Alt-Text Production: Providing More Effective

Services & Promoting Student Self-Reliance

Utah Valley UniversityLaura Loree, Accessibility Services Counselor

Jenna Atkinson, Assistive Technology Coordinator

Demographics◦Open enrollment◦High non-traditional student population

56% work 30+ hours/week 45% are married 23% support at least one child at home 41% are 25 or older (low-tech students)

◦Large international and ESL population Unique Situation◦Small lab with a small budget on a large campus◦Dealing with programs ranging from tech/trade

certificates to graduate degrees

Here’s Why We’re Different

Lost long time lab coordinator overnight in the snow 5 miles uphill both ways

No trained lab staff to pick up the torch No lab coordinator for 14 months Laura begins supervising lab in addition to

full-time counseling Functional assessment of lab shows major

deficits Jenna assumes position during fall rush;

very little experience

How did we get here?

Improper alt-text procedures◦Scanning full books at once◦Using Kurzweil for OCR◦No editing, no alt-tags◦MP3 only: no DAISY, no Braille (inaccessible

PDFs for everyone)◦No ability to produce any STEM content◦Reproducing same text repeatedly◦No ATN requests: ALL books cut and scanned

(bookstore won’t buy back)

We didn’t know what we didn’t know

Start researching how to do my job◦Spoiler alert: ain’t nothing online◦Weep softly under desk

Attend CSUN and AHG Start consulting with local Assistive Tech

providers◦Have students scan their own books◦Unedited PDFs to use with Kurzweil & Firefly◦Provide MP3s on CDs

There’s Gotta Be a Better Way!

Student’s who needed texts ASAP Sampled TTS applications with Word

documents for these students Students LOVED it!◦ Text displayed while read aloud◦ Easily navigable◦ Easily customizable◦ Cheap/Free◦ Can use it anywhere

Began to utilize this method more and more for students with varying disabilities

New standard as it works most of the time

What Are We Gonna Do?

Natural Reader

Central Access Reader

Kurzweil Balabolka

Reads Math X

Generate MP3

X X X X

Platform OSX, Windows, iDevices, Android

Mac & PC desktops / laptops only

PC, Mac, Ipad, Web

Mac & PC desktops / laptops only

File types supported

PDF, Word, EPUB, HTML, copy+paste, etc

Word, copy+paste

PDF, Word, EPUB, HTML, copy+paste, etc

PDF, Word, EPUB, HTML, copy+paste, etc

Cost -$69.50 desktop-$9.99 mobile app

Free $700+ Free

Bonus Features

Sync documents across all platforms

Can export to HTML, HTML Flex, etc

Lots of study features, like highlighting, dictionary, etc

Text-to-Speech Applications

Request from publisher and Bookshare first Process books one chapter at a time OCR done by Abbyy Zone edits and reading order Save PDFs and Word docs Edit in Word, convert to needed format Use Dolphin EasyConverter to produce DAISY or

MP3 if needed STEM Content◦Students with LD: equations, formulas, etc saved as

images◦Students with VI: Use Infty to OCR

Our process specifically

Production◦ “One and done”◦All books done as if DAISY in Word◦Easily modified to any format: HTML, Braille, etc.◦No alt tags needed unless visually impaired◦Massive reduction in MP3 production

Distribution◦PDFs and Word docs for students ◦Assist with downloading of CAR, NaturalReader,

and Balabolka◦Demonstrate built-in accessibility features on

computers

Why It Works for Us

Students don’t have to rely on AT Coordinator for materials off LMS

Students can generate own MP3s and other file formats

Moves us closer to universal access across campus◦TTS programs on every computer in every lab on

campus◦Composition classes using for peer review◦Great for ESL students (Natural Reader translates to

other languages) Makes oral administration of exams easier

Why It Works for Students

Working on perfecting project management system

Improving collaboration with the bookstore and university departments

Involving students for accessibility testing Establishing tech plan for distance ed and

satellite campuses Working on online training modules for

instructors◦Educating faculty on creating their own

accessible documents and PowerPoints

Where we’re going

Questions?

Jenna Atkinson – jenna.atkinson@uvu.edu 801-863-8868

Laura Loree – laura.loree@uvu.edu 801-863-8712

Contact Us