Fine Arts

Image Descriptions for Artwork

When showing paintings, photographs, sculptures, or any artwork image, include a descriptive narration either spoken or in text. The alt text of an artwork image should convey the subject and style at a high level: e.g. “Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ painting: impressionist landscape of a pond with water lilies, in soft blended colors of blues, greens, and pinks.”

• Because art often has depth, you might provide a longer description in a separate document or page for those who want more detail, describing the composition, technique, and any visual symbolism (“In the foreground, lily pads dot the water; the reflection of willow trees is visible, rendered in blurred strokes…”). These descriptions enable blind or low-vision students to form a mental image of the artwork. They also help sighted students focus on key details – a practice beneficial to all.
• Resources like Art Beyond Sight’s guidelines on verbal description can assist in learning how to describe art effectively .

High-Contrast, Large Format Options

If you’re providing images of artworks or slides of art history content, ensure they are high resolution enough to zoom in without pixelation (for low-vision students who may enlarge details).

• Use high-contrast backgrounds on slides – for example, don’t put a dark sculpture photo on a black background; use a lighter backdrop for contrast.
• If you have text over images (common in art presentations), make sure the text has a solid background or strong outline, or provide that text separately in the notes.
• For any color-specific discussion (e.g. “the red triangle in Kandinsky’s painting”), also mention shape or position (“the large red triangle in the top-right corner”), so colorblind or blind students get the reference.
• Never convey information solely by color – always pair color references with labels or descriptions.

Inclusive Creation Tools

If students need to create visual art as part of coursework using digital tools (like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), consider accessibility of the assignment.

• For example, a student with low vision may struggle with small on-screen UI elements – ensure they know about interface scaling options in Adobe products or alternative tools with simpler interfaces. If a student can’t physically see to create visual art, think about alternative projects (perhaps focusing on tactile art, or art theory, or description).
• When grading art, use a rubric that can be communicated in text so all students understand feedback (for instance, instead of purely visual critiques, describe what aspects succeeded or not).

Gallery or Museum Resources

Art courses might involve virtual museum tours or online galleries. Check these for accessibility – many museums now include alt text or “visual description” modes for their collections. If you assign a virtual gallery tour, point students to any available accessible features (some have audio guides or text descriptions). If none exist, be prepared to supply descriptions of a few key works yourself. This can be as simple as providing a handout with images and accompanying descriptions for the pieces you want them to focus on.

Multimedia and Time-Based Art

For video art or performance art pieces shown via video, you’ll need captions and possibly audio descriptions similarly to theater/dance (discussed below).

• If showing digital animations or media art, treat it as you would a film – caption any spoken or significant sound, and describe important visuals.
• If showing a short art film with no dialogue but important imagery, you might write a short synopsis of the visual narrative for those who can’t see it.
• If the emotional impact is tied to visuals (color, movement), try to convey that in words (“a rapid sequence of images flashes – a feeling of chaos” etc.).

Accessible Design Discussion

For graphic design topics, incorporate accessibility as a principle (this is a great real-world connection).

• Talk about how to choose colors with contrast (tying into accessible design), readable font choices, etc. This not only helps disabled students engage with design work, but also trains all future designers in making their art and graphics usable by people with disabilities.
• When teaching web design or print layout in an art context, emphasize alt text for graphics and choosing textures or patterns in addition to color for conveying info – reflecting professional accessibility guidelines.

Video Accessibility (Captions & Descriptions)

Dance instruction often uses video to demonstrate choreography or performance. If there is spoken instruction or commentary in the video, provide captions as usual. Moreover, much of dance is purely visual, so audio description becomes key.

• During a dance performance video, an audio description would narrate significant movements, formations, and gestures (e.g. “The dancer raises her arms slowly above her head and spins on one foot”). While producing a full audio-described dance performance is ideal, it may not be feasible for class materials.
• As a simpler step, you can discuss the choreography verbally either before or after showing the video (“Watch for when the ensemble forms a circle – that signifies unity”). If you created the video, consider adding a voice-over that describes what you’re demonstrating physically. Students who cannot see need context to appreciate the movement.

Technique and Form Explanation

In instructional content (like “how to do a plié”), always pair the physical demonstration with a verbal explanation of body positions.

• For example: “Feet in first position, heels together, toes turned out. Now bend knees while keeping your back straight – this is a plié.” This benefits everyone, not just those who can’t see well, because different learners process information differently.
• Make sure any key terms (positions, moves) are also described when first introduced (“arabesque – one leg extended behind the body at 90 degrees”). Providing a handout or slide with definitions of moves and perhaps diagrams can help reinforce it in text form.

Alternate Materials for Visually Impaired Students

If a student in a dance course has low vision or blindness, coordinating with disability services is crucial for physical accommodations. From a digital content perspective, you might supplement video demonstrations with tactile diagrams (like raised-line drawings of foot positions) or textual descriptions of spatial patterns (“Dancers move in an ‘X’ pattern on the stage, from back left to front right,” etc.).

• Encourage the use of music cues and counting aloud in videos, as these auditory cues give structure to the movement for those who can’t see it.
• Share the musical track names or beats per minute if choreography corresponds to specific music, so students can practice with audio independently.

Use of Props or Visual Examples

If your course uses props, costumes, or visual examples (say, analyzing a recorded dance with elaborate costume), describe those elements.

• For example: “The dancer’s costume has flowing red sleeves which accentuate the arm movements.” If props are integral (ribbon dances, etc.), ensure to mention how they move or are used.
• In a digital image of a dance pose, alt text should convey the posture (“Image: Dancer mid-leap, legs split in the air, arms extended overhead”). This will help a student who cannot see the image understand the form.

Interactive Online Sessions

For live online dance classes or discussions, similar principles apply: use platforms with captions, and be very explicit in your language. Because you can’t physically adjust a student’s pose as in an in-person class, verbal clarity is key (“Tilt your head to the right – that is your right side”).

• Recording these sessions and providing captions afterward can help anyone who missed a detail.
• Consider having students submit reflections or analyses in text form to gauge their understanding of choreography or dance history, which gives another modality besides visual performance for assessment.

Captions and Transcripts for Audio/Musical Content

In music courses, you may use audio clips of performances, lectures with musical examples, or videos of concerts. Always caption spoken dialogue in music videos (e.g. a recorded lecture on music theory, or a documentary about a composer).

• Pure audio like a music piece, provide a transcript or textual description. This might not mean describing every note, but rather giving a deaf or hard-of-hearing student a sense of what’s happening: for example, “This piece starts with a slow violin melody, then other strings join in harmony, creating a somber mood.”
• If lyrics are present (in vocal music), provide the lyrics in text and ideally a translation if the lyrics are in another language. Captions should also note non-speech audio that’s relevant (e.g., “[Trumpet solo]” or “[crescendo in orchestra]” as contextual info).

Sheet Music and Notation Accessibility

Traditional sheet music is not easily read by screen readers. Minimally, ensure any text annotations on a score (like dynamics, lyrics under notes) are described in the caption or alt text (“Sheet music for ‘Happy Birthday’ with lyrics under the melody notes. Markings include ‘mf’ indicating medium loud dynamics.”).

• If you share sheet music images or PDFs, try to also provide an alternative. One option is MusicXML files (a digital format for music notation) which can be read by specialized software or Braille music translators.
• Another simpler approach: provide a written explanation of the musical example. For instance, instead of just an image of a scale, write “C major scale ascending: C D E F G A B C.” For chord charts, list the chord names in text.
• If the music example is central, consider providing a Braille music score for blind students (with assistance from disability services) – but that is a specialized accommodation.

Instrument Demonstrations

If you have videos demonstrating techniques (e.g., how to form an embouchure on a clarinet, or a piano fingering demonstration), describe the physical actions verbally in the video.

• For example, “Notice my hand shape – fingers curved, and I’m pressing the third key with my ring finger.” This narration ensures that a visually impaired student can grasp the technique.
• If it’s not feasible to narrate live, you could add an audio description track or simply write out important actions in an accompanying text or the video’s description.
• Ensure the camera work in such videos shows what it needs clearly (for low-vision students, a close-up might be needed) and mention critical visual details in captions as well (e.g. caption might say “[Instructor demonstrates bowing posture]” if not explicitly said).

Use of Ally/Alternate Formats for Audio

Ally can generate an audio format of text which might help some students in music history or theory classes to listen to content (handy for those who prefer auditory learning, which many music students might).

• If you have important audio, you might use Ally’s OCR capabilities by providing a transcript (so Ally could convert it to ePub or braille for someone who needs that).
• Consider tools like VoiceThread if you use them – VoiceThread allows adding audio commentary to slides; ensure you also provide that commentary in text. VoiceThread has an auto-captioning service or you can upload captions for each audio comment. At a minimum, provide a text summary of discussion points from a VoiceThread so nobody misses out on the content.

Assistive Technology for Music

Know about tools used by musicians with disabilities – e.g., screen reader users might use programs like Lime Lighter or GoodFeel to read Braille music, and there are even sonification tools that map notes to pitches for tactile feedback. While you as an instructor might not use these directly, being aware means you can accommodate requests (for example, providing MusicXML if a student has software to convert it to Braille).

Encourage a multi-sensory learning approach: for aural skills training, in addition to playing a melody for ear training, provide notation or a descriptive hint; for music theory, use visual piano keyboard diagrams with text labels for notes, etc. This redundancy helps students with different needs reinforce concepts.

Scripts and Readings

Ensure any play scripts, screenplays, or textual materials are provided in an accessible format (searchable PDF, Word, or HTML).

• Avoid scanned images of script pages – if you must use them (for example, an old manuscript), run OCR to make them readable, or provide a separate text. Screen reader users should be able to navigate by line/character, so proper formatting (each character’s dialogue on new lines, stage directions in parentheses or italics) is helpful.
• If you post a script on Blackboard, using the content editor to format it or uploading a tagged PDF will allow Ally to offer alternative formats like audio or electronic braille automatically.

Captioning Performances

If you show video recordings of plays or theatrical performances, captions are essential. These can be challenging since theater may have overlapping dialogue, background music, etc., but strive for high-quality captions that include speaker labels and important sound cues (e.g. “[Glass shatters offstage]”). Many platforms (YouTube, Panopto, YuJa) have auto-captioning – use it, then correct names/technical terms.

Consider enabling audio description for crucial visual elements. For example, if a character performs a key silent action on stage (like handing over a letter with a dramatic expression), an audio description would note that. If audio description isn’t available, at least discuss those moments in class or provide notes so that students who couldn’t see it know what happened.

Staging, Lighting, and Visual Elements

When analyzing or discussing stage design, costumes, or lighting in a production, describe them verbally. These descriptions can be given in lecture and/or added to any slides or notes. They help low-vision students and also improve everyone’s understanding of the production elements.

• Instead of saying “As you can see, the lighting turns blue to indicate night,” explicitly say “The lighting gradually shifts to a blue tint, indicating nightfall.” For costumes: “Character X is wearing a tattered, old coat, showing his poverty.”
• If you have photos of stage sets or costume sketches, treat them like other images – with alt text/captions describing the visual.

Accessible Acting/Performance Exercises

If you have live synchronous sessions for performance practice, enable live captions to assist students who are deaf or hard of hearing in following along.

• For blind students, ensure that any visual demonstration (like blocking – stage movement) is described verbally (“We’ll move three steps stage left (your left) toward the chair”).
• If a student cannot physically do a visual task (like a movement exercise), consider alternative ways they can participate or demonstrate understanding (perhaps focusing on vocal performance instead of physical, if appropriate).
• Ensure assignment instructions for practical tasks are also in text (don’t only give them orally during a live class – post them in writing too).