Accessible Description Without Bias
Alt-texts and Using OERs
When developing digital content, certain accessibility features are essential to ensure inclusivity for all users. These include providing alternative text (alt-text) for images, incorporating captions in videos, and offering detailed video descriptions. These are crucial for individuals with visual or hearing accessibility needs, as they enable them to access and engage with digital content. Optimizing OER content for accessibility promotes inclusivity, enhances usability for a wider audience, and reinforces the importance of integrating these elements into content development practices.
Accessible description refers to objective written explanations of visual or auditory content that are meaningful and aid in comprehension and learning. Accessible description without bias uses wording that avoids reinforcing personal biases and perpetuating cultural, political, and social hegemonies.
The use of images, various visuals and multimedia is common in OERs. They contribute to the multi-modality of resources or sometimes give readers brief breaks from reading. Images are great additions to OERs. To serve their purpose in the resource, alt-texting images must be intentional and without bias. For instance, if a picture or visual is only decorative, one may mark the image as decorative in the platform or software used. Using images also involves being aware that embedding references to other resources, such as scholarly articles with images, means that those images will also need to be alt-texted and described in detail, especially if they are complex, like in the scholarly article example provided.
During a conversation with a faculty member regarding the accessibility of their resource on the decolonization of theatre criticism, deliberation ensued regarding whether specific images should be described or labeled as “decorative.” The faculty selected certain images that showcased diverse identities within their resource. While these images may appear decorative at first glance, they play a role in visually representing inclusivity; representation mattered greatly in that context. In adding descriptions as alt-text in an OER, careful wording and precision in descriptions of identities from diverse ethnicities, races, and genders is of high importance.
Some of the challenges that occur in visual art, in particular in relation to alt-text, is making sure that the alt-text does not give away the answer and that students are still challenged to be able to assess and reflect on the meanings of the images. This can also be true in some science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that use many graphs, charts, and tables to explain or show data in assessment situations. Care must be given to what the alt-text says and how much bias is already placed in the description; the same applies to video descriptions.
Describing Video Accessibly
Clear and accurate captions are crucial components of videos, yet they alone do not suffice for accessibility purposes. It is important to provide meaningful visual descriptions according to the context of an OER. For instance, in a video of a play within a resource focused on theatre, details such as the set design, lighting, actors’ movements, facial expressions, and costumes might be important in the viewers’ understanding of the topic and depending on the learning outcomes of the resource. To avoid bias, descriptions should be descriptive rather than prescriptive. For instance, when describing a dance scene, it is best to describe what is objectively happening in the scene rather than the personalized feeling that dance provokes since the interpretation of dance is subjective to personal experience, whereas describing specific movements is not.
While ensuring accessibility features like alt-text, captions, and detailed descriptions are crucial for fostering inclusivity, it is essential to approach these elements with a commitment to accessible descriptions without bias. By prioritizing objective descriptions that accurately represent visual and auditory content, accessibility enhancement is possible, contributing to a more equitable and inclusive learning environment. Reaffirming commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in OER development practices is possible through conscious efforts to provide accessible descriptions without bias.
