Live or Face-to-Face Classes: Deaf Tips: Before and During: Audiovisual Materials

Tips courtesy of Northern Essex Community College. (some tips adapted).

Before Using Audiovisual Materials

Be aware that audiovisual materials should have captions if you show them. The library has captioned DVDs, and streaming video databases such as Swank, Films on Demand, Kanopy, and LinkedIn Learning. If you use YouTube, try to find a captioned video. 

If you use an uncaptioned video, the Provost has a budget to cover captioning expenses at no cost to your department. Teaching & Learning provides this service and you can fill out a media form. Advance planning helps everyone complete the video in time for class viewing.

In the event that interpreting/captioning simultaneously is necessary, the transcript of the audio portion should be available to both the DHH participant and the service provider before viewing the material. While this option technically makes the material accessible, it does not provide equal access since the words are not synchronized with the visual action, creating confusion for the viewer.

During Class: Audiovisual Materials

• Reserve seating in the front row for DHH users when viewing films to allow for ease of reading captions.
• The use of interpreters or captionists simultaneously with uncaptioned media may not be the best substitute for access. The lag time between the sound from the source and the interpretation/text provided by the interpreter/captionist can be confusing.
• It is impossible for a DHH person to look in two directions at the same time.
• When you use YouTube, you can slow-track the video to help viewers take in the captions and video.