County Office of Education. I look forward to sharing ideas and continuing to learn from this great professional community. Regardless of the role we play as transcribers or educators of individuals who are blind or visually impaired, we are all technology specialists in some area. New devices, tools, operating systems, embossers, apps and programs are all competing for our attention. We are left trying to assess what is functional and relevant and how on earth will we get it paid for. Our students need technology to access education, information, productivity tools, and to support their social connections (indeed every part of the Expanded Core Curriculum). As I have learned from my many mentors in this field, to specialize, we really have to dive right in and ask a lot of what I have been questions. Here’s asking about lately. Audio Description Recently Audio Description (AD) has been getting mainstream attention. You may also know the term Descriptive Video Service (DVS) which was launched as a national service by the Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston in 1990 and continues services today. Audio description is additional narration that describes important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Use of videos, movies, YouTube and other digital media is common in classrooms. Without descriptions of key visual information by a paraprofessional, TVI, classroom teacher, or peer, a student with a visual impairment may miss details and context that would help with understanding the lesson. Also, enjoyment of movies and other visual arts can be enhanced when audio description is available. Accessing audio described content is becoming much easier. I have a new goal to integrate AD into my students' curriculum when possible. Resources that will help me provide described content to my students at school include... DCMP - The Described and Captioned Media Program at
County Office of Education. I look forward to sharing ideas and continuing to learn from this great professional community. Regardless of the role we play as transcribers or educators of individuals who are blind or visually impaired, we are all technology specialists in some area. New devices, tools, operating systems, embossers, apps and programs are all competing for our attention. We are left trying to assess what is functional and relevant and how on earth will we get it paid for. Our students need technology to access education, information, productivity tools, and to support their social connections (indeed every part of the Expanded Core Curriculum). As I have learned from my many mentors in this field, to specialize, we really have to dive right in and ask a lot of questions. Here’s what I have been asking about lately. Audio Description Recently Audio Description (AD) has been getting mainstream attention. You may also know the term Descriptive Video Service (DVS) which was launched as a national service by the Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston in 1990 and continues services today. Audio description is additional narration that describes important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Use of videos, movies, YouTube and other digital media is common in classrooms. Without descriptions of key visual information by a paraprofessional, TVI, classroom teacher, or peer, a student with a visual impairment may miss details and context that would help with understanding the lesson. Also, enjoyment of movies and other visual arts can be enhanced when audio description is available. Accessing audio described content is becoming much easier. I have a new goal to integrate AD into my students' curriculum when possible. Resources that will help me provide described content to my students at school include... DCMP - The Described and Captioned Media Program at