In last week’s post, we introduced the basics of audio and video digital accessibility, including why captions and audio description matter and who they support. This week, we are focusing on how to put those concepts into practice using ScreenPal.
ScreenPal has browser based tools for adding and editing closed captions and audio description, making it a practical option for creating more accessible videos for teaching and campus communication.
The video below is a demonstration of how to generate and edit the closed captioning and audio description inside of ScreenPal.
ScreenPal Closed Captioning and Audio Description Demo
For more information about ScreenPal including how to access, create, and edit videos see our:
Frequently Asked Question
“Why does Panorama flag phrases like ‘Read More’ or ‘Click Here’ when I create links from these words?”
Hopefully you know by now that “naked” links, where you paste raw URLs into a page or document, is not best accessibility practice, but a lot of people still struggle with coming up with good descriptive link text. Accessibility checkers will often flag language like “Read More” or “Click Here”, why is that?
Why does link text matter?
Students who use screen readers may navigate a page by listening to a list of links rather than scanning the page visually. While a sighted reader can quickly glance through content to find a link, a screen reader user does not have that same advantage. If links are labeled “click here” or “read this,” it is difficult to know where those links lead without reading the surrounding content. Descriptive links allow students to understand where a link goes and choose the correct one without needing to reread the entire page.
What should I do instead of “click here”?
Use link text that describes the destination or action. Think about what a student should expect after selecting the link.
For example instead of:
For our next class you should read this article about descriptive link text,
Try instead:
For our next class you should read this article about descriptive link text.
If you have to repeat links throughout a page (for example different Zoom links to each class meeting) instead of:
Try instead:
- Monday Class – Zoom link (February 9th)
- Wednesday Class – Zoom link (February 11th)
This way a student navigating with screen reader could quickly find the link to the correct Zoom meeting based on description alone.
There is no single correct way to write descriptive links, but the more obvious you can make the direction action of the link the better.
For more examples and guidance on other specific situations, see the Descriptive Links Guide.
Get Support
If you have questions or need further support you can:
- Book an Accessibility Consultation
- Send an e-mail to t2access@umw.edu