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Media Access, Fall 1995

Media Access is a publication of the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media at the WGBH Educational Foundation.

The CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) is a research and development facility dedicated to making media accessible to disabled people in their homes, workplaces, schools, and communities.

NCAM, and its sister organizations, The Caption Center and Descriptive Video Servicereg., make up the Media Access department of the WGBH Educational Foundation.


Designing Access to an Electronic Age

In partnership with the World Institute on Disability and the Trace Research and Development Center, NCAM is participating in a major new initiative on access to the nation's emerging National Information Infrastructure by people who are disabled. The team's Universal Access Project (UAP) is identifying potential barriers to new information systems and demonstrating strategies to circumvent them. The project is made possible by a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Consumer advocates and corporate advisors are helping the project identify barriers to accessibility and prioritize solutions. The partners will then alert key players in industry, government, and academia to these issues and demonstrate low-cost, practical solutions. Through this process, the UAP will promote the concept of universal design for universal access.


What Is Universal Design?

"Universal design" means developing systems that are flexible enough to accommodate the needs and preferences of the broadest possible range of users, regardless of age or disability.

"For years, the standard approach used to create access to computer-based information systems has been to add on adaptive equipment after the fact. This is both clumsy and costly," asserts Gregg Vanderheiden, director of the Trace Research and Development Center.

Universal design calls for access features to be built into the basic product from the blueprint stage, resulting in a product that is easier to use for everyone. A common example is the closed-caption decoder circuitry that is now built into all TV sets 13" or larger.


UAP to Conduct Forums on Universal Design

The UAP is conducting three forums designed to educate professionals in the computer and information fields about the possibilities and benefits of universal design. These forums are taking place in Silicon Valley, Boston, and Washington, DC. Each half-day forum will feature demonstrations of exemplary software and hardware designs, a panel discussion on integrating universal design thinking into company processes and corporate culture, and keynote addresses from major industry figures. Engineers, product managers, marketing managers, and human factors engineers have been encouraged to attend.

"The forums are geared to people who are not yet familiar with the concept of universal design and are interested in knowing more," explains Deborah Kaplan, vice president of the World Institute on Disability. She adds, "We also want to bring in people who are strategically placed within their companies and who will actually implement these ideas back at the home office."

Lending their cooperation and support to the project are Apple Computer, AT&T, Bellcore, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Digital Equipment, Microsoft, NYNEX, Pacific Bell, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, and numerous consumer and access technology companies and organizations.

NCAM's director Larry Goldberg remarks, "We're proud and excited to be part of this essential project. The partnerships formed and contacts made will help us further our goal of making today's and tomorrow's media as accessible as they possibly can be."

Look for a report on the UAP forums in the Spring 1996 issue of Media Access.


WGBH Launches Accessible Web Site

In May, the WGBH Educational Foundation launched its Homepage on the World Wide Web. WGBH Online (http://main.wgbh.org) provides weekly program schedules for WGBH-TV and FM, and information about educational products and services, special events, membership services, and more.

Keeping with WGBH's commitment to media access, the online site strives to be "barrier-free" for all users. Access features for blind and visually impaired persons include navigational aids, text-only options for users of screen readers, and descriptions of graphics. Transcripts of audio clips and QuickTime movies are available for deaf or hard-of-hearing users. Coming soon are synchronized captions and descriptions of video clips.

"Although the user interface and multimedia content are constantly evolving, accessibility will remain a priority," says Geoff Miller, director of Interactive Projects at WGBH.


Motion Picture Access Project Gains Momentum

The Inter-Society Committee for the Enhancement of Theatrical Presentation recently honored NCAM with its 1995 Ken Mason Award. The award was presented at ShoWest, an international convention and trade fair devoted to the film industry. The award is named for the Inter-Society's founder, who sought to improve the theater-going experience by bringing together representatives from exhibition and distribution to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Since 1992, NCAM has been conducting the Motion Picture Access Project to explore how to make movies exhibited in theaters accessible to deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, and visually impaired people through captions and audio descriptions. The goal is to provide these services without interfering with the general audience or placing an unreasonable burden upon theaters.

One of the biggest challenges is developing a user interface for delivering closed captions in movie theaters. The delivery method for audio descriptions already exists in the form of FM or infrared headsets.

The project tested several caption displays in late 1993. One of the most promising is the Rear Window(TM) system, co-developed by WGBH and Rufus Butler Seder. Rear Window involves the use of a light-emitting diode panel which displays reversed text in the rear of a movie theater. A patron, in a regular theater seat, uses a small panel of transparent Plexiglasreg. to reflect the captions. The Plexiglas is mounted on an adjustable "arm" which enables the user to position the captions on or beneath the screen.

The Langley IMAX® Theater at the National Air and Space Museum installed Rear Window in December 1994. James Hyder, manager of film distribution, is enthusiastic about the system. "The Rear Window system was used by several hundred people in the first eight months, and their reactions have been universally positive," remarks James.

The Entergy IMAX Theater in New Orleans plans to install the system this fall, and several other IMAX theaters may soon follow suit. Audio descriptions have been available in IMAX environments since 1990.

The next goal is to deliver captions and descriptions in conventional movie theaters. The challenges include finding a synchronization method that works with standard projection equipment and resolving production and distribution issues. NCAM is working closely with the movie industry, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Theater Owners, Digital Theater Systems, Dolby Laboratories, Sony Cinema Products, Amblin Entertainment and MCA/Universal Studios, to identify solutions.

NCAM participated at this year's Theater Equipment Association convention and demonstrated how captions and descriptions could be delivered. NCAM hopes to install a prototype system in a Boston-area theater next year. The Motion Picture Access Project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.


NCAM Extends Its Reach

NCAM staffers have been busy "spreading the word" about media access issues. Here are some highlights from the past year:


People '95


Conferences '95


Press '95


NCAM has added some new friends to our list of supporters. We thank:


Captioning Helps Students Do the Write Thing

What do you get when you mix a student, a word processor, a videotape, and a "black box" that makes words appear on TV like magic? A young person who is eager to write, who perseveres until it is done right, and who is proud to show his or her work to others! These may seem like normal accomplishments for students in elementary or middle school, but the students working with NCAM to produce their own captioned videotapes are either deaf or learning disabled, and for them writing is anything but easy.

Timmy and Jonathan, two students at the Reingold Elementary School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, captioned a silent video of Deaf Field Day, an event which brought Boston-area deaf and hard-of-hearing students together for games and hands-on activities. Although traditional television captions follow the soundtrack, the boys used captions in a creative and unconventional way. With no soundtrack or script to follow, Timmy and Jonathan created their own narration track, deciding between themselves what to say. They narrated the video in text, the way one might add a spoken narration track to a video. The captions described the action, but also added personal commentary, mirroring the kinds of captions the boys see on sports programs at home: "Ryan is throwing the ball in the hoop. 'Good try, Ryan.'" Captioning the video made it accessible to everyone--both deaf and hearing--in their public elementary school. "They were determined to make the text of the captions perfect, since the video would be seen by so many people," explained their teacher, Sheila Donahue.

NCAM is conducting the Personal Captioning Project in collaboration with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The project, which continues through August 1996, is funded by a $216,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Six schools are participating.

"When we first put captioning workstations in classrooms, we expected children to be interested and motivated and we hoped it would facilitate learning," says project director Mardi Loeterman. "But we have been a little surprised at how well the students stay focused while they're captioning. That, plus targeted instruction from the teachers, seems to enhance learning that goes on during the captioning process."

At the Brown Middle School in Newton, Massachusetts, students with learning disabilities are captioning videos in order to develop clarity in their writing. These students often have trouble recognizing when language must be precise and then finding just the right words. Consequently, their writing is plagued by ambiguity. Their captioning task is to describe a structure as it is built from ten blocks of different sizes and colors. Each student studies the construction on videotape and must write clearly enough so that someone else can build the exact same structure by following their description. The activity is designed to focus each student on specific areas of their language use. The data analysis is currently in progress, but both the teachers and students say they've seen tangible benefits. After captioning several structures, one student said, "[Captioning] helps me learn better. It gives me words."


Dialing Digitally into USA Today

Last year, NCAM joined with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to create Newsline for the Blind, a digital version of USA Today delivered over the telephone using synthesized speech. The service is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Although other dial-in newspapers exist, they rely on volunteer readers and are quite labor-intensive. In contrast, digital service is almost entirely automated. Special software converts the newspaper from pre-press format to electronic text, which is then converted to synthetic speech.

Users navigate through the newspaper via various menu options which they select on their touch-tone phone. After choosing a section of the newspaper, the user may read continuously, scan through and read selectively, pause, move back and forth within an article, and conduct word searches. The user can adjust the reading speed and select from nine voices.

Funding for the prototype was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The service was tested by 30 users between August and December 1994. Response was overwhelmingly positive, with strong praise in particular for timeliness and ease of use.

Newsline for the Blind is available to blind and visually impaired residents of the greater Washington, DC, area. NFB is looking into adding more newspapers and making the service available in other areas. Contact NFB at 410/659-9314 for information.


We'd Like Your Input...
 NCAM is pleased to announce the inauguration of the Access Business Partners program, a unique opportunity for corporate involvement and investment in NCAM's research and development efforts. To find out about the many outstanding corporate membership benefits we are creating, and to give us your ideas and suggestions, please contact Jennifer Gormley at 617/492-2777, ext. 2454. E-mail: Jennifer_Gormley@wgbh.org We look forward to hearing from you!


From the Director

It's been an extremely busy year for NCAM, and a gratifying one as well. As NCAM and its projects become more and more known throughout the world, our partnerships have become more interesting and diverse. NCAM's projects and products have benefited from relationships with Gallaudet University, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the World Institute on Disability, the Trace Research and Development Center, CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), the Education Development Center, the American Foundation for the Blind, and so many others.

Our friends on the consumer side let us know how we're doing and what we should do next. Valuable guidance has been provided by the American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, the National Association of the Deaf, Self Help for Hard-of-Hearing People, Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc., the American Society for Deaf Children, the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, the Association of Late Deafened Adults, and the many schools that have welcomed us into their classrooms.

NCAM and all of its valuable projects wouldn't exist without the support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Department of Education. NEC Foundation of America has also been a key funder and friend of NCAM and its sister division, Descriptive Video Service reg.. We want to thank our newest supporter, the UNUM Foundation, for helping make this newsletter possible.

NCAM's partners in the corporate world have helped us to understand the technologies and have provided project and consulting funds. CBS, Intel, IBM, and many TV receiver manufacturers have been NCAM clients. We are now inviting other corporations to join our new Access Business Partners program (see above), and hope to announce a new list of partners in the next issue of Media Access. With friends and partners like these, NCAM will be thriving long into the next century.

Larry Goldberg


Help Us to Help You!

For more information on NCAM's projects or activities, or to order any of the materials listed below, please call 617/300-3400 (voice and TTY) or write to us at: CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, WGBH Educational Foundation, 125 Western Avenue, Boston, MA 02134. You can send e-mail to us at: NCAM@wgbh.org. NCAM info is also on the World Wide Web (http://main.wgbh.org - click on "Products & Services") and eWorld ("The Disability Connection").

We want to hear from you! Contact us with your ideas and comments.

Media Access is also available on audio cassette, in braille, and in printed Spanish.

Please make copies of this newsletter and distribute it freely! Just be sure to credit us for any quotations or excerpts.


Available From NCAM

Media Access is made possible by funding from the UNUM Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the UNUM Foundation or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

(c) 1995 WGBH Educational Foundation

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