Winter-Spring 2019 Update

The senior technical team focused on:

  • Defining core CapScribe features to migrate to the new version of CapScribe
  • Reviewing current captioning and description software, including those that are web-based,
  • Reviewing and testing potential platforms, tools, and programming languages.

As CapScribe is a media-intensive caption and video description editor, tools chosen for this new version need to be flexible enough to match a range of tasks. In particular, user action and feedback needs to be near instantaneous, especially when content is cloud-based, and varying user agents (including Assistive Technologies) employed.

One benefit of CapScribe being web based is the ability to take advantage of accessibility standards and practices, specifically the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and their Accessibility Initiative’s Accessible Rich Internet Applications. This will help CapScribe 2.0’s accessibility for users with motor and sensory related disabilities.

At the end of April, the technical team recruited and brought on an intern programming position from Mohawk College. As warmer weather and critical mass ensued, we leveraged project external advisors at the Inclusive Design Research Centre (OCAD University), and University of Washington.

In the last week of May, CapScribe 2.0 technical team’s Project Supervisor and Lead Developer presented the project and its goal at the Guelph Accessibility Conference. The presentation “Web Video Accessibility – Towards 2020” focused on what was new in tools, techniques and approaches to providing online captioning and description for audio/video, as well serving as an introduction to what we have planned for CapScribe 2.0 – and an invitation to participate as co-designers and testers.

End-user testing was also conducted at Mohawk College, examining accessible media players currently available, and validating Able Player as the best choice for integration with CapScribe 2.0. As we ease into mid-summer and phase 2 of our project, the team is completing a basic functioning version of CapScribe 2.0.