What is the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC)? Every year, leaders of ATD Chapters around the country come together to share best practices about making their ATD Chapters work better. The boards of ATD Chapters are made of volunteers who donate their time, expertise, and resources to their local Talent Development communities, and this conference is one of my absolute favorites.

I’ve been attending this conference for several years, as a leader of my own local Chapter (ATD Greater Las Vegas) in several roles. This year, I submitted two sessions for consideration as a speaker – and got the opportunity to present both sessions!

I decided after attending both the ALC and ICE conferences in San Diego last year that going forward, I would be choosing one conference over the other. I understand the reasoning for co-locating these conferences, but for me, there’s too much of a disconnect. I value the conferences for different reasons, and I can’t get the value I need from both of these events without the time to reflect and decompress. Last year, shifting gears from “Chapter Leader” to “Day Job Employee” in 24 hours caused me to feel like I wasn’t completely present in either role. So this year, I chose to only attend the ALC Conference. (Maybe I’ll see you at ICE next year? Unless the conferences get separated again!)

An Accessibility Audit for your ATD Chapter

Are you part of an organization that has a website, hosts meetings (virtually and/or in-person), and sends communications (newsletters, emails, social media)? Many ATD Chapters do all these things and more. The organization of our current age interacts with a diverse audience across multiple channels, and we have the opportunity to include everyone by considering accessibility.

Website Accessibility

In this session on Accessibility for ATD Chapters, we looked at the accessibility of Chapter websites, events, and communications. We started with one of the simplest things we can all do – include an accessibility statement! Most Chapters have overlooked this simple addition to their websites – but we fixed that! By adding an accessibility statement, we can demonstrate our commitments to accessibility and provide a point of contact for accessibility issues.

Check out what ATD Chapter Leaders came up with for theirs!

In addition to an accessibility statement, we talked about things we can do within our content management systems (like using headers and including ALT Text) and how to test our websites for potential accessibility issues.

Event Accessibility

ATD Chapters now have new ideas for making events more accessible from start to finish. We discussed adding an accommodation question to our registration forms, including captions and other features in our virtual platforms, and considering our physical event spaces as well.

Communication Accessibility

We had a robust discussion on the many ways Chapters communicate – and how we can be more accessible! From ALT Text to readability, transcripts to recordings, and emojis to hashtags, we covered it all. Look out for more accessible communications from your local Chapter soon!

Of Course, A Checklist! (And Other Resources)

I’m known for my checklists (Did you miss these on eLearning, ALT Text, and Captions? And the book full of them?), so I couldn’t leave Chapter Leaders without one for these accessibility practices! Check out the ATD Accessibility Checklist here, and see the links below for other resources:

• WAVE Website Analyzer
• WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
• Accessibility Statement Generator

Why You’re Not Getting Chapter Speakers (from a Professional Speaker!)

Have you ever wanted to share your message with Talent Development professionals? Your local ATD Chapter is a great place to start!

After speaking at my own Chapter, ATD Greater Las Vegas, in 2021, some colleagues in the audience encouraged me to share my session more widely. (That session was an early draft of my current most popular presentation, Accessibility for Online Learning!)

I sent my session to a conference and had a blast! But I’ve gotten a lot of value from connecting virtually with audiences around the country, at ATD Chapter meetings and educational events. These types of sessions can be less formal and more interactive than a traditional conference talk. I find people often ask thoughtful questions and engage with each other and the information.

If you’re a speaker with a topic that applies to Talent Development, for better or for worse, there’s no easy way to get your session proposal in front of every Chapter decision maker. Every Chapter has their own board, processes, and systems – as it should be! ATD Chapters are all unique, of different sizes and needs.

Since there’s no one form to get your proposal to all 80 Chapters, I did the next best thing – I went to all 80 Chapters and pulled what information I could! Most Chapters use a web form of some kind (Google, Wufoo, Survey Monkey) to collect speaker proposals, a few use a PDF or other document, and a handful only offer an email address to contact. But there is a way to get in touch with every Chapter if you’re interested. I’m happy to share my list with anyone interested in speaking at ATD Chapters – check it out!

I had so much fun putting these presentations together to inspire other ATD Chapter Leaders. If you’re looking for a session on accessibility for your community organization, get in touch to see how I might adapt my presentation “An Accessibility Audit for your ATD Chapter” for your group! And of course, if you’re a fellow ATD Chapter Leader, let’s connect!

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Welcome to this deeper-dive series of blog posts! I’ll be digging in to some accessibility topics that relate to my presentations on accessibility, with the goal of providing you with information and resources to make your workplace more accessible. The third post in this series is on Writing Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions. (Did you miss the others on ALT Text and Readability?)

What are Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions?

This article dives into the world of accessible multimedia, focusing on three key components: captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. We’ll explore what they are, what makes them good, and how you can practice creating them.

What Are Captions?

Captions are synchronized text displays that appear on screen with a video, presenting dialogue and any sound effects. They are crucial for viewers who are deaf or with other hearing impairments, but also benefit many others, such as those watching in noisy environments or language learners.

Closed Captions? Open Captions?

Closed Captions are the most common type. They can be turned on or off by the viewer depending on their needs. Closed captions are stored in a separate file from the video itself, and are usually indicated by a “CC” symbol on the screen or within a media player. Many devices and platforms allow users to modify the captions, such as choosing the language or the appearance con screen.

Open Captions, by contrast, are “burned in” to the video, meaning they are a permanent part of the video file and cannot be turned off or modified. This style of captions is more popular on social media platforms that do not support closed captioning.

What’s A Transcript?

A transcript is a full text version of the audio content in a video or audio-only media. It includes spoken dialogue, speaker identification, descriptions of important sounds, and timestamps. Transcripts are essential for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as those who prefer to consume information in text format. 

What Are Audio Descriptions?

While captions and transcripts are most often used by those with hearing impairments, audio descriptions assist visually impaired viewers. Audio descriptions provide narration of key visual elements that aren’t conveyed through dialogue alone. This could include descriptions of actions, settings, facial expressions, and body language.

What Makes Good Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions?

By creating high-quality captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions, you can make your multimedia content accessible to a wider audience and promote inclusivity. Follow these best practices:

• Accuracy: Ensure the text accurately reflects the spoken words and sound effects in captions and transcripts. For audio descriptions, strive for clear descriptions that paint a picture without being overly verbose.
• Conciseness: Keep captions concise and easy to read on screen. Aim for short, grammatically correct sentences in transcripts. Time audio descriptions appropriately, avoiding talking over dialogue or important sounds.
• Readability: Use clear language that is easy to understand. Avoid jargon and technical terms for captions and transcripts. Audio descriptions should use neutral and objective language.
• Formatting: Follow recommended formatting guidelines for each type. Captions should be properly formatted for display size and reading speed. Transcripts benefit from clear speaker identification and timestamps.

How Can I Practice?

The best way to practice is just to try! Start with a short video or podcast you already enjoy and try creating captions or transcripts to practice accuracy and timing. If the media author provides captions or transcripts, compare your results to the author’s. Once you’re a bit more confident in your skill, look for volunteer opportunities – many educational or non-profit organizations that create content seek volunteers to create captions and transcripts.

I Need a Checklist!

Click the checklist image below to download a PDF version.

Sources and Further Reading:

• WebAIM: Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions
• W3C: Captions/Subtitles
• W3C: Transcripts
• TPGi: Captions and Transcripts and Audio Descriptions, Oh My!

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Welcome to this deeper-dive series of blog posts! I’ll be digging in to some accessibility topics that relate to my presentations on accessibility, with the goal of providing you with information and resources to make your workplace more accessible. The first post in this series is on Writing ALT Text for Accessibility.

What is ALT Text?

It’s a specific property that can be set on an image for use by assistive technology – whether that image is on a website or Content Management System (CMS), a document, an eLearning module, and more. ALT text, or alternative text, describes the meaning of the image in context so that users with limited or no vision can understand the information being shared.

ALT text has other uses as well, such as for slow bandwidth connections and search engine optimization. If an image fails to load over a slow connection, ALT text will display on a page instead, and search engines use image ALT text to better understand the content on the page.

Today we’re going to focus on writing ALT text for our images in any online setting.

What Makes Good ALT Text?

Great ALT text conveys both meaning and context – what is happening in the image itself, and how that relates to the rest of the content on the page. Don’t stuff your ALT text with keywords, thinking it will improve your search engine rankings. You’ll actually rank better with genuine, descriptive ALT text that naturally includes relevant keywords.

Good ALT text is shorter than a Tweet – 250 characters or less is a best practice. That’s not to say ALT text can’t be great with fewer or more words! Don’t include the words “picture of” or “image of” – a screen reader will do this for the user already. Also, avoid including image credits (such as an illustrator or photographer) in the ALT text – the appropriate place for this information is in an image caption.

Subjective or Objective? You’ll see advice going both directions, but in my personal opinion, if a subjective description better conveys the meaning of the image for the user, write it that way! You are the author of your website or document, and you chose the image for a particular reason, to convey a specific meaning. Don’t let that meaning slip away from an assistive technology user just because you are trying to describe the image as objectively as possible.

When can I skip ALT text? When the image is purely decorative and has no other meaning or context, that image does not require ALT text. Additionally, the user experience is often better when you skip ALT text on decorations. Imagine a screen reader user trying to learn from an eLearning module that has ALT text on decorative images, as well as meaningful ones – it would be possible to lose the important information in the clutter of ALT text.

How Can I Practice?

This is one of my favorite interactive activities during a presentation – showing an image and letting the audience practice writing the ALT text. ALT text improves as you get more input from more viewers of the image. Everyone will see or interpret something different from an image, and you can practice writing better ALT text in the same way, by getting additional opinions. What did you miss in your description that someone else saw? Is that additional information important to understand the image or its context?

Wait, can’t this be done automatically? Not quite! Although technology, especially generative AI language models like ChatGPT, is getting better at recognizing what an image depicts, algorithms alone cannot understand what an image means within the context of the overall content. Use AI to practice and get ideas for ALT text improvement, but never rely fully on automated tools without double-checking the output.

I Need a Checklist!

Click the checklist image below to download a PDF version.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Alternative Text
• What is Alt Text and How to Write It
• How to Design Great Alt Text: An Introduction

The post Writing ALT Text for Accessibility appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

I wanted to share my Accessibility for eLearning checklist – I hope you find this resource useful! I created this list to be a quick, one-page review of best practices and principles for accessibility and usability in online learning.

Accessibility for eLearning Checklist by Britne Jenke is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Click to download the Accessibility for eLearning Checklist PDF.

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