Instructors

The primary area of responsibility for LAS lies in the provision of alternate format course material.  We work closely with instructors to ensure their students are well accommodated.  See below for some resources and strategies.

Described Video

DV

Described Video (DV)  

Described Video is the narration of the visual elements of an audio-visual program.  This narration allows the listener to paint a mental picture of the setting.  Videos that have been described will have a D with two semi-circles radiating from the round side of the D.  This is the universal symbol for Described Video.  

While Described Video is the process of adding narration after the material has been written, Integrated Described Video (IDV) includes the DV process into the scriptwriting process. It is part of the dialogue rather than narrated over the script.  For more information, please see the links in the menu on the right.

Described Video is useful in many ways:

  • for those with a visual impairment 
  • as auditory learning aids
  • for language development
  • as audiobooks
  • for those on the autism spectrum

 

Described Video can be requested through the Described Video and Captioning Request Tool for students as part of an accommodation.

Tools and Instruction

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Responsibility to Accommodate under the AODA

AODA

Accessible Information in Education

Under the Information and Communications Standards, producers of educational materials must make textbooks and any other educational or training materials available in accessible formats by January 1st, 2020. For instance, accessibly produced materials include:

  • Handouts or lecture notes
  • Student records and information on program requirements
  • Visual classroom materials such as maps or globes

Equitable and Timely Accommodation

Educational institutions must provide accessible versions of all bought, borrowed, or created materials made available to other students in a timely fashion. Regardless of whether materials were required or optional, accommodated students must not unduly wait to receive material already available to their peers. 

How to Make Educational Materials Accessible

Institutions may make some materials accessible themselves. For instance, school staff can:

  • OCR image-only PDF documents using Adobe or SensusAccess type software (link on the right)
  • Provide multiple ways to access content (online, PDF, Word)
  • Photo-copy handouts with enlarged font
  • Emboss them on a Braille printer
  • Post course outlines or calendars on websites
  • Record audio versions of print book excerpts
  • Provide alt-text for images, or graphs
  • Create tactile maps, diagrams, or pictures
  • Provide captions for videos
  • Provide transcripts for audio

Alternatively, institutions may need to contract third-party companies to produce other materials, such as Braille textbooks or tactile maps. Producers of educational materials must provide accessible or conversion-ready formats to assist in conversion processes. Producers who cannot make material accessible must provide a valid explanation of why this was not possible and provide summaries of the non-convertible aspects. 

Read more on this and the AODA HERE.

Links

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Instructors

Instructor Information

To help ensure students receive their textbooks on time, instructors can:

  • submit textbook adoptions as soon as possible
    • it can take 4 - 6 weeks to produce a textbook.  If we can obtain the book quickly, the student is able to keep up with the class
  • post the course outline, with chapters, as soon as possible
    • we use the course outline to prioritize the order in which we work on transcription.  
  • Contact us if you are putting material on reserve
    • we can proactively obtain a copy in an accessible format through ACE
  • submit tests and exams as soon as possible
    • we work with the test and exams section of SAS in the production of braille tests.  To ensure the highest quality exams, please submit to SAS by the due date given.
  • use SensusAccess to convert documents before posting them to your website or Avenue
    • SensusAccess converts a variety of documents into a variety of accessible versions of themselves.  
    • visit SensusAccess to give it a try

Instructional Links

Video Links

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Accessible Publishing

Accessible Publishing

Born Digital

One thing to think about when creating a textbook or publishing research is publishing your work in an accessible digital format.  Most researchers are familiar with creating digital content, and with a few minor changes that digital content can also be accessible.  There are many benefits to creating accessible digital content, the main advantage of being access for all.  In addition to improving access for those with disabilities, improving the accessibility of the material benefits those without disabilities, and it improves SEO (search engine optimization).  For more information on how to make those changes, please visit:

The Daisy Accessible Publishing Knowledge Base

Improving the Accessibility of your Mainstream Digital Content

Book Net Canada: Producing Born Accessible Books

Creating Accessible ePubs

 

 

Captioning

Captioning

Read more on Captioning Resources here 

Closed Captioning

Read more about Closed Captioning here

Captioning translates the audio part of a video into captions that appear at the bottom of the screen. The ‘closed’ part means that the text is hidden until it is selected.

Open captions are captions that are burned into the video so they cannot be turned off.  McMaster provides open captions as part of its captioning service.

AODA Requirement:

  • Any video added to a McMaster website AFTER 2014 or being used in a class, presentation, public talk, or online course MUST be properly closed-captioned - either as part of the production process or retroactively


McMaster Captioning Standard:

  • Where possible, please caption, as indicated below:
Length of Video Captioning Solution
3-5 minutes YouTube auto-generated captions, with manual clean-up
5-60+ minutes Upload to Rev.com - if less than 60 minutes, returned within 24 hours - $1/minute

Build into the cost of producing all new videos and have captioned at the point of creation.
Commercial videos Need to get permission to caption, then provide a digital copy to Rev.com, as above
Lecture Captures No viable solution yet - average 3 hours long - only used for one term - very costly

Questions / help / guidance - all available at captioning@mcmaster.ca

Tools and Instruction

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Braille

Braille

Braille, a system of 6 raised dots, created by Louis Braille in 1824, is a tactile language for blind and visually impaired people.  Textual material, mathematical equations, musical notation, graphs, charts and to a limited degree, images can be converted into braille.  Not every blind or visually impaired person reads braille.  It is a separate language that requires specific instructors to provide this education.  Currently, only one school in Ontario provides this instruction.

Braille Conversion Service

LAS is pleased to announce that we offer a Braille Conversion Service!!  If you need Braille produced for an event or presentation, please get in touch with us.  There is a nominal charge to cover production charges.  $1/ page printing and $4/book for binding, course-related content are produced at no cost.

Links

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Echo 360 Captioning

Echo360 Captioning

When a video is uploaded to Echo360, an automatic transcript is created. While any student may use this transcript to follow along with the associated video, many students find integrated closed captioning on the video itself to be more useful and less distracting. 

Library Accessibility Services (LAS) will review, error check, and apply closed captions for any Echo360-enabled course that has a student with deaf or hard-of-hearing accommodations. Otherwise, you may proactively wish to apply this automatically-created transcript as captions to your lectures by following a few simple steps as outlined in the links provided along the side of the webpage. 

Using the Echo360 Transcript Editor

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