Assessment for Films on Demand by Lambton - Module 4: Content

Submitted by Michelle.Koski… on
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only. There are no other PDFs in the entire database.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Sample 1: failed
Sample 2: failed
Sample 3: failed
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sample 1: passed
Sample 2: passed
Sample 3: passed
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only, so there are no elements to tag.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only. There are no lists or tables in the PDFs.
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: I used Adobe to test this function, and it read all 3 sampled PDFs in a logical way, preserving the order of the text.
I used Microsoft Edge to test this function. All 3 sampled articles were followed in a logical way, but they were all text only.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: None of the PDFs had large blank spaces. However, the PDFs themselves are clearly machine created. One of the PDFs sampled did not have any carriage returns to mark paragraphs or changes on screen. Most of the PDFs do not adequately differentiate between the voices of the "narrator" and other people on the screen. Some PDFs are mostly in ALL CAPS. Some PDFs have >> symbols of unclear meaning.




Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The controls work, but Adobe doesn't read fluidly. Microsoft Edge is far easier to listen to for a reading of these documents.
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: There are no images, tables or other elements in the PDFs, which are transcriptions of videos and audio clips. The text of the PDFs is clear at 250%
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no images in the PDFs in this resource.
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no informative images in the PDFs in this resource.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no images used as titles in the PDFs in this resource.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no rich images in the PDFs of this resource.
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: The PDFs in this resource do not contain tables.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: The PDFs in this resource do not contain tables.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: The PDFs are transcripts of videos. There are no bookmarks for these PDFs.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: The PDFs are transcripts of videos. There are no bookmarks for these PDFs.
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Sample 1 (new film): Yes CC
Sample 2 (Senders): No CC, but there are English on-screen subtitles throughout [functional as "open captions"]
Sample 3 (2007 film): Yes CC
Sample 4: Yes CC

If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sample 1: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive
Sample 2: Not applicable
Sample 3: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive
Sample 4: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sample 1: Yes
Sample 2: Yes
Sample 3: Yes
Sample 4: Yes

Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sample 1: Yes
Sample 2: Yes
Sample 3: Yes
Sample 4: Yes
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Sample 1: The captions appear more slowly than the spoken words
Sample 2: Yes [but the captions are subtitles]
Sample 3: Yes
Sample 4: Yes
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Sample 1: Yes
Sample 2: Not applicable
Sample 3: Yes
Sample 4: Yes
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: I only found one example of an item with no captions. The Series "Senders" does not have captions and also does not have transcripts.
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sample 1: There is no DV, but there is a transcript of the words spoken in the video on the same page. There is the option to download this transcript from this same page.
Sample 2: There is no DV, and there is no transcript on the same page. However, this item is subtitled on screen. Occasionally the subtitles do not include translation of foreign scripts on the page [Names of presenters in Hebrew], and unfortunately this information is not transmitted in the audio at all, so some content is missed [for all people who cannot read Hebrew, sighted or not].
Sample 3: There is no DV. There is a text equivalent of the words of the video on the same page.
Sample 4: There is no DV. There is a text equivalent of the words of the video on the same page.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The videos do not ever have DV. The text equivalents are never at the level of descriptive video, in that they never describe shapes, colours, or the specific kinds of sounds occurring.

Sample 1: There is no DV, but Yes the transcript includes notation to show when music is playing, and when the speaker changes
Sample 2:There is no DV, and there is no transcript on the same page. However, this item is subtitled on screen. Occasionally the subtitles do not include translation of foreign scripts on the page [Names of presenters in Hebrew], and unfortunately this information is not transmitted in the audio at all, so some content is missed [for all people who cannot read Hebrew, sighted or not].
Sample 3: There is no DV, but yes there is notation to indicate when the person speaking has changed.
Sample 4: There is no DV, but yes, there is notation to indicate when the person speaking has changed. [But spoken language is in "all caps", so hard to read]

Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: When a transcript is provided, it is in a pane near the audio clip.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The transcripts are a literal machine interpretation of the sounds in the video, with no descriptions or editorial marks to set context. I did not see signs that a human had reviewed or edited these files. As the problems with the files vary, I suspect that the approach to creating transcript files has not been consistent over time.
eResource: Films on Demand
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: McIntyre Media
Institution: Lambton
Score: C+

Key Findings

Strengths

  • Audio has transcripts

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always Sampled PDFs are transcripts of videos. All three samples were extractable and searchable.

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Not Applicable These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only. There are no other PDFs in the entire database.
Is primary language specified? Never Sample 1: failed Sample 2: failed Sample 3: failed
Is reliable character encoding provided? Always Sample 1: passed Sample 2: passed Sample 3: passed
Are all page elements tagged? Not Applicable These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only, so there are no elements to tag.
Are list and table structure correct? Not Applicable These PDFs are transcriptions of videos, in text only. There are no lists or tables in the PDFs.

Structure: Reading Order

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections? Always I used Adobe to test this function, and it read all 3 sampled PDFs in a logical way, preserving the order of the text. I used Microsoft Edge to test this function. All 3 sampled articles were followed in a logical way, but they were all text only.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Never None of the PDFs had large blank spaces. However, the PDFs themselves are clearly machine created. One of the PDFs sampled did not have any carriage returns to mark paragraphs or changes on screen. Most of the PDFs do not adequately differentiate between the voices of the "narrator" and other people on the screen. Some PDFs are mostly in ALL CAPS. Some PDFs have >> symbols of unclear meaning.
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always The controls work, but Adobe doesn't read fluidly. Microsoft Edge is far easier to listen to for a reading of these documents.

Magnification

Question Answer Notes Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read? Always There are no images, tables or other elements in the PDFs, which are transcriptions of videos and audio clips. The text of the PDFs is clear at 250%

Images

Positioning of Images

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Not Applicable There are no images in the PDFs in this resource.

Alternative Description

Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Not Applicable There are no informative images in the PDFs in this resource.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Not Applicable There are no images used as titles in the PDFs in this resource.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Not Applicable There are no rich images in the PDFs of this resource.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Not Applicable The PDFs in this resource do not contain tables.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Not Applicable The PDFs in this resource do not contain tables.

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Never The PDFs are transcripts of videos. There are no bookmarks for these PDFs.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Not Applicable The PDFs are transcripts of videos. There are no bookmarks for these PDFs.

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Sometimes Sample 1 (new film): Yes CC Sample 2 (Senders): No CC, but there are English on-screen subtitles throughout [functional as "open captions"] Sample 3 (2007 film): Yes CC Sample 4: Yes CC
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Always Sample 1: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive Sample 2: Not applicable Sample 3: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive Sample 4: Yes must be turned on but it is straightforward and intuitive
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Always Sample 1: Yes Sample 2: Yes Sample 3: Yes Sample 4: Yes
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Always Sample 1: Yes Sample 2: Yes Sample 3: Yes Sample 4: Yes
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Sometimes Sample 1: The captions appear more slowly than the spoken words Sample 2: Yes [but the captions are subtitles] Sample 3: Yes Sample 4: Yes
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Sometimes Sample 1: Yes Sample 2: Not applicable Sample 3: Yes Sample 4: Yes
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Never I only found one example of an item with no captions. The Series "Senders" does not have captions and also does not have transcripts.

Described Video

Question Answer Notes Images
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link? Always Sample 1: There is no DV, but there is a transcript of the words spoken in the video on the same page. There is the option to download this transcript from this same page. Sample 2: There is no DV, and there is no transcript on the same page. However, this item is subtitled on screen. Occasionally the subtitles do not include translation of foreign scripts on the page [Names of presenters in Hebrew], and unfortunately this information is not transmitted in the audio at all, so some content is missed [for all people who cannot read Hebrew, sighted or not]. Sample 3: There is no DV. There is a text equivalent of the words of the video on the same page. Sample 4: There is no DV. There is a text equivalent of the words of the video on the same page.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Sometimes The videos do not ever have DV. The text equivalents are never at the level of descriptive video, in that they never describe shapes, colours, or the specific kinds of sounds occurring. Sample 1: There is no DV, but Yes the transcript includes notation to show when music is playing, and when the speaker changes Sample 2:There is no DV, and there is no transcript on the same page. However, this item is subtitled on screen. Occasionally the subtitles do not include translation of foreign scripts on the page [Names of presenters in Hebrew], and unfortunately this information is not transmitted in the audio at all, so some content is missed [for all people who cannot read Hebrew, sighted or not]. Sample 3: There is no DV, but yes there is notation to indicate when the person speaking has changed. Sample 4: There is no DV, but yes, there is notation to indicate when the person speaking has changed. [But spoken language is in "all caps", so hard to read]

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Always When a transcript is provided, it is in a pane near the audio clip.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Sometimes The transcripts are a literal machine interpretation of the sounds in the video, with no descriptions or editorial marks to set context. I did not see signs that a human had reviewed or edited these files. As the problems with the files vary, I suspect that the approach to creating transcript files has not been consistent over time.
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