Student watching a video in class.
Guide

How to make classroom videos easier to see

My tips for watching classroom videos with low vision and light sensitivity.

During in-person classes and lectures, I often have trouble seeing videos presented on the projector or on other screens, and find myself asking a lot of questions about what is going on or becoming disoriented due to unexpected flickering or flashing lights. I know that I can’t control how my instructors show videos in class or tell them not to share videos, so I’ve had to come up with several strategies for watching videos in class with low vision so I  don’t miss out on important information. Here are my tips for how to make classroom videos easier to see for students with low vision, including movies, YouTube videos and other streaming video content. I also include several tips for photophobia (light sensitivity) that can affect students with visual impairments and other disabilities as well.

Allow flexible seating for viewing video content

With preferential seating accommodations, I typically choose a seat/desk in the classroom that works best for tasks like taking notes or viewing information on a dry-erase board that are part of day-to-day classroom activities. However, sitting at my desk or sitting directly in the front row may not be ideal for movies, especially if I can’t see the entire screen or adjust my head to view content more easily. In these situations, I might need to move to another location to view longer video content or movies, which can include:

Personally, I find it easier to view video content on my iPad or laptop computer instead of looking at the projector or a screen positioned at a distance. Sometimes my instructors would post video links on the class website for anyone to see, while others would share a link via email or in a shared folder so I could access it. I would usually mute the audio and follow along with the video as it played on the projector. As a bonus, I could also enable captions on my video, which were easier for me to read compared to the captions on the projector.

Play videos on a larger display with AirPlay/Chromecast

Sometimes, I want to share a video or my screen with a small group of people, or my instructor is showing a video on a smaller screen and I can’t see it. In these situations, using a screensharing or casting tool like AirPlay or Chromecast is helpful for wirelessly displaying content on a larger screen, and helps to reduce or eliminate “hovering” over a smaller screen. Another option is to duplicate a computer display on an external monitor or use screensharing tools to stream directly to student devices.

Adjust classroom lighting

Overhead lighting and surface lighting can play a significant role in making classroom videos easier to see, especially for students with light sensitivity. To reduce the intensity of bright lights, the majority of my instructors would keep at least one dimmed overhead light on in the classroom or adjust lighting to make it easier to view video content without shadows or washed-out colors. Some instructors will turn off overhead lights in front of the projector but keep lights on in the second half of the classroom so that students aren’t sitting in the dark and can still see their desks.

For students that need additional lighting for their workspace, task lighting or clip-on lights can be used to provide additional illumination, which can be helpful for taking notes or completing activities while videos are playing.

Consider enabling audio description

Audio description is an additional narrative track that provides verbal descriptions of visual content during natural pauses in dialogue. This is extremely helpful for students with visual impairments or light sensitivity that can make it difficult to pay attention to videos visually, and audio description content can also be useful for auditory learners that find visuals or other graphics distracting.

Sources for finding classroom videos with audio description include:

Another option is to provide students with the option to watch audio description tracks with their own headphones or on their own devices, instead of using “open” audio description tracks that anyone can hear. It’s worth noting that the majority of audio description tracks are not captioned, so a transcript of audio descriptions will not be shown within video captions.

Arrange alternative viewing options for students with photophobia

Photophobia and photosensitivity are terms used to describe adverse reactions to bright lights, strobe lights or flashing lights, which can include eye pain, headaches, nausea, seizures, dizziness, discomfort or other symptoms. Some people may have photophobia or photosensitivity but will involuntarily fixate on flashing lights or bright lights, making it difficult or impossible for them to look away.

In these situations, students may prefer to watch videos in their own environment, have someone else screen the video for them, or engage with video content nonvisually by either reading a transcript or listening to audio description. In my case, I would usually ask instructors to screen content for flashing lights in advance to see if there was a significant amount of flashing content. If there were a lot of flashing lights, I would usually watch video content outside of class time, search for an alternative option for viewing content or ask to complete a different assignment that covered the same topics. Since I was proactive about sharing my sensitivity to flashing content and making suggestions for alternative activities, my instructors never had any problem with me modifying activities or videos so I could access them without triggering a medical issue.

More tips for how to make classroom videos easier to see

By Veronica Lewis/Veronica With Four Eyes, www.veroniiiica.com

Updated November 2024; original post published September 2021.

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