Making Multimedia Accessible: A Case Study
Session Goals
- An appreciation for the importance of making dynamic content accessible
- Raising awareness
- Providing tips on how to approach it
- An appreciation for the importance of planning media projects with accessibility in mind
ĦA Su Salud!
- Created by an interdisciplinary team at UNC-Chapel Hill
- Published by Yale University Press
- More information: salud.unc.edu
DVD Version
- Interface produced with Macromedia Director (carefully consider your authoring environment)
- Video (hearing disability: no captions; visual disability: no narration, no context)
- Audio files (visual disability: player controls; hearing disability: no transcript)
Accessible Version
- Web-based, open standard (easier to accommodate assistive technologies)
- Multiple versions of video (visual disability: narrated version; hearing disability: captions)
- JAWS doesnt recognize embedded media player (visual disability: launch external viewer)
Accessible Version, continued
- Lots of smaller accessibility issues (image descriptions, instructions, label forms, forecast for exercise questions, etc.)
- Use of multiple languages (English and Spanish) on same page: Spanish text markup acts as automatic toggle for screen reader
Features Not Included
- Reinforcement video
- Automatic feedback
- Full-screen video
- Voice recording feature
Universal Design
- Captions and transcripts are beneficial to all users
- Web version convenient and practical in many circumstances
- Content and presentation are abstracted and quick to reconfigure for specific needs
- Standards-compliance assures acceptability and functionality for a broad audience
Lessons Learned
- Allow more time and resources for making media accessible
- Universal design will save you time and money in the long run
- Do not assume retrofitted content must be identical to original design and content