Learning Center

How to Access Audio Description on Your TV and Through DCMP

Television, movies, and videos are made accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired through the addition of audio description. Audio description is a secondary audio track with additional narration that describes important visual information in a video. It can be accessed in a number of ways, including through your TV remote through a button or voice controls. Instructions specific to many television providers and television sets can be found at the following link on the Audio Description Project (ADP) website:
From about description, consumers, technology, producers-and-distributors
Guide to Cable Providers and Streaming Services for People With Disabilities

This guide outlines cable, satellite, and streaming TV accessibility. It covers companies such as DirecTV, Spectrum, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Last but not least, it touches on automated live captions to make ads, news, sports, and user-generated content more accessible.
From about description, manuals-and-guidelines, captioning, consumers
DCMP Awarded Federal Grants for Making Educational Media and Television Content Accessible to Persons With Disabilities

The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), a leader in developing and providing accessible media, has been awarded two five-year federal grants by the U.S. Department of Education. DCMP will continue its mission of making educational videos accessible to children with disabilities and expand into broadcast television content. The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and total $13.3 million.
From about description, captioning, dcmp, consumers, partners
DCMP on AC&E Education Talk Radio Podcast

DCMP's Cindy Camp visits the Education Talk Radio Podcast to discuss why the Described and Captioned Media Program exists, how it works, and why it is such a valuable resource to educators. Posted with permission from the American Consortium for Equity in Education (AC&E).
From about dcmp, consumers
Converting YouTube SBV Subtitles to SubRip SRT Format

One of the most intriguing CIY-related developments in captioning has been Google’s automatic accessibility features for YouTube channels. Most of the buzz surrounded the auto-caption feature; based upon the speech-to-text engine that powers Google Voice, auto-caption allows individual viewers to access a machine-generated transcription of a video’s speech content, which is then automatically synchronized with the video’s sound track and displayed as individual captions. However, it is the auto-sync feature that figures to be—at least in the short term—a real game-changer for serious CIYers.
about manuals-and-guidelines, captioning, consumers
Media for Purchase

If the DCMP does not have an item you need, or if you'd like to purchase something the DCMP has in the collection, you may search our database of accessible educational media available for purchase from educational producers/distributors.
From DCMP Help Center
Black Deaf Culture Through the Lens of History

Overviews recent accomplishments and recognition of Black Deaf people
From Benro Ogunyipe about educators, history, consumers, deaf
Finding Deaf Herstory and History: Resources for the Classroom

A few years ago, the great-great-granddaughter of the Deaf pioneer and National Association of the Deaf (NAD) supporter, Edmund Booth, told me a story about her great-niece learning about the California Gold Rush in her social studies class. The young girl excitedly shared the fact that she was a descendant of a "Forty-Niner," but her classmates and her teacher did not believe her. She called her dad and asked him to bring the book Edmund Booth, Deaf Pioneer when he picked her up that day. During a subsequent "show-and-tell" activity, she was thrilled to use the book to explain about her proud heritage that included Edmund Booth and his wife Mary Ann Walworth Booth, both Deaf.
From Harry Lang about consumers, history
Going Pro: Using YouDescribe in the Classroom and Beyond

This 60-minute webinar, the fourth in a series, features a live panel discussion about how YouDescribe, a tool anyone can use to add description to YouTube videos, is being used to provide access to content beyond the K-12 classroom.
about manuals-and-guidelines, description, educators, consumers, webinar
YouDescribe – How You Can Add Audio Description to Any YouTube Video!

This an archive video of the Video Description Research and Development Center webinar #3 - YouDescribe – How You Can Add Audio Description to Any YouTube Video!. The webinar occurred May 30, 2013. Learn about YouDescribe, the exciting new tool developed by the Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC). YouDescribe is a free tool that anyone can use to add description to YouTube videos. YouDescribe includes everything needed to create description; all you need to provide is a microphone. In addition, YouDescribe has a free embeddable player which can be used to include described videos on your own site.
about description, consumers, webinar
Captioning Timeline Highlights

Reviews major events in the history of captioning
about captioning, consumers
Deafness and Black History: One Leader's Perspective

The African-American community embodies a rich system of educational, political, and cultural supports that seek to ensure the visibility—and validity—of its community members within mainstream society at large.
From Ernest E. Garrett III about educators, consumers
Who are the Bright Spots in Your Community?

Raise the topic of child maltreatment and a common response is often "Oh, that is just too horrible to think about, I'd rather discuss something else." I usually respond, "Yes, it is a tough topic, but the less we discuss it, the more likely children with disabilities are to experience it."
From Harold Johnson about consumers
Plenty to Worry About: Children and Stress

The Health Resource Network has designated April as Stress Awareness Month. During this 30-day period, health-care professionals and health-promotion experts across the country join forces to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic. These experts teach that stress has many causes and affects people of all ages, from all walks of life.
From Jennifer DeGeorge about consumers, parents
Child Abuse and Neglect: CA/N

Stories of child abuse and neglect (CA/N) represent a horrific reality that is difficult to comprehend, much less accept. Unfortunately, such difficulty does not stop people like the Wisconsin "Predator Priest" from abusing over 200 boys at the St. John's School for the Deaf. In reality, the best available research indicates that CA/N is experienced by children with disabilities at a rate that is three times that experienced by their nondisabled peers (Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). CA/N destroys lives, devastates families, and damages organizations.
From Harold Johnson about consumers