"Accessible Multimedia" — Article on the Sun/Java web site, with significant discussion of accessible multimedia in a classroom setting. Also includes links to some other Sun/Java articles on accessibility at the bottom of the article.
http://java.sun.com/features/2000/03/accessibility.mm_ns.html
Online Course in Accessible Multimedia (FEE) — $350 (discounts available)
Course is provided by EASI - Equal Access to Software & Information, the organization founded by Professor Norman Coombs.
From the class information page:
"Educational and other information providers on the Internet are increasingly using multimedia as a means to disseminate information. Multimedia poses special problems but also unique opportunities for reaching people with disabilities. Providing transcriptions, captions and descriptive video synchronized with the media is a real challenge. This course will give step-by-step instruction in how and when to provide transcriptions and synchronized captions. This course will be good for web masters, information technologists, instructional technologists, disabled student staff, librarians and more. (This course is optional for the EASI/USM certificate.)"
http://www.easi.cc/workshops/mmedia.htm
Jim Thatcher's Section 508 Web Accessibility Tutorial on Audio and Multimedia
"Multimedia content on the Web, by its definition - including or involving the use of several media - would seem to be inherently accessible or easily made accessible.
"However, if the information is audio, such as a RealAudio feed from a news conference or the proceedings in a courtroom, a person who is deaf or hard of hearing cannot access that content unless provision is made for a visual presentation of audio content. Similarly, if the content is pure video, a blind person or a person with severe vision loss will miss the message without the important information in the video being described."
http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse6.htm
Accessible Multimedia from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison's Web Accessiblity 101 Tutorial
"Multimedia includes video, audio, and animations. Multimedia that isn't accompanied by an accessible alternative can be major obstacle to an individual that is not able to see or hear. Two Section 508 standards relate to multimedia. Section 508 - Standard (b) presents requirements for making multimedia accessible. Section 508 - Standard (m) indicates that designers using multimedia need to provide users with a location to download a plug-in to run the multimedia file."
http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/online-course/standards/multimedia.htm
Enhancing Education: Creating Accessible Digital Multimedia — WGBH/NCAM
"An accessible digital multimedia presentation should always contain the following features:
Making Flash Accessible — WebAim
"Macromedia Flash and Shockwave have changed the way many developers create content for the Web. These technologies enable developers to create highly interactive, multimedia rich experiences for their site's visitors. Movies created with Flash and Shockwave can include graphics, text, video and sound all packaged in a bandwidth friendly file."
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/flash
Creating Accessible Multimedia — WebAim Course
"Focus is on creating accessible multimedia that is:
"Perceivable. Perception takes place through one or more of our five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Neither smell nor taste are of much use for Web browsing, but sight, hearing and touch are. These perceptions are very much influenced by Web multimedia. Because Web multimedia is primarily audible and visual, we are going to focus on ways to make this content accessible to those who may not have full use of sight and sound.
"Operable. Physical motion of some sort is required to operate a computer to access the Internet. Some people use a mouse and the keyboard. Some can only use the keyboard. Some cannot use either of these devices. Web multimedia often requires much user interaction and control. Strategies will be discussed to allow multimedia to be operable by people with disabilities.
"Navigable. Multimedia on the Web often relies on programs or applications such as plug-ins, players, or readers that may have varying levels of navigability.
"Understandable. The content itself must be presented in a way that can be comprehended by the user. Sometimes this means supplementing your content with additional materials, media formats, or versions.
"Web technologies. Included in the idea of Web technologies are HTML, XHTML, XML, Flash, PDF, Quicktime, and any other technology that can be accessed via the Internet. This week's training focuses specifically on the many multimedia technologies that are being utilized on the Web.
"Within Web technologies: If the content is being presented within the Web browser, you have to check for cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility, along with backward compatibility.
"Across Web technologies: When using non-browser applications, such as plug-ins, players, and readers, choose technologies that have accessibility features, and take full advantage of those features. When using a technology which does not have accessibility features, provide an accessible alternative.
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