Weekly Reflection

• Add a photo to your blog post and make sure that it is accessible following best practices, and contains links to the photographer and related copyright information.

Photo by Billie-Jean Duff – Rodeo Photographer

Website : https://www.billiejeanduff.ca/rodeo

• Add a video (which can be one you’ve made previously) and make it accessible by either using an automated closed captioning tool (YouTube) or use H5P to add text boxes or labels throughout your video to convey the message you are communicating in text form.

• Are there any digital accessibility practices that you often see being missed? Are there any that you know YOU often miss?

I think the biggest one that is missed described video (DV). According to The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commissions described video “is the narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone.” This is important for individuals who are blind or visual impaired. I often find that it is an option for some streaming platforms but not all. It is important for more streaming platforms to use DV as it creates more inclusivity, accessibility and improves user experience and enhances the story of the video. I remember as a kid, Disney Channel had the option for described video but I never understood the importance of it until learning what it was used for and how it helped so many watch and understand everyday tv shows.

• Are there any digital accessibility practices that surprised you? Why?

I don’t think there are any practices that surprised me but I did find some of the principles of Digital Accessibility surprising. The four principles are known through the acronym POUR – Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust. The first three principles make lots of sense to me although the principle of Robust came as a surprise. Robust is the principle of “content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of users, allowing them to choose the technology they use to interact with websites, online documents, multimedia, and other information formats” (CUNY Library Services.). Although this principle makes a lot of sense when explained, the word Robust through me off as it does not make me think of well rounded content.