Accessibility & Youtube Closed Captioning
Screenshot of the definition of the word, Accessibility, as defined by a Google search (from Oxford Languages)
Read the definition of the word, Accessibility, above and consider all there is to unpack within it.
There have been a lot of eye opening moments for me in my new journey as a school librarian, but this week's discussion of Accessibility has opened my eyes to one of, if not the, most important facets of librarianship. Ensuring all library patrons can easily maneuver the resources provided by the library is a frame of mind all librarians should share on a daily basis, especially during the decision-making process and implementation.
A librarian's purpose is to serve their community, all members of their community; it's to bring together resources so that the community, as well as its individuals, are successful in their missions. This purpose means that librarians must take inventory of their programs and purchases to ensure marginalized groups can access the library's assets easily, like the majority of the typically abled population.
This week I learned that Closed Captioning on Youtube videos can be edited and corrected. For someone who does not utilize closed captioning while watching videos, it is not something I thought about when working on our middle school's daily news show. Check it out: It's called, "What's Up, CCMS?" and we just started last week. (No episodes on Wednesdays, which are currently at-home work days for students and mid-week, deep-cleaning days due to the pandemic.) Don't check the closed captioning yet as I'm sure it's incorrect in many places! It will be a task next week for news team members to go back and correct the writing.
Here's a great tutorial I found by VidIQ showing how to correct closed captioning on Youtube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfJthDvcZ08
Step-by-Step instructions are also shown on Google Support's "Youtube Help" page:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en
Honestly, in my past experiences, I assumed closed captions were created by some Youtube algorithm. I've viewed closed captions on videos before and noticed errors in the written narrative (on Youtube as well as on different television programs and movies), but I assumed that was typical. I did feel a pang for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, but did not think enough about this issue.
As a librarian (and a responsible, empathetic human), it is my purpose to think through the accessibility of all aspects of my school's library for differently abled people. Copeland asks some great questions in "School Librarians of the 21st Century," that are excellent starting points to ensure accessibility: "Will the technology allow or enable the students who are differently able to participate...?" and "What level of assistance do we expect to be required for typically able students? Differently able students?" (Copeland, p. 66). Also, see the "Solutions for Universal Design and Accessibility" chart on page 68!
From p. 68 of "School Librarians of the 21st Century" by Clayton A. Copeland
Another great resource to ensure your library is meeting accessibility needs is Margaret Janavicius' handout, "Serving Kids with Special Needs in the School Library." The Google Accessibility site is a revelation and a catalyst to get your tech in order. In all things we do through our libraries and classrooms, may we have all community members and their diverse special needs at the forefront of our minds.
This is very interesting to me! Like you, I thought closed captioning was an algorithm that was automatically created in YouTube. I had no idea users could go back in and edit the closed captioning speech. Like you said, this is very important because deaf or hard of hearing students may get lost in translation if the closed captioning is not accurate to what is actually happening in the video. Thank you for bring this to our attention, and I will make sure I consider this when I post tutorials and/or create videos for students to use at home. Also, thank you for providing the easy-to-use tutorial showing us how we can change the closed captioning. I looked at the instructions, just to see how hard it would actually be, and it looks like it’s a very straight forward process.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found this helpful! And glad to not being alone in my misconceptions! Now we know better :)
DeleteThis week's readings and videos definitely got me looking at my library--and the world I live in--with new eyes. Accessibility issues everywhere!
-T
-Tiffany Taylor Brewer
Delete