Making Podcasts and Videos into Accessible Educational Materials

Program Description

Teachers at all levels increasingly use audio and video content as part of their instructionpractice. Unfortunately, many of these materials are inaccessible to learners with disabilities.

In this session, we will discuss the importance of making all education materials accessible, how to make your audio and video accessible and various free tools and resources.

Participants will learn about:

  • Legal requirements.
  • How to create audio transcripts.
  • How to create captioning files.
  • Methods for creating video descriptions.
  • Where to find free tools and resources.

Presenters

John E. Brandt, Training Coordinator, Maine CITE and Maine AEM Program

Outline

  1. What are AEM
  2. Quick history
  3. AEM are described in IDEA for k-12 educators
  4. AEM are described in the latest version of the Higher Education Act for post-secondary educators
  5. Web accessibility guidelines call for all audio and video content to be made accessible to all
  6. Why important
  7. Legal requirements
  8. SEO improvement
  9. Usability of content
  10. Podcasts and Videos
  11. What are they
  12. Podcasts – Although the name goes back to the time of the first iPods, the term has become the generic descriptor for all pre-recorded audio-only web content. Whether the content is served up as part of a website or simply provided as an attachment, downloaded from a service or via an app, the audio-only content must be made accessible to all.
  13. Videos – This pertains to all video-based content, whether live action or animation, where human narration or dialog is present. Whether the content is served up as part of a website or simply provided as an attachment, downloaded from a service or via an app, the video content must be made accessible to all. However, video that has no sound or has background music only is exempt from this requirement.
  14. Things you need to make them accessible
  15. Podcasts – transcripts
  16. Videos – captions and description
  17. Podcasts and Transcripts
  18. Methods for creating accessible transcripts
  19. Pre-production – create a script. When planning a podcast it makes sense to create, at the very least, an outline of what you plan to talk about. From here, you can add to your outside the specific text you plan to use. Here you should carefully work on your text to make the timing and pacing efficient and enjoyable to listen to and make sure you cover everything you want to say. The resulting script does not need to be read exactly as written, although you should not stray too far from the script. The final script in digital form becomes the basis of the transcript that can be used to make the podcast accessible. Simply edit the script to make it match the final audio and you have made your podcast accessible content.
  20. Post Production – There are a number of options for doing this:
  21. Manually transcribe the content using a word processor. Caution: When performing manual transcription, it obviously helps to be able to type fast, ideally fast enough to keep up with the speakers. Approximate words per minute rates are around 150–200 for typical podcast speakers, and 40–80 for average-to-good typists. That difference creates a problem.
  22. Use of transcription software. This is specialized software that combines a media player with a text editor. You play the media and start typing what you hear (as fast as you can), pause, rewind a bit, repeat.–see Resources for a list.
  23. Text-to-speech software. This again is specialized software where the computer attempts to transcribe the spoken text. Results vary based upon the quality of the audio, the speed of the speech and the presence of any accents or speech variables. Again, many resources to choose from.
  24. Transcription service.Aprofessional service where you send your audio content to a transcription business and pay to have the content transcribed. See resources.
  25. Delivering accessible podcasts
  26. Posting audio content and controls
  27. Accessible Controls. While modern content management systems running the latest HTML and advanced browser technology make posting an audio file to a website is generally very easy (It usually simply involves adding a short line of code), accessibility guidelines call for ensuring the audio “player” has accessible controls. This means that people who are using assistive technology (AT) like screen readers and switches can start and stop the recording as necessary. The native HTML 5 audio player is accessible. If you are using a podcasting service or alternative method of serving up your audio content, you will need to test to ensure the delivery system is accessible to AT.
  28. Posting transcript.The posting of the transcript is very easy and can be either an attached and downloadable accessible file (e.g., word processor file) or HTML content at the same location as the audio file.
  29. Examples of Accessible Podcasts
  30. This American Life - and
  31. Freakonomics -
  32. Videos and Captioning
  33. Types of Captions
  34. Open Captioning.Open captions, also known as burned-in, baked on or hard-coded captions, are seen by everyone who watches the video (or film). Open captions are a permanent feature on the video and can’t be turned on and off. Open captions are often used for videos which are being played on website video players that don’t have closed captioning functionality.
  35. Closed Captioning.The term "closed" (versus "open") indicates that the captions are not visible until activated by the viewer, usually via the remote control or menu option. The caption content resides in a separate file and is added or layered on top of, or next to, the video content during playback.
  36. The differences. While both versions are acceptable for accessibility purposes, the Closed Captioning method provides the user with greater usability as they are often able to control the font type, size and color of the caption. In some video playback systems, the user may also be able to control the location of the closed captions.
  37. Synching with actions in the video. Unlike the podcast, the creation of captioning is not limited to simply creating a transcript of all the spoken text. For video content, the transcript must be broken down into sections and synched with the action in the video. This is done with the use of timestamps.
  38. Methods for creating Captions
  39. Manually transcribe. Methods for creating closed captioning are similar totranscribing audio-only/podcast content. Because of the need to time stamp and synch caption content, the process is usually done in post-production (see CART below). Captioning transcription can be done manually with a simple word processor or byusing specialized software. Similar to podcasts, there are also many options and resources for the DIY (do-it-yourselfer), but given the need to make timestamps, the software and the techniques are more complicated. One of the advantages of using specialized software is the ability to get the caption synched correctly. Sometimes this becomes an art form!
  40. Automated systems. There are many automated captioning systems(a google search will reveal many) that will use text-to-speech technology to convert the spoken content into written text, however, results will vary. The best example of this is the automatic transcription feature built into You Tube. With the click of a switch, YouTube’s servers will create a synched text transcript of the audio portion of any video that is uploaded to their system. Depending of the quality of the audio, the results may be very good or very poor. Fortunately, the person who owns the YT channel can download the automated caption file and edit it off line, or used the built-in caption editing tools and perfect the transcript file on the YT site. YT will also allow content developers the option of uploading a prepared caption file or simply a transcript. The YT system will then synch the new caption file with the video automatically.
  41. Outsourced methods.
  42. Combination of manual and automated.Similar to the method described above which uses the YouTube automatic captioning system followed by manual editing, many commercial captioning firms will use their own combination of automatic and manual transcription
  43. Manual only systems. Some captioning vendors will only used specially trained professional transcriptionists to create the caption content and time stamps.
  44. CART. Communication Access Realtime Translation or CART is live captioning of audio-only, or video content. CART is primarily used during live events (such as this webinar), but the recorded text can also be edited and used in post-production for video that will be archived and made available for later viewing.
  45. Delivering accessible video content
  46. Video player and controls.This is a controversial area. As with audio-only/podcast content, the player used to view the video content, along with the synched caption content must be accessible to people using assistive technology (AT). Unlike in the audio-only realm, there are many video players used, many of which are not accessible. Unfortunately, there is no native support for closed captioning built into HTML5 standards. I have provided a link to some articles on the topic with some video players that have been reported to be “fully accessible.” However, there are other articles on the web that suggest that all is not perfect. See
  47. Captioned content and controls.If closed captioning is used, the video player must also allow for captions to be turned on and off. Ideally, the video player provides the usethe ability to resize and change the color, background or type of font, however, this is not a current requirement in the accessibility guidelines.
  48. Examples of Accessible Video -
  49. Videos and Description
  50. What is it and can I do this myself?As noted, to meet current accessibility guidelines, all pre-recorded video content must provide something called “audio descriptionin addition to captioning of the audio portion of the video recording. Audio description is sometimes referred to as “video description” or “descriptive narration,” so we will refer to it as “description” to avoid any confusion.

Although description has been around for many years, the requirements in web accessibility guidelines were elevated in WCAG v 2.0 and are now required even to meet Level A of the guidelines. Description is defined as: “narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone.In standard audio description, narration is added during existing pauses in dialogue.” It is noted that,“where all of the video information is already provided in existing audio, no additional audio description is necessary.”

Description is difficult to do without training. Unfortunately, there are few professional description services(AST – Caption Synch; 3-Play Media)at this time and there are no automatic systems (that I am aware of). There are several training programs around the country.

  1. Challenges many. Currently, there are few free services in this area. I could find no free editing tools. Standards are still in draft form despite the fact that Section 508 has now adopted WCAG v2.0. Description is difficult to accomplish,and training is strongly encouraged. This is one aspect of accessibility that you may wish to outsource to professional services. I could find only two major vendors – 3Play Media and AST/CaptionSynch. Prices range from $12 to $20 per minute to provide both captioning and description.

It is often necessary to pause sections of the video to “fit in” description. If there is no time for recorded audio description, then the videos will need to be re-edited to make time, or an additional version of the video with time for recorded AD will need to be edited.

Integration of the final video production with both captioning and description presents additional technological hurdles. 3PlayMedia does have a proprietary player that will serve up the three stands of content (video, captioning and description), but without this, video content owner may need to create two versions of their production, one with description and captioning and one with captioning only.

  1. Examples of Audio Description and see also
  2. Demonstration of Audio Description – Leave the Gun, take the Cannolis…
  1. Tools and Resources - Podcasts
  2. Semi-automated podcast transcription -
  3. 5 Free Transcription Software for Triumphant Transcripts -
  4. Do It Yourself Transcripts and Captions -
  5. Diverse and Accessible Podcasts -
  6. Scribie - Free Podcast Transcription – Note: long waiting list -
  7. 10 Essential Tools to Record, Edit, Transcribe and Share Podcasts -
  8. Sonix for Podcasters -
  9. The Importance of Including Transcripts with your Podcasts. And a swift solution. -
  10. Resources and Tools – Video Captioning
  11. WebAIM - Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions -
  12. Open vs Closed Captioning -
  13. Captioning Your Own Video for Free -
  14. NCDAE - Captioning YouTube Videos -
  15. YouTube - Add your own subtitles & closed captions -
  16. Canvas LMS -
  17. BlackBoard LMS -
  18. Zoom - Getting Started With Closed Captioning -
  19. Microsoft - Add subtitles or captions to a video in Office 365 Video -
  20. Captioning video on Facebook -
  21. Resources – Description
  22. 3 Play Media -
  23. AST Caption Synch -
  24. Audio Description Project – American Council of the Blind -
  25. OzPlayer -
  26. Audio Description Associates - Joel Snyder
  27. 508 Accessible Videos – How to Make Audio Descriptions
  28. Audio Description from Perkins Learning
  29. Audio Description Resource Guide - National Library Service
  30. Questions and Answers
  31. Thank you

FMI

John Brandt, Maine AEM Program

Appendix: Leave the gun – take the cannoli.

The video

From “Story of the Scene: The Godfather (1972)” by Roger Clarke, Independent

“…The Godfather, just after the ‘sleeps with the fishes’ scene, Mafia henchmen Clemenza and Rocco get into a car with Paulie. They intend to kill him.

“Clemenza, played by the Bronx-born actor Richard S Castellano, claims that they are going to look for ‘mattresses’ (safe houses) and directs Paulie to drive to ‘309 West 43rd Street.’ The remarks about cannoli (pastries) that begin and end the scene have become as famous as anything in The Godfather.

“The scene where Paulie gets popped begins with Clemenza leaving his house and his wife shouting: ‘Don't forget the cannoli’ – a last-minute dialogue addition from director Francis Ford Coppola. There follows a montage of stock footage of period New York, and then a shot of the car driving in the countryside beyond New York. Clemenza asks to pull over to take ‘a leak’ In the distance pokes the Statue of Liberty.

“Three shots are fired by Rocco into Paulie's head. As Rocco gets out the car, Clemenza says: ‘Leave the gun – take the cannoli.’ He takes the food as Paulie lies slumped against the steering wheel. Coppola gave all credit to the actor in later years: ‘Richie improvised the line,’ he said.”

Audio Description of the scene from The Godfather:

A black car in a secluded, swampy area with a view of the Statue of Liberty in the background. Two men appear in to be in the car.

[Sound effect: 3 gunshots]

The man in the back seat (Rocco) shoots the man (Paulie) in the front seat of the car in the back of the head.

Clemenzaturnshis head and reacts to the sound of the gun shots. He walks back to the car.

Paulie is slumped over the steering wheel, blood on his face. Bullet holes are in the windshield

[Dialog: Leave the gun take the cannolis]

Rocco reaches into the front seat of the car and retrieves a white box (the canolis). Rocco walks away quickly, Clemenza looking at the dead body, closed the car door.

[Sound effect: cardoor slams]

Tech Articles

Described and Captioned Media Program provides premium media designed for students with disabilities and leads as a resource for families and teachers, supported by the Department of Education.

Adding captions and subtitles to HTML5 video – Mozilla (techy) -

W3C-WAI Web Accessibility Tutorials - Guidance on how to create websites that meet WCAG - [Draft] Caption formats and examples 2017/05/12 Caption formats

Transcription Guidelines for Captioning– AST -

Quick Start to Captioning -

W3C – WAI - [Draft] Production options for audio descriptions 2017/05/12 -

FCC - Captioning of Internet Video Programming -