Thank you to everyone that attended “Writing for Accessible Learning: ALT Text, Captions, and Beyond!” at this year’s Accessibility Summer Camp! I had a blast presenting this session. I heard there were over 100 of you in the audience at one point!

This session equips instructional writers with practical skills to make materials accessible for all. Dive into clear language practices and free tools for readability checks. Craft engaging captions, transcripts, and ALT text for learners with disabilities. Leave empowered to write inclusively, boost engagement, and achieve better learning outcomes!

Session Description and Objectives

Can everyone read your content? You might be surprised. A significant number of your readers may experience neurodivergence, disability, or other conditions that prevent them from interacting with your written content. Learn how to write with accessibility and inclusion in mind, including strategies for readability, captions, transcripts, and more – with resources and checklists to get to work right away.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Edit writing for readability and clarity
• Write quality captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for audio/visual content
• Write quality ALT text for images

Writing for Accessible Learning Session Slides

Mentimeter provided a great platform for audience participation, as usual!

Looking for the final slides with audience responses? Download them here.

Session Resources

Readability and Language Tools

• Hemingway App
• Readable
• Federal Plain Language Guidelines
• WCAG: Readable

Other Accessible Writing Resources

• AI ALT Text Generator (use with caution and always double-check!)
• AWS Amazon Transcribe
• YouTube Automatic Captioning

Accessible Writing Series

Did you miss the series of posts on Writing for Accessibility I’ve had on the blog lately? Check them out here:

• Writing ALT Text for Accessibility
• Writing for Readability
• Writing Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions
• Writing Bonus! Accessible Emoji Use
• More on Accessible Writing: Fancy Fonts

Writing for Accessible Learning Session Recording

The recording is now available from the Accessibility Summer Camp website!

Visit this link to watch my session.

Did you find the session informative? I’d love to hear from you! 

The post Recap: Writing for Accessible Learning appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

Every time I think I’ve finished this series on Accessible Writing, another topic comes up! This post on Fancy Fonts started as a LinkedIn post to get some thoughts from my network. 

What is it with those fancy fonts?

I see this most on social media, where common text editing functions like bold, italics, and underline are generally missing. (Have you tried a LinkedIn newsletter though?) But as an elearning developer and web developer, I’ve seen these “fancy fonts” plenty of other places too.

Content creators of all sorts want the ability to format text differently, for emphasis and clarity. So, understandably, people use “fancy font” generators. There’s no other way to make text bold on social media, right?

Why Are Fancy Fonts a Problem?

But, as a quick search can tell you, using Unicode, as these font generators do, is problematic for many reasons:

1. It causes accessibility issues
2. It’s associated with spam and scams
3. It doesn’t contribute to search rankings or functions
4. Did I mention the accessibility thing?

Let’s break it down.

1. Do you know what Unicode sounds like to a screen reader user? (Here’s a good summary.) Or how it may be interpreted by someone with dyslexia? (Here are some great guidelines!) Have you given thought to how many readers or learners you could be excluding from understanding that fancy text?
2. Spam filtering software works on text it can recognize. When Unicode replacements are used for common trigger words, it may allow a scammer to bypass filters the user has in place.
3. Like the example above, search functions – and search engine rankings – only work on text that can be recognized. Unless the user is searching for the Unicode version of your text, that line you wanted to give so much emphasis to has essentially disappeared from the user’s view.
4. Back to that accessibility thing. Now that we know we have excluded users with disabilities from our content AND any user that wants to search for that content… who exactly is our remaining audience? What is the goal, if not to have your content accessible to as wide an audience as possible?

A quick search on “fancy font issues” turns up all of the above points (and more!) with great resources like Accessible Social. I even found this page linked directly from a font generator I used!

So let’s all ditch those “Fancy Fonts” and create accessible content instead.

The post More on Accessible Writing: Fancy Fonts appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

I was done with my planned series on Writing for Accessibility… or so I thought! We covered writing ALT text, writing for readability, and writing captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. I wanted to add one more “writing” topic to the series: accessible emoji use!

I shared a few best practices for accessible emoji use in the #A11yBook when I covered Social Interaction Considerations for learning in Chapter 1.

Here’s what I said:

Consider your emoji use:
a. Don’t replace important words with emoji.
b. Don’t use emoji as bullet points.
c. Place emoji at the end of sentences.
Source: Emoji Accessibility for Visually Impaired People

I’ve picked up some other resources in the meantime, including a copy of Accessible Social, so I’d like to add some more thoughts on emoji.

One of my favorite new tips from Accessible Social was this one on emoji descriptions: 

Double-check emoji descriptions.

An excellent resource for digital content creators who want to use emoji in smart and strategic ways is the website emojipedia.org.

The site lists every known emoji along with their different appearances and descriptions across platforms, devices, and browsers. It’s a useful way to double-check emoji descriptions before using an icon.

I didn’t know emojis could be described in so many ways!

Another point I’ve picked up, related to using emoji in moderation in general, is to limit the use of emoji in your online identities. I see a lot of creators doing this to differentiate themselves – but are you adding an unnecessary pink-heart-icon readout to your name every time a screen reader comes across it?

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on accessible writing! I’ll continue sharing tips here on my blog, along with other social media (like Instagram and LinkedIn). Stay tuned for the next series!

The post Writing Bonus! Accessible Emoji Use appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

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 second post in this series is on Writing for Readability. (Did you miss the first post on Writing ALT Text?)

What is Readability?

Writing for readability is all about making your text clear, concise, and easy to understand for your target audience. Readability is crucial for accessibility because it ensures everyone can understand the information being presented, regardless of their abilities. Readable content benefits people with cognitive disabilities and reading disorders like dyslexia, users of assistive technology like screen readers and text-to-speech software, and even non-native speakers. (It can even improve your website’s search engine rankings too!)

Here are some easy ways to improve your readability:

Simple and clear language: Write in plain, simple language whenever possible. Avoid jargon, complex words, and overly technical terms unless they are essential. If you do use a specialized term, define it for the reader. If you use acronyms or abbreviations, spell them out on first use.

Sentence and paragraph structure: Keep sentences short, but varied in length. A mix of sentence lengths keeps the writing interesting, but avoid going overboard with long sentences that are hard to follow. Keep paragraphs short and easy to digest. 

Active voice: Generally, active voice is more concise and engaging than passive voice. For example, instead of saying “The keyboard was sat upon by the cat,” say “The cat sat on the keyboard.”

Organization: Organize your writing with a clear flow of information. Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and transitions to guide the reader through your ideas – and to improve navigation by assistive technology.

Can I Get A Checklist?

Even better than a checklist is trying out a Readability Checker: There are online tools and software programs that can analyze your writing and suggest ways to improve readability. These tools can give you a readability score, which indicates the approximate reading level required to understand your text. (One of my favorites is Hemingway!)

Sources and Further Reading:

• Hemingway App
• Readable App
• Understanding SC 3.1: Readable – W3C
• Federal Plain Language Guidelines

The post Writing for Readability appeared first on Inclusive Pixelation.

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

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