding Dory:

Audio

Audio content represents a serious barrier for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. Fortunately, this is a pretty straightforward to correct: it's simply a matter of providing a written transcript of the audio material. If no script is available for the material, dictation software Links to an external site. is a good place to start. It's essential to understand, though, that it is just that: a starting point. Depending on the source, there will be a little to a lot of cleanup and augmentation necessary before your audio transcript is ready to use.

Another option is to upload your audio to YouTube, let it auto-caption the content, and then extract the script from the YouTube version. You can find it,Instructions for uploading audio here Links to an external site.and instructions for extracting the script here Links to an external site.. (You can also use this method to extract a script from a video, but it has to be a video that you have uploaded.) Again, you'll probably have to do some cleanup before your script is 100% accurate.

The necessity for providing a written transcript is another good reason--beyond a smoother and more professional performance--to start from a script to begin with when creating your own audio materials.

Video

Videos present both audio and visual issues, so making them fully accessible can be a challenge. 

A step that is straightforward and simple to carry out is to add captions to your video. These can be open (visible all the time) or closed (visible only if you turn them on).  Captioning video creates accessible content for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and it can also help students who have cognitive challenges consume the video content. Captions also benefit learners whose native language is not English, and they make the content of your video searchable. Captions are a great example of how Universal Design goes beyond the realm of disability and provides benefits to a wider audience.