Browse Media Learn More

Free Membership - Access to more than just media

Families and school personnel (including those in training) who have at least one student with a disability can sign up for free membership.

Accessible Media

Standards-aligned videos with high-quality captions and audio description.

Teaching Tools

Create lessons and assign videos to managed Student Accounts.

Training Videos

Educator and sign language training videos for school personnel and families.
Learning Center

Find resources for providing equal access in the classroom, making media accessible, and maximizing your use of DCMP's free services.
Visit Learning Center

Accessibility Information

DCMP's Learning Center provides hundreds of articles on topics such as remote learning, transition, blindness, ASL, topic playlists, and topics for parents.

See All

Accessibility Guidelines

DCMP offers the only guidelines developed for captioning and describing educational media, used worldwide.
Captioning Key
Description Key

Help Center

Learn how to apply for membership, find and view accessible media, and use DCMP’s teaching tools.
Help Center
Continuing Education and Professional Development

DCMP offers several online courses, including many that offer RID and ACVREP credit. Courses for students are also available.
See All eLearning Resources

QuickClasses

Asynchronous, online classes for professionals working with students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, low vision, or deaf-blind.

See QuickClasses

Workshops

For interpreters, audio describers, parents, and educators working with students who are hard of hearing, low vision, and deaf-blind.
See Workshops

Modules

Modules are self-paced, online trainings designed for professionals, open to eLearners and full members.
See Modules

Students

These self-paced, online learning modules cover the topics of transition, note-taking, and learning about audio description.

See Student Courses
Make your educational content accessible and broadly available.

DCMP can add captions, audio description, and sign language interpretation to your educational videos and E/I programming.
Learn More

Accessibility

Captions are essential for viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing, and audio description makes visual content accessible for the blind and visually impaired.

Distribution

DCMP can ensure that your content is always accessible and always available to children with disabilities through our secure streaming platforms.

Meet our partners

DCMP partners with top creators and distributors of educational content. Take a look
About the Described and Captioned Media Program

The DCMP provides services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities. We partner with top educational and television content creators and distributors to make media accessible and available to these students.
Contact Us
Services

Captioning, audio description, and ASL services

Professional training for school personnel

Distribution of fully accessible streaming media

Projects

Media Center

Television Access

We Describe the World

YouTube Audio Description

Privacy and TOS

Privacy Statement

Terms of Service

Accessibility Policy

Mission and Funding

Read More

Writing: Uses and Importance

15 minutes 24 seconds

Apply for Free Membership

Videos are generally available for preview to non-members as short clips. Limited full-length titles are also available. Log In to view the full length title.

Browse Full-length Non-member Titles

5 white clay tablets of varying sizes with etched lettering scrawled across the top. Caption. These tablets from the Middle East.

Writing is a very important and powerful tool used in everyday life. Writing is used to store information, make a permanent record, and for communication. It can be pictograph- or alphabet-based. Shows different ways to write and lists many specific uses of writing.

Media Details

Runtime: 15 minutes 24 seconds

Topic: Language Arts
Subtopic: Alphabet, Communication, Composition (Writing)
Grade/Interest Level: 4 - 8
Standards:

Release Year: 1996
Producer/Distributor: United Learning, Inc.
Report a Problem

Members Only - Apply Now

Still image from: How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read? (About Reading)

Computer image of 6 braille dot rows on a page. Text on image, reads. And, The, between row 3 and 4. Caption. Cell 1. Dot 6, the capital sign.

Small hand rests next to a yellow spiral-bound book titled, "The Alphabet Book." Blue background is scattered with gold star stickers. Caption. Child as narrator. The Alphabet Book.

Wide shot of Mediterranean countryside. Words, "Diligent Regime, Hard Work", appear. Caption. Who also practiced crop rotation and used fertilizers.

Blonde woman in a purple button up sweater uses sign language in front of a pink background with the letters A, B, and C. Caption. If I relax my fingers and my thumb.

Young woman smiles and leans forward, index and middle finger pointing forward with thumb wrapped under. Caption lyrics. I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P.

Woman smiles and rests her hands in her lap. Man next to her tilts his chin down as he points to the side. Spanish caption. Vamos al mercado.

3 alpacas stand together in a fenced in area, 1 looking directly at the camera.