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YouDescribe: Creating audio described YouTube videos
Looking for a way to add audio descriptions to YouTube videos and/or looking for YouTube videos that are already described?
Students are using YouTube videos as educational tools within the classroom. However, are these YouTube videos fully accessible for students who are visually impaired? Audio Description (AD) is an additional narration track that provides additional description of visual elements in the video. YouDescribe is a free system that enables users – including educators – to take a YouTube video and create an audio description soundtrack.
YouDescribe Information and Instructions
Have questions about using YouDescribe? Check out the YouDescribe Support Forum.
Teacher Note: You can request videos to be YouDescribed.
In order to access AD, be sure that your device has AD turned on.
To turn on AD on iOS devices
- Launch the Settings App
- Select Accessibility
- Under Vision, select Audio Descriptions and toggle on
Audio descriptions include additional visual information for students who are visually impaired. This audio description might describe the environment, characters, expressions, what characters are doing, what caused an unusual sound, etc.
If you are creating your own YouTube video, be sure that the original video includes a full verbal description of what is happening in the video and include a verbal description of events that impact what is going on in the video. Example: If creating a video about a computer application, be sure to describe the tab that is to be selected, any keys/commands that are used to navigate to the desired tab and what happens on the computer screen after that selection.
For more information about Audio Descriptions (AD), see the following Paths to Technology posts:
- Free Accessible Educational Videos that are Captioned and Described!
- Audio Described iTunes Movies
- Locating Audio Described Movies and Accessible Apps
By Diane Brauner
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