Discipline-specific materials require special remediation. Only faculty in their respective disciplines can determine the right approach to accessibility. With this in mind, this article provides starting points -- suggestions and resources -- for remediating materials in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as music, the visual arts and theater.
STEM Accessibility Tools and Practices
For documents in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, this often means ensuring that the PDFs based on LaTex and other document preparation programs and mark-up languages are accessible to screen readers. PDFs created using LaTex, for example, are not automatically accessible because they do not include the necessary tags and document structure.
How exactly you make your documents accessible depends on the needs of your particular discipline and how the documents were created. The following approaches may be of use.
- LaTeX tagging. Tags can be encoded into LaTex using its Accessibility Package. For more information on how to do this, please see this guide for Creating Accessible LaTex Documents.
- OCR for math. MathPix converts images, handwritten notes, and PDFs of complex scientific content into editable formats like LaTeX, Markdown, and Word. You can sign up for a free trial on the MathPix site.
- Math to speech text. Indiana University has a math converter tool that allows the markup languages of AsciiMath, LaTeX, and MathML to be converted by MathJax or MathCAT into speech text, making math content more accessible by interpreting the markup and generating written output.
- Converting PDF to Word. Another approach entails converting a PDF to a Word document and providing the necessary alternative text, or using Word’s in-built equation editor to make the existing equations accessible. Microsoft is continually enhancing support for MathML in their products. To expedite the process, you can take a screenshot of the formula or equation and ask Gemini to provide alt text for the image.
When it comes to documents, you can test any of these approaches by using the "Read Aloud" function, which is available in both Word and Adobe.
New approaches to making STEM documents accessible are always appearing. It is helpful to monitor discipline specific forums and communities for updates.
Accessible Music Course Materials
Remediating materials for music courses often requires having more than one way for students to experience the content and providing suitable alternatives where necessary.
Accessible Music Media
Providing robust alternative text and descriptions where appropriate will do much to make your course materials accessible.
- Integrated Description: If you haven't filmed yet, use "self-describing" narration. Instead of saying "Put your hand here," say "Place your thumb on the middle C key." This eliminates the need for a separate audio description track later.
- Descriptive Captions: When editing captions on videos, include musical cues in brackets like [soft, legato violin melody] or [rhythm accelerates]. If a specific technique is being shown, use [Staccato bowing] to help students connect the visual to the technique.
- Audio Description (AD): Provide a separate audio track where a narrator describes the visual actions: "The pianist crosses their left hand over the right to reach the high C." For more information on audio descriptions, please see our guide on media accessibility.
- Waveform & Spectrograms: Use tools like Chrome Music Lab or video overlays that show the sound waves. This helps students "see" the dynamics and frequency of the performance.
Other Course Content
When description is not enough, provide alternatives.
- Alternatives to Scanned PDF Scores: Scanned images cannot be read by assistive technology. Consider if the score you’re using has a MusicXML alternative available or could be made available in notation software that is compatible with screen readers.
- Talking Scores: If you provide a score, but do not also provide the music file, consider providing an audio-based description of the score, where you describe the key signature, time signature, and melodic movement bar-by-bar.
Accessible Visual Arts
Making a visual arts course accessible will entail providing alternative text that is detailed enough to allow students to achieve the course learning outcomes.
Tips for Effective Alternative Text
When writing alternative text for a visual arts course, you’ll want to include enough information so students can achieve the goal of the exercise or assessment.
- Context Matters: Focus on what information is most useful for students. If you are teaching color theory, your description should focus on the palette. If you are teaching composition, focus on the placement of objects and the "rule of thirds."
- General to Specific: When describing a piece of art, start with the overall general impression before moving to specific details. Example: "An oil painting of a stormy sea. In the foreground, a small wooden boat is tossed by a 10-foot wave. The sky is a mix of dark charcoal and bruised purple, with a single bolt of lightning on the right."
- Narrate the Action: Captions or transcripts can provide the alternative text for video demonstrations if you describe in detail the action. Instead of saying, “Make a jagged line here like this,” provide enough description so students can see in their mind exactly what you are doing: “Hold the brush in your left hand, push it against the paper away from your body and up toward the right-hand corner.”
- Texture Analogies: Where possible, describe the texture of an object or painting. Say that a sculpture is “as smooth as glass” or that the paint on an oil painting is “tacky and jagged.”
- Use a Color Blindness Simulator: A color blindness simulator, such as Colblindor, can help you see what students may not be able to see, and thereby allow you to provide additional alternative text to help them understand why an artist chose a particular color palette.
Accessible Theater Arts
Theater courses depend heavily on visual cues, and an accessible course will translate these cues into an accessible format. Providing adequate descriptions can do much to make your course more accessible.
Tip for Effective Descriptions
- Provide Alt Text for Stage Descriptions: Don’t just describe the dialogue. If a script says [He exits, defeated], the accessible version should describe the physicality: "Arthur drops his shoulders, avoids eye contact, and slowly walks off stage-left."
- Offer Screen Reader Friendly Scripts: Provide scripts in HTML or tagged Word documents rather than flat PDFs. Ensure character names are bolded and distinct so a screen reader user can "skim" by heading or bold text to find their cues.
- Facial Expression Mapping: If teaching Method Acting or facial expression, describe the muscle groups. Do the same when providing alternative text for videos illustrating various facial expressions: "To convey surprise, raise your eyebrows toward your hairline and let your jaw drop slightly, creating an elongated 'O' shape with your mouth."
- Describe the Stage: When providing alternative text for stage plays, describe where the actors are on the stage. Provide the same level of description for stage design. When discussing lighting design, for example, don’t just say "we use a blue gel." Describe the effect: "The deep blue lighting creates a cold, isolated atmosphere, making the actor look pale and distant."
When Alternatives Are Not Enough
There are certain activities and assessments that cannot be made accessible to all learners. In such cases, contact [email protected] to get more information on how to secure an exemption.