Interviewed on Web Axe Podcast November 25, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Interviewing, Jeff Frey, Podcast Captioning, Podcast Transcription, Podcasting, Rice University.add a comment
I was recently asked by Dennis Lembree, the founder of web development company CheckEngine USA which specializes in web usability, standards, and accessibility, to be a guest on Web Axe: a podcast and blog featuring practical web design accessibility tips.
Podcast #59: Jeffrey Frey on Accessible Podcasts
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Dennis speaks with Jeffrey Frey and discusses accessible podcasting, guidelines on audio/video web accessibility, and Jeff’s role at Rice University.
Jeff is the Web Services Manager for Enterprise Applications in the Information Technology Department at Rice University. He provides technology solutions for faculty, staff, and students on campus as well as teaches new technology courses at the School of Continuing Studies. He is available for podcasting consulting, is involved in the creation of podcasts for businesses and non-profits, and has owned a technical consulting company and an audio/video recording studio.
Download Web Axe Episode 59 (Jeffrey Frey on Accessible Podcasts)
Links from Jeffrey Frey’s Blog
- Section 508 Compliant Podcasting and Undue Burden
- Section 508 Compliant Podcasting
- Podcast Captioning
- Accessible Podcasts
Transcription and other related services
Posting Class Notes vs. Class Transcripts Online December 7, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Educational Podcasts, Podcast Accessibility, Podcast Transcription, University Podcasting.22 comments
What happens in an educational class determines what should get posted online about that class.
(This topic comes from the idea of posting transcripts of the podcast from a class. If you have a class, and you record it, then you podcast it, you’re supposed to (508 compliance) also post the transcript of that class. What if, however, you don’t have the resources to do so?)
I’ve sat in classes where the professor uses it as an opportunity to discuss readings, have the class interact, or introduce ideas off the cuff to students. If that is recorded, and will be part of the information a student needs to succeed in the course, then the audio needs to be transcripted.
I’ve also sat in classes where the professor reads through notes and doesn’t deviate very much from what they say. If this class is podcasted, and if the notes read through in class are what a student needs to succeed in the class… then I don’t believe that the transcript needs to be published… the notes do.
Publishing the notes that have already been written is obviously a faster and less expensive or time comsuming endeavor than to transcript every class.
The intent of 508 compliance is to provide individuals with the same opportunity to suceed as other inviduals. If merely posting notes provides that, then you have met the criteria.
Section 508 Compliant Podcasting and Undue Burden November 22, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Accessibility, Podcast Captioning, Podcast Transcription, Podcasting.10 comments
In general, the purpose of section 508 is to build as much accessibility as is reasonably possible into general products developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies. I received some email from my post yesterday about Section 508 Compliant Podcasts asking “What about undue burden?”
The actual wording of the text is… do all the accessibility things… “unless an undue burden would be placed on that agency to do so.”
Undue burden is defined as “significant difficulty or expense.” Though significant is relative, when it comes to podcasting, I believe we can break it down to the following:
To be 508 complaint, there are two main things you must do… certain podcasts meeting the agency mission criteria are under the multimedia file definition of the 508 standards and must be (1) captioned or (2) audio described depending on the format and content of the podcast.
Let’s start with (2) audio described. Laying a voice over track to video if you’re doing podcasting isn’t hard. This is something that you should be capable of and not a problem.
In contrast, (1) captioning is not in the typical suite of tools for a podcaster. So far, we have solved this issue with transcripts for audio podcasts, and there are companies that do this for you, or you can do your own transcription. Video podcasts require more time and effort. Though again, there are companies that will do captioning of video, it can sometimes be expensive to do so. Tools and software for closed captioning video are also fairly expensive and some podcatchers do not accept the file formats needed to caption the video.
I believe this is where undue burden can be applied. To the weekly podcaster who is podcasting as a hobby, closed captioning may be out of reach. I think you can safely say that undue burden is met at this point and you will provide a transcript of the audio with audio description to get as close to accessible as possible. For the company, university, or agency that is video podcasting, has a podcast meeting the agency mission criteria, and has the resources to open or close caption the video… I believe the law states that it needs to be captioned.
Section 508 Compliant Podcasting November 21, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Podcast Accessibility, Podcast Captioning, Podcasting.4 comments
Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards – requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees and members of the public with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by that of employees and members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be placed on that agency to do so.
So, what does it have to do with podcasting?! Subpart A, or the”General” part of Section 508, list the purpose, application, exceptions, and definitions that set up the actual technical standards. In the definitions section there is a definition that infers podcasts need to comply:
Information technology includes computers, ancillary equipment, information kiosks, World Wide Web sites, etc… and they also list “multimedia.”
Multimedia can be used to describe many different things, but the next section of the document, Subpart B – Technical Standards of Section 508, is organized into six sections:
- software applications and operating systems
- web-based intranet and internet information and applications
- telecommunications products
- video and multimedia products
- self contained, closed products
- desktop and portable computers
In the web-based intranet and internet information and applications section:
- Paragraph (a) requires that a text equivalent for every non-text element be provided on a web page. These non-text elements include photographs, images, and other multimedia files. I believe that audio and video files are considered multimedia.
- Paragraph (b) says that equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation should be synchronized with the presentation. That would require, for example, an audio portion of a multimedia production be captioned (as required in paragraph (a)), but the captioning be synchronized with the audio. The bottom line being that an enhanced podcast (similar to a presentation) should be captioned on each picture or slide with the corresponding words of the audio file.
- Paragraph (m) requires that web pages which provide proprietary files on their site such as Real Audio or a PDF also provide a link to a plug-in that will allow the user to get the file. The implications here are that you may need to link to an audio player and/or allow people to play your podcasts directly from your web page (which is just good practice anyway).
Now for the detailed video and multimedia productions section and captioning audio material:
- Paragraph (c) requires the captioning of audio material in certain multimedia presentations. This statement takes the prior one and limits it slightly in that they only state that
All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency’s mission, regardless of format, that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be open or closed captioned.
- What that says to me, in a university setting, is that a video of a student signing up for classes would not need to be captioned. If that video, though, then became part of a “How to Register for Your Course” video posting, it would have to be captioned and audio described.
Continuing with the detailed video and multimedia productions section and now providing an audio description:
- On the opposite side of the accessibility spectrum, Paragraph (d) requires that certain multimedia presentations (again, using the definition above) provide an audio description of visual material:
All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency’s mission, regardless of format, that contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be audio described.
- So, again with the analogy in a university setting. If you have a news video where a student is sitting behind a desk speaking, the video does not contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content. However, if the video cuts away to a clip of video showing a student registering for class and the speaker is not narrating, it would have to be audio described.
Bottom line – certain podcasts meeting the agency mission criteria are under the multimedia file definition of the 508 standards and must be captioned or audio described depending on the format and content of the podcast.
