The World Wide Web is a major, if not a primary, source of information for many people. The UW Policy is an effort to make the web more accessible for people with vision, hearing or other disabilities http://www.wisc.edu/wiscinfo/policy/wwwap.html

Three Section 508 standards apply to multimedia:

• Section 508 - Standard (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt," "longdesc," or in element content).
  
• Section 508 - Standard (b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
  
• When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l).

Although it is widely recognized that multimedia offers a broad range of learning opportunities - multimedia it is not necessarily accessible. For persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, auditory content requires a visual presentation. This is often most effectively done through the provision of a transcript. Transcripts are the word for word dialog of an auditory track including effects such as "thunder." These are considered equivalents (along with alt tags for images) and satisfy 508 standard (a).

In as many instances as possible this site provides transcripts for all spoken dialog.

In addition, transcripts can be syncronized with the media in the form of captions. Captions are the synchronization of the transcript (using MAGpie) and in the instance of video WITH DIALOG satify 508 standard (b). Transcriptions are provided using a local service which transcribes audio content of any given media format.

Audio descriptions (descriptions of visual content) require significant interpretation. This interpretation is largely dependant upon the pedagogical uses the instructor intended for the media. This is often a challenge as the description requires the careful and often time-consuming attention of the content expert and can not be outsourced in the same fashion as dialog or auditory information.

Resources:
National Center for Accessible Media
JimThatcher.com

 

Coming soon.

 

MAGpie is captioning software that enables University of Wisconsin staff to address UW accessibility policy. MAGpie creates files that can be payed back as captions in the three major online video players: QuickTime, Windows Media, and Real. MAGpie is a free tool available for download from the National Center for Accessible Media’s website.