{"id":2998,"date":"2021-01-20T20:37:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T01:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/kaltura\/?page_id=2998"},"modified":"2024-08-12T08:41:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:41:04","slug":"creating-accessible-lecture-videos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/kaltura\/creating-engaging-educational-videos\/creating-accessible-lecture-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Accessible Lecture Videos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accessibility is an essential part of the video creation process and it encompasses the ability of making materials more inclusive to\u00a0 learners from diverse backgrounds and needs.<\/p>\n

Paul Menton Centre Stats<\/a><\/dt>

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According to the Paul Menton Centre<\/a> (PMC), during the 2019-2020 academic year, over 3600 Carleton students reported having at least one disability. Since not all disabilities are reported, we can expect that this number is under-representative. Among the reported disabilities are Mental Health (30%), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHAD; 24%), Learning Disabilities (LD; 20%), and others such as Vision, Hearing, Head Trauma, Mobility, Medical, and Autism spectrum disorder (23%).<\/p>\n

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Accessibility is also an integral part of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which is a framework that ensures all learners have an equal opportunity to access and participate in learning (for more information about UDL, visit their website: The UDL Guidelines<\/a>). These guidelines provide concrete methods that instructors can employ in their courses to increase accessibility for their students. Related to video, one concrete way of increasing accessibility is by adding captions or transcripts to videos. A common myth is that only students who identify as having hearing impairments benefit from captions. However, including as-accurate-as-possible captions or transcripts can help many learners, such as whose whose first language is not English or those who need extra stimuli, maintain focus.<\/p>\n

The goal of this page is to focus on accessibility in the video creation process whilst providing tips to help you consider accessibility, disability, and UDL during the recording of lecture content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three main topics that ought to be considered when planning the recording of lectures: (1) dissemination of information<\/a>, (2) design of supporting materials<\/a> and (3) recording and post-recording<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As we navigate through these three topics, one thing we should always keep in mind is ensuring that all our learners can engage with and understand the material equally. Are we creating equal opportunities for success in our course design and video creation?<\/em> If ever the answer is \u201cno<\/em>\u201d, we should re-consider our strategies and develop more inclusive and accessible solutions. For support, please reach out via the TLS Support Portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>Dissemination of Information<\/h2>\n

Cognitive Load & Engagement<\/h3>\n

Consider how much information is enough to be presented to learners. Many studies have demonstrated that student engagement is increased when educational videos do not exceed nine minutes (Guo, Kim, & Rubin, 2014). The researchers tend to agree that cognitive load theory can explain why students\u2019 attention typically drops after six minutes. Therefore, a good strategy is to chunk your content into smaller segments<\/strong> (Guo et al., 2014; Mayer & Moreno, 2003).<\/p>\n

Language Clarity and Pace<\/h3>\n

Ensure the language is clear, simple (i.e., easy to understand), and concise. This is true for both written and spoken language. Moreover, if you have terminology that might be challenging for learners during the lectures, consider presenting and defining them before the lecture segment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Speak audibly, clearly, and naturally.<\/strong> Try to include teaching pauses as you would do in a face-to-face class. This provides opportunities for students to mentally catch up. Imagine your students are on the other side of the camera and talk to them, as you would do in a synchronous class. Remember that making some mistakes as you speak is not a problem! In fact, it is natural to do so and it humanizes the lecture videos.<\/p>\n

These are all steps that you can take to reduce cognitive load by reducing the noise<\/em> and increasing the signal<\/em>. More steps are involved in the design of the supporting materials (e.g., slides).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Design of Supporting Materials<\/h2>\n

Slide Design<\/h3>\n

When designing lecture slides with accessibility in mind, there are so many things to consider. Let\u2019s start with slide sizing. For optimal recording and usage of space, it is recommended to use widescreen ratio (16:9)<\/strong>. To learn how to do this, visit Change the size of your slides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opt for a clean and simple design for your slides<\/strong> with good colour contrast<\/a>. This can be accomplished by using only relevant images and avoiding the inclusion of unnecessary information. The idea is that students focus on the message you must convey. Again, we want to minimize the noise<\/em> and increase the signal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Remember that simplicity is key, and that less is more! Do not cram the slides with a lot of text information. Choose short bullet points for text in lieu of large paragraphs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n