Mason Update: Centralizing Captioning Korey Singleton, Manager Assistive Technology Initiative George Mason University Virginia AHEAD 2011

Objectives Current state of captioning at Mason What are we proposing? Tools/Resources to support this project Questions/Answers/Suggestions

Mission of the ATI Our mission is to help provide individuals with disabilities an accessible university environment by supporting access to all technological, architectural, and educational resources available at George Mason University through the incorporation of assistive technologies, the provision of technical support, and the development of university-wide strategies for universal access.

Staff Korey Singleton Kara Zirkle Elizabeth Miller Nancy Borck ATI Manager Kara Zirkle IT Accessibility Coordinator Elizabeth Miller Accessible Text Coordinator Nancy Borck Program Support Specialist Korey Singleton Manager Kara Zirkle IT Accessibility Coordinator Elizabeth Miller Accessible Text Coordinator Nancy Borck Program Support Specialist

ATI Services Informal AT assessments Accessible Text Services Technical Assistance for ITU and Libraries Web Accessibility/Section 508 Training and Support Assistive Technology Labs Proposed: Centralizing Accessible Media Services

Accessible Media Accessible media includes providing captions for any audio/video hosted on Mason websites or within classrooms (i.e., face-to-face, online), as well as providing video description for any video shown in classrooms (i.e., face-to-face, online)

Related Laws 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act http://www.nad.org/issues/civil-rights/communications-act/21st-century-act Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - http://www.section508.gov/ Revised ADA Regs, Title II and Title III - http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm

Example - Accessible Video Stuck on an Escalator (Accessible Version) from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQUAs3syuJE

Example - Accessible Video Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (with audio description and closed captions) from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCqN_cCLnnk&p=85187148EC93E475&playnext=1&index=18

Current State @Mason No centralized support… Departments/units operate independently Examples: Mason Home Page Mason Nation Page In the classroom (f2f, online)… More and more classrooms are using web-based resources (i.e., streaming media) Blind student in English course Deaf/HOH student must access 10 YouTube videos Library resources... Dated reserves – 10K+ titles available in VHS and DVD Unreliable database Current Practices

Issues Lack of technical knowledge Last minute solutions are rarely timely and/or inexpensive No “quick fix” or single solution to solve all of the issues Biggest Issue: Who pays?? As a result, student suffers!!

Goals for this project Use of the DocSoft AV appliance (jointly supported by KIHd and ATI) to create captions from electronic media owned by Mason. Establishment of a protocol for handling video description requests. Purchase of equipment necessary to convert VHS tapes to a digital format. Additional ATI support staff to manage accessible media requests. Assistance from department chairs to ensure that all electronic media shown in class or posted online provides equivalent access for individuals with sensory impairments.

Proposed Procedures - Highlights Accessible Media Request Form/Instructions Sent by ODS to all faculty that will have students with sensory impairments in their courses (hopefully prior to first day of classes) Form/Instructions sent directly back to ATI Communicate with faculty regarding formats/technical details/timelines ATI follows up with Library (i.e., Media Services) and Copyright ATI determines most efficient method for providing post-production access (e.g., YouTube vs. VHS vs. Mason-owned media) Outsourcing handled through ATI Office

Anticipated Costs Total: $35k-$40K Costs include: Increasing one PT position to FT Graduate student workers (2) VHS-to-digital media conversion technology Computers workstations (2) DocSoft licensing costs Outsourcing budget for jobs that cannot be handled in-house

Current Tools/Resources Server-based software and hardware solution designed to audio mine (capture) the spoken content in digital audio and video (AV) files. It can be used to automatically generate text transcripts and closed captioning formats and can be configured to output virtually any text based format. (The transcripts require editing) Uses advanced speech recognition engine to analyze the spoken content within digital AV files and converts it to an XML based format. Supports output to formats such as Quicktime Text, RealText, WMP, or plain text.  Combining the generated transcript file with the video will allow users to create the necessary closed caption feature for ADA compliance. $15,000 cost shared with Kellar Institute; annual maintenance costs split Demo/Training Resources DocSoft:AV (server appliance) DocSoft:TE (transcript editor software) Web: http://docsoft.gmu.edu

Current Tools/Resources… Dragon Naturally Speaking (Instructional Design Office) Workstation set up in instructional design office to support instructors that will be using tools like Camtasia or Captivate to record lectures Training Videos – Creating Accessible Camtasia or Captivate videos

Current Tools/Resources… Some other current resources Mason’s Web Accessibility Website WebAIM – Web Captioning Overview http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/ CaptionTube – Create captions for YouTube videos (free) http://captiontube.appspot.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltXFVo3SjJg Descriptive Video Titles DBVI Library and Resource Center – Descriptive Video List YourLocalCinema.com

Questions/Answers/Suggestions

Contact Information Assistive Technology Initiative (ATI) George Mason University Aquia Building, Room 238 Hours: M-F, 8:30am-5:00pm Office Phone: 703-993-4329 Fax: (703) 993-4743 E-mail: ati@gmu.edu Skype: GMU-ATI-Office G-Chat: gmuati Web: http://ati.gmu.edu