Blog

---

• Audio Description

Does Your Video Need Extended or Standard Description?

Aj Beltis

•

March 19, 2025

If you’re trying to make your videos more accessible, you’re probably looking into perfecting their audio descriptions. 

However, creating audio descriptions is no easy feat. Audio describers often have to make difficult choices and judgment calls. They must decide what to describe, when to describe, and how to describe visual content to ensure a video is accessible. This task is especially difficult when you have a lot of content to describe, but only a second or two to voice that description. 

These considerations frequently create a dilemma for audio describers – how can I provide accurate and high-quality descriptions in an appropriate amount of time? 

Here’s where extended audio description comes in – and it’s a useful option for those who both create and consume video content with audio descriptions. 

But before we get to that, let’s dive into the necessity that is audio description.

Download the FREE Beginner’s Guide to Audio Description

What is Audio Description?

Audio description is the translation of visual images to audible language for the primary benefit of people who are blind or have low vision. It describes what’s being portrayed on-screen so people who have trouble seeing a screen can understand what actions are occurring, what facial expressions are being shown, and what the background scenery looks like – among other key visuals. 

Audio description’s main purpose is to make content accessible to a wider audience. In our Allied episode about the what, how, and why of audio description, Dr. Joel Snyder explains the considerations that go into writing successful descriptions:

“We have to limit what we describe out of necessity, and because it’s better description if we really try to understand we’re in service to the people listening and to the people who have created the art form we’re working with. So if we’re really listening, we’re really observing, we tell what’s most critical to an understanding of the image.

Sometimes a visual element that’s not even very prominent is important because it shows up later in the film, or a particular act or action is foreshadowed that way. We want to know what’s going on in the artist’s head and pick up on that.”

When Is Audio Description Necessary in a Video?

As a general guideline, audio description should be used when there is information portrayed through visual means that is required for understanding. 

For instance: on-screen text, changes in speaker, facial expressions, costumes, and scene changes all give context that helps us better understand and enjoy content. If these elements are not audio-described, a viewer who cannot see the screen will have trouble comprehending the content. 

While this guideline may sound simple, the specific needs for description vary case by case. For example, a movie trailer with little dialogue will have plenty of room for descriptions, while an advanced physics lecture with heavy dialogue may not have enough natural pauses to effectively describe what’s happening on-screen. 

Luckily, there are options when it comes to what type of audio description is best for your content. This is where standard vs. extended audio description comes into play.

Standard Audio Description

Standard audio description allows snippets of narration to be interspersed within the natural pauses in dialogue of the original content. This type of audio description works very well for videos that have lengthy pauses in dialogue, and a limited amount of visual detail that needs to be described or do not contain any speech. Standard audio description may be the only option for videos that absolutely cannot have their duration changed, including most broadcast content. 

When done well, audio descriptions enhance the original piece rather than distract from it. With standard audio description, the describer can add concise descriptions of the visual content where space allows, like the example below. You’ll notice that the original video source plays continuously, and information is described in the pauses throughout.  One thing to keep in mind for standard audio description is that the requirement to only add descriptions where there are spaces in the audible speech may lead to surprising results regarding which details are described, how concise the descriptions are, and exactly when in the video timeline they appear. For example, it is better to describe the most important details a little earlier or later than to skip those details entirely.

Extended Audio Description

Videos that lack natural pauses or contain an excess of important visual information can be tricky to describe without interrupting the original audio or exceeding the duration of the frame being described. In these cases, extended audio description is necessary. 

Unlike standard audio description, extended audio description is not constrained to the natural pauses of a video, but rather allows you to pause the original source content to make room for description as needed.

Some situations where extended audio description might be required include:

• Text-heavy videos, like recordings of slideshows or lectures.
• Dialogue-heavy videos, as audio description shouldn’t drown out what people are saying. 
• Noisy videos containing important music or sound, as audio description could detract from these elements. 
• Videos with short cuts and/or extremely detailed frames. Otherwise, by the time an audio description for that shot is complete, the video may already be on the next cut. 
• Videos adhering to WCAG 2.2 Level AAA, which requires extended audio description – when necessary – for accessibility compliance. 

The video below features extended description. When you press play, the video and description begin playing. Then, the source video pauses temporarily while the description continues. After that portion of the description is complete, the video resumes playing again. This happens several times throughout the video. 

Take a look!

If your video doesn’t have enough space to fit a standard audio description, extended is the way to go. 

3Play’s Process

Learn About 3Play Media’s Audio Description Services 

At 3Play Media, we offer white glove support at every step of the process to ensure all of your media accessibility needs are met – especially with our audio description services. These services come with plenty of flexibility in involvement from humans and AI to provide the ideal AD for your videos. 

When placing an order for audio description, you will first choose the speaker type if your account settings allow for it. You’ll be able to choose between AI-generated synthesized speech or a voice artist. 

Next, you’ll have the option to select standard or extended audio description. You’ll also notice a “choose for me” option. 

Your writing can be done either by human describers or entirely by AI – the same as with your voicework. The option for AI lets you balance the cost and timeline of your project while ensuring a quality recording every time.  

3Play’s recommendation is an automated process that evaluates the audio track of your video for natural pauses in speech. This process doesn’t take into consideration any visual aspects of your video; it’s merely a gauge of how much space is available in your audio track for description. 

If minimal audio is detected throughout the video, your file will process at the standard level. If a high volume of audio is detected, your file will be processed with extended audio description. If you’re ordering audio description from a file that has already been transcribed, the recommended audio description level will be visible directly on the file. However, if you’re ordering audio description at the same time that you order transcription, you won’t see the recommended level before the file is complete.

Regardless of the service level your video requires, adding audio description to your videos makes your content more accessible and provides many additional benefits for your audience

Learn More About Audio Description

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post Does Your Video Need Extended or Standard Description? appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Audio Description

Standards and Requirements for Quality Audio Description

Aj Beltis

•

March 10, 2025

Providing a verbal description of on-screen elements and visual details in media, audio description gives individuals with low vision the context they need to understand and enjoy video content. Think of it as the equivalent of captions, but for those who are blind or have low vision. 

While not every piece of video content shared online or on television is required to have audio description, there are laws and regulations requiring certain organizations to provide the option. This article will cover the legal requirements for audio description, as well as who is responsible for adhering to them and how to best describe audio to get a high-quality description.

Beginner’s Guide to Audio Description [Free eBook]

Legal Requirements for Audio Description

In the US, audio description falls under many of the same accessibility laws that require closed captioning for video. This includes the following Acts and laws:

• Americans with Disabilities Act Title II: Public entities with populations of 50,000 or more must ensure their web content complies with Level A and Level AA success criteria as outlined in WCAG 2.1 starting on April 24, 2026. On April 26, 2027, public entities under 50,000 must follow suit. This rule means that these public entities are required to have audio descriptions for their prerecorded online video content where visual information is necessary for understanding that content.  
• 21st Century Video Accessibility Act (CVAA): This act outlines the requirements of large broadcasting networks to meet a minimum number of hours of audio description for their content. 
• FCC Audio Description Requirements: Pursuant to the requirements of the CVAA, the FCC requires 87.5 hours of audio description content per year from local TV station affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in the top 110 designated market areas (DMAs) in the United States. Every year through 2035, the next ten major DMAs must start adhering to this minimum. 
• Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Pertaining to Federal agencies, these sections of the Rehabilitation Act mandate that any technology developed by these agencies – including online video – be accessible to persons with disabilities, and that auxiliary aids be provided to ensure so.

Additionally, WCAG 2.2 – the international standard for web accessibility – requires audio description under guideline 1.2 for time-based media. WCAG isn’t law (except in the cases outlined above), but since it’s considered the cornerstone for website accessibility, most accessibility experts recommend adhering to them. Doing so requires audio description be provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media, and extended audio description when media requires more detailed descriptions than allotted during a prerecorded video’s length.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) lists several sufficient techniques for adding description to audio-visual material. All of these methods are reliable ways to meet the WCAG Success Criterion.

What To Describe with Audio Description

Although what to describe may seem obvious, there’s a lot to keep in mind when employing audio description. For example, it’s important to only describe the seen, and not the unseen – such as motivations or intentions. The job of the describer is to describe what is physically observable, not to provide the listener with personal assumptions, interpretations, or conclusions.

When describing, it may be helpful to consider a circumstance where audio description might be used, such as a video being described for use in a college course. Assume that the students in the course will be tested on the information contained in this video. In order to keep things fair, all of the students should be provided with the same information. This exercise can be helpful in remembering to describe the crucial information for understanding and comprehension, but not giving excessive information, such as explaining personal interpretations and opinions.

How to Describe Audio

You can generate a quality audio track through synthesized speech, professional voice artists, and even artificial intelligence. Here are some options to consider while staying compliant. 

Featured Resource: Audio Description Services from 3Play Media

3Play Media’s audio description services follow these best practices, alongside the rest of the legal requirements outlined in this article. Learn more about these services and how they can keep your organization compliant and useful for individuals using audio description. 

Writing Effective Descriptions

• Be Concise and Compliant: The American Council of the Blind outlined its recommendations for audio description, including the details of what to (and not to) describe and how descriptions can coexist with other audio in a video. We’ll elaborate more on this best practice in the next section.
• Extended Audio Description: Sometimes, actions happen too quickly on-screen for a thorough audio description to cover them accurately. Here’s where you can rely on an extended audio description for when there’s not enough space to properly describe everything. 
• AI-Enabled Audio Description: Artificial intelligence tools can process video content and generate audio descriptions, which are then subject to human review. This option is the most efficient and still ensures quality and accuracy from humans before being published. 

Choosing a Voice for Audio Description

• Text-to-Speech Technology: Tools that create an audio description track by turning the written word into the spoken word are efficient and affordable ways to generate your audio. Many solutions come with options for humans to choose a voice – 3Play Media, for instance, offers 18 different English voice options. 

• Human-Narrated Descriptions: Record the track yourself or work with a professional voice artist to create a more natural-sounding track. While hiring a professional can cost more, it usually ensures better-sounding audio recorded using proper equipment. 

• Hybrid Human/Technology Approach: The ideal blend of tech and human touch, a hybrid approach leverages AI tools to create an AD and then relies on human review to perfect the final product so everything sounds smooth.

Quality Description

While audio description was originally developed for people who are blind or have low vision, the description’s concise and objective translation of visual content proves to be beneficial for a much broader audience. Audio description promotes a new way of learning through auditory means and can help individuals on the autism spectrum who may have difficulty recognizing emotional cues, who are learning English as a second language, or who have other learning difficulties. 

The DCMP description key and general guidelines for how to describe outline several key elements and audio description standards for creating high-quality description.

Quality Description Must Be:

• Accurate
  There must not be any errors in word choice, pronunciation, diction, or enunciation.
• Prioritized
  Content essential to comprehension and enjoyment is of the utmost importance. Description should portray only what is physically observable, rather than motivations or intentions, and should complement the original content.
• Consistent
  The content – as well as the voicing – should match the style, tone, and pace of the program. Patterns should be used for tasks such as announcing on-screen text and introducing new people.
• Appropriate
  Keep the intended audience in mind. Be neutral, simple, and succinct.
• Equal
  Equal access requires that the meaning and intention of the program must be conveyed. This also means that the describer should not inject their personal interpretations or opinions.

__

This blog post was originally published on March 3, 2017 by Elisa Lewis. It has since been updated for accuracy and clarity.

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post Standards and Requirements for Quality Audio Description appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Accessibility

6 Tips for Improving Podcast Accessibility

Aj Beltis

•

September 29, 2021

Podcasting continues to surge in popularity, making podcast accessibility even more important. 

With more than two million active podcast shows in 2021 – and more than 800,000 having launched in 2020 – podcasts have become a dominant source of entertainment, news, conversation starters, and welcomed time-wasters for more than two-fifths of Americans. 

Due to a low barrier to entry, minimal equipment needs, and growing interest in the medium, it’s no wonder why both businesses and individuals have started producing their own podcasts. For businesses in particular, podcasting breaks down the barriers between the voices of the company and those in their intended markets, effectively helping to build trust, credibility, and brand loyalty among listeners. 

That said, podcasting in its simplest form is exclusionary to the more than 10 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. Audio-only content cannot always be consumed or enjoyed by those in this group, and the problem is only exacerbated when there’s poor audio quality or when hosts mumble or speak over each other. 

Tapping into the increasing interest for podcasts can be a smart move – but to fully capitalize on demand, podcast accessibility should be top of mind. 

Here are six simple yet effective ways to make your podcast more accessible. 

1. Ensure you have an accessible website

Your website is one of the best places to promote your podcast – whether it’s through calls-to-action on a blog post or a callout in your header nav. Unfortunately, website visitors may not be able to get to your podcast if your website has accessibility issues.

Fortunately, there are quick fixes to make a website more accessible. These steps include:

• Making forms accessible. If you’re starting an email list to alert subscribers about new episodes, sign-up forms need to be labeled for screen readers to pick up on them and fields must be navigable with a keyboard. 

• Organizing content with headers. Screen readers rely on headers to better understand and navigate a page. If you’re promoting a podcast on a blog post – or even on a dedicated podcast landing page – headers make finding and accessing audio content much simpler.
• Using descriptive link anchor text. Another benefit to those using screen readers, descriptive link text is a direct way to prompt action. Be specific and use clear prompts such as “click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.”

2. Publish with an accessible media player

For a podcast to be enjoyed by all, the program should be available on an accessible media player.

Accessible players assist those who may have difficulty navigating media player controls. A player that meets basic accessibility requirements might include the following features:

• Clear labels for any buttons or controls on the player (play, pause, skip ahead 30 seconds, etc.).
• The ability to navigate to (and activate) controls via keyboard. 
• Ensuring media does not autoplay.

An accessible media player is also a key component of an aforementioned accessible podcast website. Wistia and QCast are good options to explore here. 

 Check Out 3Play Media’s Allied Podcast  

3. Include a transcript

Transcripts are readable, text-based versions of your podcasts. These transcripts can be linked on your podcast website or in the description for each episode’s upload to your show’s RSS feed.

Rather than type out the back-and-forth of podcast participants word-for-word, you can use podcast transcription software to transcribe the contents of an episode automatically. These text-based versions of your show also offer SEO benefits and boost a podcast’s discoverability on search engines like Google.

And don’t forget – these perks are in addition to the clear accessibility benefits of transcribing podcasts. For some examples of real podcasts using transcriptions in inventive and awareness-driving ways, check out this blog post. 

4. Offer alternative methods for consuming podcast content

The beauty of podcast content is in how effortlessly it can be repurposed for other types of marketing material. 

For example, if you have the ability to record in a professional studio, you might be able to get a video counterpart for your podcast, which can be uploaded in its entirety onto YouTube or clipped for promotional posts on social media accounts. The same can be said if you want to record a Zoom call when hosting podcasts remotely, or even uploading the audio to YouTube alongside a logo for the show as the “video” content. Notice how YouTube channel CinemaSins does this for its Sincast Podcast – and how the video has the option to enable captions. 

Regardless of what video you capture and repurpose, remember to always add captions to your podcast videos. Aside from those deaf or hard of hearing, captions also benefit those who may be in an area where listening to audio content is difficult, speak English as a second language, or need captions to maintain focus. 

Finally, you can also turn transcripts into blog posts and use quotes from the show for custom graphics in social media posts. This ability to utilize podcast content for multiple purposes – and across multiple mediums – helps to extract even more value from your podcast program. 

5. Provide a clear audio recording

Poor audio quality can be an instant turnoff for podcast listeners. A static-filled recording or fluctuating volume between participants is jarring for those who want a crystal-clear and coherent listening experience. 

Fortunately, you don’t need an expensive, professional, soundproof studio to record episodes. Some quick tips for optimizing audio quality include:

• Using dependable microphones, like the Yeti Blue – which only costs around $130.
• Adding pop filters to your microphones to mitigate audio peaks. They’re less than $10 on Amazon. 
• Asking all participants to speak clearly and not speak over each other. 
• Leveling out your audio after recording so sound is normalized. 
• Ensuring guests who call in to your show follow the above steps as closely as possible for optimal podcast guest recording quality.

6. Employ accessible marketing

Once a podcast is made accessible, you can promote it to its now-wider potential audience. 

That said, it’s important to follow through and ensure any marketing for an accessible podcast is also accessible. This means promotional images should be designed with the proper color contrast and include alt-text when posted online. You can use a color contrast tool like WebAIM to determine if the image’s contract adheres to WCAG. 

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post 6 Tips for Improving Podcast Accessibility appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Accessibility

The Spending Power of People with Disabilities Can Expand Your Business

Aj Beltis

•

March 12, 2021

During 3Play Media’s ACCESS at Home Event, Journalist Emily Yates mentioned the concept known in the United Kingdom as The Purple Pound and how it can expand your business. It represents the billions that businesses lose out on due to a lack of digital or physical accessibility. 

In total, disabled people and the members of their household wield £274 billion (~$383 billion) in spending power in the UK – and it’s estimated that businesses lose out on £24 billion (~$34 billion) per year by ignoring the needs of disabled people. 

Image Source: We Are Purple

The implication of the Purple Pound is not limited to our friends across the pond. Here in the United States, a similarly untapped market exists. According to the CDC, more than 60 million (or 26% of) American adults live with a disability – ranging from a mobility issue to an inability to see or hear well. This constitutes a massive amount of people whose needs are oftentimes not met during a commerce experience, causing businesses to lose out on revenue.

All in all, disabled working-age Americans earn an estimated annual income of $490 billion and have an estimated annual discretionary income of more than $20 billion – not to mention the spending power of the friends, family, and professional network of those with disabilities.

This poses a question to all entrepreneurs hoping to expand their business – how can a business, its product(s), and/or its service(s) be made more accessible? An investment into accessibility is an investment in a multi-billion dollar market, composed of millions of buyers, who have a network of millions more.

And on top of that – it’s the right thing to do.  

Below, we cover three simple yet effective ways to impact your bottom line for the better through accessibility. 

How to Expand Your Business By Becoming More Accessible

1. Make Your Website More Accessible

By failing to make your website accessible, you set up your business for a potentially costly accessibility lawsuit – which only serves to hinder the ability for you to expand your business. 

As a rule of thumb, businesses should strive to make their websites ADA compliant – particularly businesses with online stores and/or businesses that have a publicly accessible location. Making a website accessible not only helps avoid these lawsuits, but also increases the chance of securing the business of somebody with a disability. 

For example, 80% of younger shoppers make impulse purchases online – but if your e-commerce site is not fully accessible, you run the risk of losing the sale to younger shoppers with disabilities that prevent them from understanding your product page without a screen reader or adding an item to their cart if they can’t use a mouse. 

Progress towards a more accessible website can be made with simple, effective methods, such as:

• Adding alt text to your images to make images readable to those using screen readers. 
• Adding captions to videos on your website (we’ll cover this one in-depth momentarily) for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. 
• Adding a toggle to increase website text size for those who have vision impairments.
• Ensuring your website can be navigated without a mouse for those who use alternate methods of website navigation. 

These fixes require little effort and investment but have the potential to exponentially expand your business by appealing to this vast audience.

2. Add Captions to Your Videos

Video is one of the most impactful channels for a purchasing decision, with businesses relying on it for their marketing and sales efforts. Brightcove found that 76% of consumers have purchased a product or service after viewing a video – and that statistic makes complete sense. Video captures the authenticity of a user’s testimonial in a case study, shows the ease-of-use of a product in a demo video, and generates excitement for an online ad in a way that an image or the written word can’t always do. 

Unfortunately, without captions, videos that feature voiceover or someone speaking on camera make it difficult or even impossible for those who are hard of hearing to understand the intended message. The sentiment of a satisfied customer or the pitch outlined by your marketing team is lost, causing frustration among certain viewers – and perhaps costing you a sale. 

Fortunately, captioning your online videos is affordable and easy, and it can make all the difference to somebody who relies on captioning.

3. Think of Workarounds

The thought of developing accessible solutions purely for accessibility purposes is simply too limiting. Oftentimes, accessibility innovations end up seeing wide use by both those with and without disabilities. 

For example, curb cuts – which were originally designed for wheelchair users to access sidewalks – can be used by parents pushing strollers or cyclists getting off a main road. A flat, long door lever – a necessity for those unable to grip and turn a traditional doorknob – is also a favorite for those who have their hands full and can’t put down what they are carrying. Lastly, while video captions may be essential for those who are hard of hearing, they’re also used by those who are not hard of hearing for enhanced clarity, understanding another language, or added focus. 

As you work to make an aspect of your business more accessible for some, you may find that you’ve made it better for all – which, naturally, could yield a chance to expand your business and generate more revenue. This success can only come with the mindset that accessibility measures can improve the overall situation for more people than you were intending. 

Expand Your Business Through Accessibility

Whether it’s making adjustments to your physical location to allow more people to enter your store, making your website more accessible to online visitors, or expanding the power of your video’s messaging with captioning, making your products and services more accessible is a sure-fire way to expand your business. The spending power of people with disabilities is not to be ignored, so start planning ways to tap into this market – your new customers and their large networks will reward you for it.

Start Making Your Web Videos Accessible Today!

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post The Spending Power of People with Disabilities Can Expand Your Business appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Industry Trends

How the New White House Administration is Prioritizing Accessibility

Aj Beltis

•

February 26, 2021

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, it appears accessibility has become an important initiative. 

Since (and even before) Mr. Biden’s inauguration, he and his team have made a point to make all communications accessible to a wider audience – particularly to those who are deaf or hard of hearing and/or have vision loss. During his campaign, Mr. Biden’s events featured captions, interpreters, and an option to access live audio descriptions, according to USA Today. 

While substantial progress regarding accessibility has been made already – including new features on the White House website and an official accessibility statement available in the footer of all of its website pages – the administration acknowledged there is still work to be done, pledging these moves are part of “ongoing accessibility effort works towards conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA criteria.”

So, what exactly has this new administration done with regard to accessibility, why does it matter, and what might these initiatives mean for you and/or your organization? 

What’s Changed

Official White House communications have been delivered and presented in a way that allows viewers and website visitors to view the information they need more accessibility. Specifically, changes have been noticed on the official whitehouse.gov website, as well as White House press briefings. 

Website Changes

Specifically, TechCrunch reports the White House website now has a dark mode and a large text toggle for website visitors with vision loss or strained eyes.

TechCrunch writer Devin Coldewet also pointed out the presence of captions and alt text with images on the site. Alt text has been utilized by marketers and website developers to help images (and the pages on which they appear) rank for targeted keywords, but from an accessibility standpoint, this text describes an image’s contents to those who utilize screen readers. 

White House Press Briefings

According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Mr. Biden’s administration will be the first in history to include American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations at all of the White House’s daily press briefings. ASL interpreters are equipped to convey the tone and intricacies of the people they are interpreting, helping those who have difficulty hearing better understand the intended message.

The announcement was made during the January 25th press briefing (which can be viewed below), where the very first point made by Press Secretary Psaki in the announcement is the inclusion of ASL interpreters moving forward. 

According to USA Today, ASL interpreters can only be viewed through White House media channels, meaning interpretation is not widely available on other platforms such as television news. However, advocates are still in agreement that this move is a step in the right direction when it comes to accessibility. 

Why These Changes Matter

Press Secretary Psaki states in the above video that “The President is committed to building an America that is more inclusive, more just, and more accessible for every American – including Americans with disabilities and their families.”

Conversely, the previous White House administration faced criticism for failing to meet certain expectations or requirements pertaining to accessibility. Notably it was sued by the National Association of the Deaf for not having American Sign Language interpreters at briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, aside from avoiding accessibility lawsuits, the current administration is likely focusing on these accessibility measures for the simple fact that millions of Americans are deaf or hard of hearing, or have some degree of vision loss. These measures make it easier (or in some cases, possible) for these Americans to access official White House information. 

For example:

• 60% of Americans experience symptoms related to digital eye strain (or Computer Vision Syndrome). While the science has poked some holes in the believed benefits of dark mode, some do find it to be easier on their eyes and cause less discomfort.  
• More than 8 million Americans have vision loss, which could require the use of a screen reader or the option for larger font size in order to read content online.
• 5% of the world’s population has disabled hearing loss, making audio or audio-only content difficult – if not impossible – to consume. 

 Discover More Accessibility Stats  

Given the millions of people who listen to, read the words of, or watch the President every single day, making his messages accessible across multiple formats is an essential step to ensuring the words of his office are lost on as few of his constituents as possible. 

Mr. Biden’s administration has pledged that the accessibility work to date is part of an ongoing process, suggesting that his staff will continue to work to close the accessibility gap.

Not only does this decision help the administration’s communications team meet accessibility standards and disseminate information to more people, it’s also an instance of leading by example for the country and the world at large. 

Every viewer of a press briefing on White House media channels will see an ASL interpreter. Every visitor to the White House website will be greeted with options to make the site visually better for those who need such a change, and will see a link to the office’s accessibility statement in the website footer. The site was visited an estimated 29 million times in January – according to SimilarWeb – meaning millions are seeing the features that help makes the office’s communications more accessible to those who need it. 

What These Changes Could Mean For Your Organization

Despite WCAG and ADA standards, countless websites remain inaccessible. One report, for instance, found that four out of five news sites have accessibility issues. The accessibility efforts on the website and in video content for the United States Executive Branch could result in more conversations around and improvements to accessibility in media and messaging. 

For example, while your organization or your small business may not be able to afford its own ASL interpreter, seeing one in an official White House press briefing might remind you to consider another solution like live automatic captioning to make video content like webinars or live streams accessible to those who require or prefer the use of captions. 

The example has been set – and it’s up to organizations throughout the country to follow it and make their videos, websites, and content more accessible.

—

Download the White Paper to Learn More About Bringing Web Accessibility Into the 21st Century

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post How the New White House Administration is Prioritizing Accessibility appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Accessibility

6 Zoom Etiquette Reminders for Your Next Meeting

Aj Beltis

•

January 15, 2021

It may be a new year, but tens of millions of Americans will still be working remotely in 2021.

And as we can all guess, this means more meetings on Zoom, Google Hangouts, and other video conferencing software. 

While your team likely spent hours (and hours) together on Zoom calls in 2020, there’s one aspect of video conferencing that might have fallen by the wayside as the workforce adjusted to this new normal – Zoom etiquette. 

In this post, we’ll outline some crucial components of Zoom etiquette so you can show up to meetings this year in the most prepared, polite, and professional way possible.

What is Zoom Etiquette? 

Zoom etiquette is maintaining a professional composure and behavior while on a Zoom or video conferencing call. Since Zoom meetings can be substantially different than their in-person counterparts, there’s an additional set of expectations to which we must adhere in order to best present ourselves to our colleagues. 

Tip #1: Close Out of Other Apps 

During in-person meetings, it’s an expectation that we close our laptops unless we’re sharing on-screen content with attendees or taking notes. However, with Zoom meetings, closing your laptop is an impossibility. 

However, to remain distraction-free and ensure you’re giving your full attention to the meeting, the next best thing to do is close out all other windows and apps aside from Zoom (unless you’re presenting or taking notes). This means you should quit Slack, minimize your email inbox, and quit any messaging apps you have open. Like they would be during in-person meetings, your messages will be waiting for you afterwards. 

Pro Tip: If you’re worried about coworkers thinking you’re away from your computer during the work day, try integrating your Google Calendar with Slack to automatically set your status to away and let your colleagues know you’re in a meeting. 

   Tip #2: Shut Off your Second Monitor 

Dual monitors are a perfect efficiency hack, as they can increase productivity by up to 30%.

However, they’re less-than-ideal when it comes to focusing on Zoom meetings. 

When that second monitor is on, it’s all-too-tempting to check your email (or – let’s be honest – Twitter) and lose focus on the meeting. To replicate the experience of an in-person meeting and increase your focus on the speaker or discussion at hand, unplug your laptop from your second monitor. Otherwise, your eyes may be tempted to drift off to the side, letting your fellow attendees know you’re less-than-interested in the matter at hand. 

Tip #3: Keep Your Camera On

One of the many perks of working remotely is stressing less about looking presentable – especially when during Zoom meetings, privacy is a click away with the “Camera Off” button. 

However, whether it’s a company-wide meeting or a one-on-one talk with your manager, turning off your camera doesn’t always give off the best impression. For example:

• Coworkers may perceive you as being mentally or physically absent from a large team meeting, as there is no way to verify your presence or engagement. 
• It can come off as impersonal – particularly if you’re in a one-on-one or small group setting – as your coworkers still rely on limited body language and facial expressions they’re able to observe through your camera. Remember, these meetings are the only time many see their coworkers, so don’t limit their already limited time with you. 
• It presents an accessibility hurdle for those who read lips – and while lip reading on Zoom isn’t perfect as is, keeping your camera on can clear up some misconceptions or misunderstanding, since people can see what you’re saying. 

Tip #4: Turn Off Your Mic When You’re Not Speaking 

That dog, kid, or siren in the background can be a real mood killer during a serious business meeting. 

While these interruptions are an inevitability of remote working, limiting them is basic Zoom etiquette – and they can be limited by simply muting yourself when you’re not speaking in a team meeting. 

Not only does muting yourself reduce these interruptions, it’s also helpful for those struggling to clearly hear a speaker. Consider those who have construction or road work going on outside their windows, or those who are hard of hearing and struggle to make out a speaker’s words even without distracting background noises. With additional distractions, a Zoom meeting becomes even more difficult.  

Pro Tip: If your meeting has a Q+A portion to it, one solution to hearing questions while also keeping attendees muted is using Zoom’s chat feature.

Tip #5: Adhere to Meeting Start and Stop Times 

In the office, it’s easy to remember when your meeting is over when the person waiting for the conference room knocks on the door. 

On Zoom, it’s not that simple. While no one is impatiently waiting for you to finish your discussion in order to use your meeting ID number, there’s a chance people in your meeting have another Zoom to hop on to right after the one you’re currently in. 

Because of that, make sure you respect start and stop times and speak up when someone is not doing so. A simple “sorry to interrupt, but we’re two minutes over – could we regroup this afternoon when we’re all free again?” could save someone a massive headache. 

Pro Tip: Not all of your meetings will have attendees who need to log onto another meeting, and one of the perks of Zoom meetings is not facing the risk of getting kicked out. If you’re having a rich and important discussion that you’d like to continue, simply ask attendees if they have the time to chat for an extra 5-10 minutes before assuming they do. 

Tip #6: Use Live Captions 

One final piece of Zoom etiquette is one that is beneficial for those who need an extra level of clarity during the meeting – live automatic captioning.

Whether they help some focus on the meeting or make it so someone who has difficulty hearing can understand what’s being said, captions make Zoom meetings more accessible.

The process is simple for setting them up, too – we explain the process for setting up Zoom meeting captions in this blog post.

Remember Your Etiquette

Zoom meetings and video conferences are bringing this remote workforce together in a way that’s keeping workplace culture and office friendships alive – but this can only happen if we remember to follow these simple yet essential rules of Zoom etiquette. 

Next time you have a video call, make sure you’re sticking to these six reminders for a better Zoom experience for yourself and your coworkers. 

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post 6 Zoom Etiquette Reminders for Your Next Meeting appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

---

• Legislation & Compliance

3 Tips for Creating Accessible & ADA Compliant PDFs

Aj Beltis

•

November 19, 2020

The portable document format, or PDF, is a staple for companies that want to share custom-designed content to a wide audience without building a website or racking up a fortune in printing costs. 

However, a standard PDF may lack key accessibility features that many people require to fully comprehend the content in a PDF. 

With approximately 300 million colorblind people in the world today and an additional 250 million people with visual impairment, PDFs could be ineffective or outright useless for a good amount of your potential readership. That’s why your organization should be following the recommended best practices to make your PDF documents accessible. 

PDF accessibility is the process of making your PDF files “accessible to everyone, providing all users access to the same information, regardless of the impairments they may have or the method they may use,” according to Dax Castro. Castro, an Adobe-Certified PDF Accessibility Trainer and a member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, explained some of his tips for creating accessible PDFs during his 2020 Adobe MAX presentation, which you can click here to watch. 

If you’re short on time, read on for a quick overview of his proven suggestions for making PDFs meet accessibility standards, such as PDF/UA and WCAG, to ensure everyone is able to fully appreciate and understand the contents of your PDFs.

1. Use Compliance Variation Tools

  Getting started with PDF accessibility isn’t the most intuitive process, but Dax outlined a framework for working towards compliance.

1. Check contents using an automated tool.
2. Conduct a manual check. 
3. Test using a screen reader

For automated tools, Dax suggested the following:

• The Acrobat Accessibility Checker: For those making their PDFs in Acrobat, there’s a built-in tool to ensure you’re on track to meet accessibility standards. For example, it will give you a check mark or an X next to something that has passed or failed, respectively. Dax suggests using the checker as a starting point as opposed to a final check, saying “it allows you to make sure that you’ve hit most of the big items.” 

Image Source

• PAC 3: Dax notes PAC 3 is “a great PDF/UA checker, and it’s free.” The tool also presents you with screenshots of where your document is not compliant. 

After the manual check, PDF creators should test using a screen reader tool – not a text-to-speech tool (this tip was Dax’s final CTA for his presentation – so if you remember anything from this article, remember that!). Specifically, Dax highlighted these tools as the most widely-used options:

• Apple Voiceover: Apple Voiceover makes content more accessible on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, as the feature is integrated in all Apple products at no additional charge.

• NVDA: For PC users, NVDA is a free screen reader which Dax describes as “a little more basic,” but “a little more popular,” than JAWS.
• JAWS: Also for PC users, JAWS is a paid, but “more robust” screen reading tool compared to NVDA. 

2. Know Your Accessibility Barriers

On a PDF, accessibility barriers are any features of the document that someone with a vision impairment may be unable to read or understand – even with the help of a screen reader or an accessibility tool. 

While designing your PDF, consider all accessibility best practices. Specifically, keep the following attributes of your document in mind before publishing it. 

• Color as a Differentiator: No content in your document should reference color as a means for understanding. For example, let’s say you include a chart in your PDF and highlight a cell in blue, and in a paragraph discussing the table’s contents, you reference “the cell in blue” without speaking to that cell’s actual contents. This would be a violation of PDF accessibility best practices, as a screen reader can’t pick up the cell’s color. 

• Text as Image: It’s tempting to use an image of text rather than text itself, especially for logos or other on-brand needs. In the case where it’s absolutely unavoidable, make sure you include the full text within the image in the image alt-text. 
• Tables: For the sake of convenience, you might take a screenshot of a table you made in Excel or on Canva and include it in your PDF. Doing so renders the table unreadable for those using screen readers. Instead, make sure you create the table in your PDF maker and properly tag its contents. Dax outlines how to make accessible tables in InDesign in this video and how to make accessible charts and graphs in this video.

Dax also outlines other areas to take note of for accessibility purposes, such as:

• Font.
• Language.
• Color blindness.
• Color contrast (use tools like Color.adobe.com to see if the contrast ratio meets accessibility needs).
• Structural relationships.
• Formulas.
• Images.

3. Review InDesign and Acrobat Accessibility Features

When making a PDF in Adobe InDesign, there are features that allow creators to set up the document to meet accessibility standards within the tool – specifically before the PDF is uploaded to Acrobat. Some of these features include:

• Setting titles and meta data, which easily identifies important document info like author and document language.
• Creating custom alt-text to accurately describe a picture’s contents and enable you to set hyperlink alt-text in InDesign rather than Acrobat. 
• Identifying header rows in tables for easy reading of data when later opened in Acrobat.
• Automatically generating a table of contents, which creates bookmarks within a PDF for longer-length documents. 

Acrobat comes with even more features to help you meet PDF accessibility standards, such as:

• Set PFD/UA flag, which acts as a marker to remediate your document “to the PDF/UA standard.”

• Manually check color contrast and colorblind compatibility with the included Color Contrast Analyzer (CCA), which will alert you to a pass or fail of accessibility checker.
• Artifact untagged elements that must be “artifacted in accordance with PDF/UA,” such as table borders.

Making PDFs Accessible

PDF accessibility remains an important topic – but with clear guidelines from WCAG and PDF/UA, in conjunction with a suite of tools from software companies like Adobe, it’s easier to master than ever before. 

For more of Dax’s insights on PDF accessibility, watch his full presentation from the 2020 Adobe MAX presentation. 

About the author

Aj Beltis

The post 3 Tips for Creating Accessible & ADA Compliant PDFs appeared first on 3Play Media.