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Accessibility Resources

Making Materials Accessible

Request your E-Reserves [see the "Course Reserves (For Faculty)" guide to get started]: 

  • For new requests for film, please include a note in the field, "Notify Library Staff," saying they require closed captioning. 
  • For digitization requests, please add a note in the, "Notify Library Staff," field that details the required accommodation. 
  • PDFs should at least be scanned at 300 ppi resolution and greyscale (for black and white) in order to guarantee better OCR results. If documents require color, then these docs should be scanned as RGB documents. The scanners in the libraries have an OCR setting. 
  • The Libraries will assist with clearing permissions and assessing fair use of material requested through Course Reserves. For more information regarding copyright issues, see the Copyright & Fair Use For Faculty guide.

Ensure the accessibility of non-HTML content:

If you cannot make it accessible, consider using HTML instead or, at the very least, provide an accessible alternative. PDF documents should also include a series of tags to make it more accessible. A tagged PDF file looks the same, but it is almost always more accessible to a person using a screen reader. ("Principles of Accessible Design." WebAIM, Utah State University, 2020, https://webaim.org/intro/#principles.)

The New School Student Disability Services (StudentDisability@newschool.edu) can help students source accessible materials directly from publishers. 

Also, install the accessibility toolbar, Read&Write for Google Chrome, and recommend to others! 

For all options below, be sure to watch the movie(s) with the captions and check for errors and inaccuracies. (Options 3-6 apply for videos to which you hold the copyright, have licensed, are in the public domain or fall within fair use.)

Option 1: Search for your video(s) in Academic Video Online (AVON) 

  • Available through the Libraries, the AVON database includes on-screen captions, transcripts, and is compatible with industry-standard screen readers, including JAWS.

Option 2: Request videos through Course Reserves.

Option 3: Use Kaltura in Canvas. 

[See also: Adding Captions to an Entry; How to Order Captions (video); How to Edit Captions (video)]

  1. Within Canvas, click the "My Media" tab on the left to discover Kaltura, our "video management and creation tool," integrated in our Canvas interface. All faculty have a Kaltura account but if you have not visited this area before, you will be prompted to confirm your email address before proceeding. 

  2. From there, you may click, "Add New," to upload an existing video in a video format such as .mp4, .avi, or .mov.

  3. Next, after uploading, click the "Actions" icon.   

  4. Select "Captions & Enrich."

Option 4: Use the Rich Content Creator in Canvas.

Option 5: Upload to YouTube.

Option 6: Create new videos.

Pedagogy