[Athen] Carroll Center for the Blind (fwd)

[Jennison Asuncion]

Hello,

Thought I would pass this article along which references a tool called
Hi-Caption, which adds captioning to multimedia files. The reference may
be useful for folks who are looking to address this issue.

I can tell you that a couple of years ago, in my previous role, I
recommended it when we were looking to add captioning to some Flash-based
eLearning and it worked really well. For what that's worth.

Jennison




Jennison Asuncion
Co-Director, Adaptech Research Network
http://www.adaptech.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Altschul" <atschu at EROLS.COM>
To: <VICUG-L at LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG>
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006 11:04 PM
Subject: [VICUG-L] FW: [missouri-l] Carroll Center for the Blind


The Carroll Center for the Blind Implements HiSoftware's Hi-Caption
Studio
for Distance Learning Program

Solution Enables Center to Caption Hundreds of Multimedia Files for
Accessibility Compliance

NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HiSoftware (www.hisoftware.com), a leading
provider of software, services and managed operation solutions that monitor
and optimize Web content, quality and regulatory compliance, announced today
that The Carroll Center for the Blind located in Newton, Mass., has
implemented HiSoftware's Hi-Caption Studio to create and test captioning of
multimedia files for the Center's Carroll Tech Web-based distance learning
program. Hi-Caption allows the Center to quickly and easily caption hundreds
of audio and video training files for Section 508 compliance.

Brian Charlson, vice president of computer training services at The Carroll
Center for the Blind, said, "As an organization that serves the needs of the
blind and the visually impaired, it is extremely important that we provide
complete access to our services and materials for all users and instructors.
Hi-Caption not only provides us with the technology necessary to ensure that
our multimedia courses meet the highest standards in accessibility
compliance, but is also easy to understand and does not require programming
skills. Without Hi-Caption we would have to manually caption hundreds of
files."

Carroll Tech is the effort of a dedicated group of individuals who work at
The Carroll Center for the Blind. While the Center offers onsite technology
courses, Carroll Tech was formed to assist blind and visually impaired
individuals around the world through the use of training classes on the Web.
Instruction is offered in access technologies such as screen readers, screen
magnifiers, Braille embossers, note-takers and scanners. Each course is
comprised of text, videos, exercises, quizzes and chat sessions.

Carroll Tech offers Web-based courses in Microsoft Excel, Outlook and
PowerPoint, as well as training on using any of a number of Braille, speech
or large print devices. An average Carroll Tech course is comprised of 12
lessons, with each lesson consisting of three to five videos, and also
includes audio. Developers at Carroll Tech initially used Hi-Caption Studio
to caption multimedia for its beginner series of courses, which consisted of
much longer videos than would be used for a typical course. Hi-Caption
allowed the developers to interactively and easily create formatted
captioning files, without having to learn the code behind it, but with the
power of making the code accessible. Hi-Caption also allows developers at
Carroll Tech to immediately test the files as they are developed. As new
content is developed for updated courses, Carroll Tech is also using
Hi-Caption to caption videos for those new courses.

"The Carroll Center for the Blind is a well-respected organization whose
goal is to provide services and technology for assisting those individuals
who are blind or visually impaired," said HiSoftware President and CEO, Kurt
A. Mueffelmann. "We are pleased to be working with the Center to help
further its mission of being on the forefront of technology to provide
universal accessibility."

About Carroll Center for the Blind

The Carroll Center for the Blind, located in Newton, Mass. is a private,
non-profit agency that serves persons of all ages who are blind or visually
impaired. Throughout its 68-year history, the Center has pioneered
innovative methods for blind persons to gain independence in their homes, in
class settings and in their work places. New and evolving technologies,
combined with time-tested adaptive methods, individual attention and
personalized care and therapies developed by the Carroll Center's
professional staff have provided the blind community with many opportunities
for success and independent living.

About HiSoftware

Founded in 1998, HiSoftware is a leading provider of software, services, and
On-Demand solutions that test, repair, monitor and enforce Web content,
quality, and regulatory compliance. The company's solutions empower content
developers, Web site architects, and executives to work collaboratively to
create and manage corporate Web standards for accessibility, privacy,
security, search engine optimization (SEO), site quality and performance,
branding, competitive intelligence, and application transaction testing
(AppTest). HiSoftware's customers boast many of the world's largest public
and private sites including US and international government agencies and
Global 2000 companies such as Gateway, HP, California State University, US
Department of Transportation and Microsoft Government. For more information
about HiSoftware visit www.hisoftware.com.


    VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
    Send comments on list operation to
    vicug-l-request at listserv.icors.org
     VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
    http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
    Signoff: vicug-l-unsubscribe-request at listserv.icors.org
    Subscribe: vicug-l-subscribe-request at listserv.icors.org