The “Why”
- Accessing Visual Context: For students with visual impairments, a video without description is just a collection of voices. They miss out on body language, on-screen text, facial expressions, and physical actions.
- Complex Demonstrations: In science, nursing, or engineering courses, the visual steps of an experiment are often the most important part. Describing these actions ensures no student is left behind.
- Legal and Ethical Standards: Providing an equivalent experience for all students is a requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and a core part of HCU鈥檚 commitment to student success.
Examples: Before vs. After
The “Silent Action” Problem
- Bad: A video shows a student walking into a lab, putting on goggles, and mixing two chemicals that turn bright blue. The only audio is background music.
- The Result: A blind student knows music is playing but has no idea that a chemical reaction has occurred or what safety equipment was used.
- Good: A narrator says, “The student enters the lab and puts on safety goggles. They mix two clear liquids, which immediately turn bright blue.”
- The Difference: The narrated description provides the “visual plot” that the music cannot.
The “On-Screen Text” Problem
- Bad: A video ends with a screen showing “Final Exam: Monday at 10:00 a.m. in Atwood 202” while the professor says, “I’ll see you all next week!”
- Good: The professor says, “I’ll see you all next week for the Final Exam, which is Monday at 10:00 a.m. in Atwood 202.”
- The Difference: By speaking the text displayed on the screen, the professor has “self-described” the video, making an expensive, separate audio description track unnecessary.
How-To: Strategies for Success
- Self-Description (The Best Method): The easiest way to provide video descriptions is to describe what you are doing while you are filming. If you show a slide with a chart, summarize the chart out loud.
- Describe “Who” and “Where”: At the start of a video, briefly mention the setting and who is speaking (e.g., “I’m standing here in the Moody Library with our head librarian, Sarah Smith.”).
- Read On-Screen Text: If a name-tag, a website URL, or a deadline appears on the screen, read it aloud.
- Use the “Pause” Method: If you are using a video that you didn’t create and it has long silent gaps with action, you can pause the video during class to explain what just happened visually.
- Provide a Detailed Transcript: If a video cannot be audio-described, providing a text transcript that includes both the spoken dialogue and descriptions of the visual actions (like a movie script) is a strong alternative.
- Avoid Over-Describing: You don’t need to describe every detail (like the color of the wall). Focus only on the visual information that is necessary to understand the lesson.
Apply This to Your Work
Ready to ensure your videos are fully accessible? Check out the specific tools and workflows available at HCU: