Blog #4 Resources for Accessibility (ISCI 761: Module 7)

    As a profoundly deaf individual who wears bilateral hearing aids, I understand the need for accessibility. Since the age of two, I have worn hearing aids and I am an avid lip reader. Since I began kindergarten, my teachers were asked to wear an amplified microphone that would directly connect to my hearing aid boots and I was able to hear what was being said. To be clear, hearing and understanding was not always equal. However, as I transitioned to larger classrooms, I had to sit in the front of the classroom to be able to see the teacher's lips along with using the microphone. There were many times when teachers had to show educational videos or movies and closed captioning was not available. This was very difficult for me seeing that I solely depended on my vision to read lips. I could not understand the narration often times and I felt very isolated. I had to often times step out of my comfort zone to remind teachers that I needed closed captioning or a transcript if available. Now as an adult in graduate school, UofSC is very accommodating for students, like me who have a disability, with closed captioning and transcripts. Sometimes I will use paid apps (for example Otter) to record a lecture or to watch a video that does not offer closed captioning. 

    I decided to look at two online digital tools, YouTube, and Google Docs, that are often used as adaptive technology resources in the middle school where I work. In my opinion, YouTube has done a wonderful job in improving the clarity of closed captioning and almost every video that is available offers it. Each time a video begins the “CC” button on the bottom right corner is clicked and closed captioning is available to viewers. 

Image of a mouse click on the closed captioning icon.

Here is a video that shows how to turn closed captioning on or off.

Image of a female student watching a video with closed captioning.

    Google is a very commonly used platform in our district, so using google docs is very simple. Voice typing is available to those who may have difficulties with multitasking. For example, as a deaf student, I was not able to listen and take notes at the same time. Using voice typing on Google Docs allowed me to listen to instructions while Google Docs was taking notes for me. These resources would help teachers and school librarians simply because these online tools help students to feel included in the classroom or during library activities. As a school librarian, I would include an accessibility tab on the school's library page to offer to teachers, staff, students, and parents. This information would include instructions on how to turn on closed captioning and/or print a transcript. As Dr. Copeland said, “[W]hether a child is officially labeled as being differently able (having one or more characteristics that society labels as a disability) or whether she is perceived as typically able, each of our students needs for us to be on the cutting edge of information resources and access” (Copeland, 2011, p. 66). My life experiences have allowed me to understand others' accessibility needs and I will strive to help all patrons of the library. 

Here is a video that shows how to activate Voice Typing.

References

Copeland. (2011). School librarians of the 21st century: using resources and assistive technologies to support students’ differences and abilities. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 64–69.

GCFLearnFree. (2020, June 18). Google Docs: Voice Typing [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIz9UWi5z4w

Google. (2015). Google Docs: Free Online Documents for Personal Use. https://www.google.com/docs/about/

Guiding Tech. (2020, April 22). How to Turn Closed Captioning On or Off in YouTube [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pxr5lVcdHQ