Audio Described National Parks
Audio Describe the World! That’s the mantra of UniDescription: a free smartphone app that provides audio descriptions and navigation tips for US National Parks and other public places.
Hadley Presents
Audio Described National Parks
Presented by Ricky Enger
Ricky Enger: Welcome to Hadley Presents. I'm your host, Ricky Enger, inviting you to sit back, relax, and enjoy a conversation with the experts. In this episode, Dr. Brett Oppegaard joins us to talk about the UniDescription project. Welcome to the show, Brett.
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Ricky Enger: Yeah, I am so happy to have you on because this is something I have only recently discovered myself. So, the UniDescription project is an accessible app that contains audio descriptions of a lot of these historically significant places, like national parks, museums, monuments, things like that. Places that people like to tour and really learn a lot about. Now that things are starting to open up a little bit, people are ready to explore again, and so this is what I think is so cool about this project is that whether you are exploring this from your home and just getting an idea of what you missed even though you’re not traveling there. Or maybe you are going on vacation, and you want get an idea of what is at these museums and parks and such. Rather than not having anything at all other than the people with you describing things that’s what’s so amazing about this project. So yeah, I love the concept and really happy to share this with the word. So really before we jump into that, why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Sure, yeah. I'm glad you discovered us. We have actually been around since 2014. I'm an associate professor at the University of Hawaii and I do a lot of research on what's called "locative media," which is the connection of content and information to place through mobile technologies. In 2014, the National Park Service, who I'd worked with before, came to me with this problem, that "We have these brochures, which are called 'UniGrid brochures,' and we want to make those accessible to people who are blind or low vision. Can you help us with that?" That set us on this odyssey that we've been on for the past seven years to figure out how to do that. That's really involved a variety of steps, but the initial one was to create open-access and open-source web tools to allow for people to learn about audio description and to make audio description and then we created free mobile apps to disseminate the audio description once it was made and then we spent a lot of time just really investigating and researching how to make better audio description as a part of this.
Ricky Enger: Awesome. I love the whole approach to this, both from the perspective of you are able to create a material to teach people how to describe things, and then, of course, there is the described material. When I was checking out the website, I could so relate to the backstory of being at a historic site and there's nothing described there and so the people around you are, "Ooh, ah, oh, wow, this is so fascinating," and as a blind or low-vision person, it's not the most exciting thing to happen. I love your motto, kind of a goal, which is to describe the world. That shouldn't take too terribly long, I would think. You have to start somewhere. What exists right now? What are the kinds of materials that are available for people that have been described?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Yeah. Well, to go along with your story, I interviewed people who are blind or low vision and asked them about their experiences in different public places, including national parks, and I would get a lot of stories, kind of like what you say, the "oohs" and "ahs" but "I don't know what's going on," or I had one person that told me, they went to Gettysburg, and "It felt like I was driving around a parking lot for hours because it's just an auto tour." We really, really wanted to focus first on just the orientation part of coming to a site, like what is there and what's available.
By focusing on the brochures, those usually give a great overview and that gives people who are blind or low vision some agency to say, "Well, I read in the brochure that this, that, or the other thing's available and that's what interests me, so that's what I would like to do," instead of the situation that most people ended up in, which was, "I've come along with my family and friends, they pick everything. I'm a good sport about it, but I'm not really having a great time," and so we really wanted to change that dynamic and give people to begin with the basic orientation, like, "Why is this site important? What is it about? What are its highlights?" Then that gives people agency to start to choose the agenda for the day and to start to ask questions about, "What's accessible here?" That becomes a major part of the planning instead of getting there and everyone's disappointed.
Ricky Enger: I know that there are a number of things, like national parks and other historic sites where the brochures have been described. How do people actually access the material once it is there?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: We have free mobile apps on the Android and iOS markets and you can just search for UniDescription, U-N-I Description, and those will pop up and you can download those and open them on your smartphones. They're heavily tested for accessibility. Basically, once we do our training, once the staff and volunteers and people in the community of, usually American Council of the Blind, but sometimes Blinded Veterans Association or Helen Keller, as soon as all of that comes together and they've co-created this wonderful description, then we push it into this UniDescription mobile app that's free, anybody can download. It's geo-located, so you can search for things near to you or you can just search key terms of things you're interested in.
On that app, this point, we have more than 130 US National Park Service sites, plus Fish & Wildlife sites, and other places of interest, including the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, I mean, just all sorts of things that you might be interested in related to our shared American culture. Now, you can hear the description of those things. That's become very powerful for people. One of our primary volunteers lives about a mile away from Minuteman National Park in the Boston area and she'd lived her whole life there, but never went to the park. Then once the descriptions were made of that park, she started to go there and just was having a great time. That's the kind of success stories that we really base our merit on.
Ricky Enger: I love that story and I can relate to that as well. When I first got the app, I searched for the sites in D.C. and the Washington Monument. I had taken a high school band trip and it stood out in my memory as being one of the most boring things I'd ever done and having the opportunity to then go back and get some of those descriptions and put it together with, I was there and now many years later, I'm actually able to experience the history of that, so it's very cool. How do the sites get chosen? How do we know what venues are being described and how is that all brought about?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Yeah, it's a really interesting experience you mentioned about the Washington Monument because we found that not only does the audio description help people when they're on-site, it also helps with planning, and it also helps with memory of the experience. That's something I don't think has really been addressed very well in the research and that's part of what I've been working on, but the audio description, particularly of a brochure, because it's not necessarily about the site experience, it's more about the site itself, the brochure really helps the people conceptualize and build a mental image of what they're going to be experiencing.
You may have went in the Washington Monument and not known about all the different gifts that each state had given to it on the way up the elevator or something like that because nobody articulated that to you, but then you might read later that, "Oh, my gosh, when I went up that elevator, there was a whole bunch of cool stuff that every state had given a different thing as a tribute." That creates this dynamic of memory-building, it also creates a dynamic for planning.
In terms of who can participate in this, we're fully grant-funded. There's no cost for producers or audiences, so basically, when we have the grant funds, we do more of it and we do as much of it as we can, so if a site wants to participate, whether that's a museum or a national park or a wildlife refuge. We work with any public place and a place where people are going to want to have shared communal experiences with their friends and family. Those are the primary places we focus on.
Ricky Enger: That's excellent. If you are someone who is blind or low vision and maybe you're planning a vacation, or you want to relive one that you've taken already, but something isn't yet described, are there ways that people can encourage these venues to begin to describe these things, or how does that all work?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Yeah, I think this is one of those classic examples of if nobody pushes for accessibility, that probably won't happen, so if you want your special place to be accessible, I think it's important to ask the people, the staff that work there, the leaders of it, to say, "Can you please help us get this to be more accessible?" That could include a lot of things. It could include ramps, tactiles, braille, any number of things. But in terms of UniDescription, it's pretty much as simple as sending me an email and saying, "Our organization would like to participate in this. When you get a chance, can you fit us in?" Then as soon as we get the grant funding to do that, we'll try to include as many people as we can.
Ricky Enger: That's great. Since it is grant-funded, it means that all of this is free to those who are experiencing the description. There's an interesting process, right, for when something has been funded. Can you talk a little bit about Descriptathons?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: We built our open-source, open-access tools in the beginning and just handed it to national park people and found out that some people would be real good at creating description and other people would really struggle at it and there was just a very difficult transition from being totally non-accessible to learning how these tools worked to making an audio description, which is complicated on its own, and then to delivering it to the public in different ways.
So we created this event called a "Descriptathon," which is basically our idea is to bring together staff at public places and volunteers for those public places, not paid staff members, but volunteers, and then people in their audience of that site, people in the community who are blind or low vision, and then putting them all together on a team and saying, "Here's a brochure that we want to make audio described and accessible at the end of this three-day workshop. We'll train you on these genres of description. We'll give you the tools and train you on the tools and we want to see if you can figure out how to make this happen." Like I said, it's more than 130 places have been able to put that together in a very short amount of time and make their sites more accessible. We know it's possible. We know it's something that just takes a little bit of elbow grease and engagement and commitment, and if everybody could do that at every place, we'd have a very accessible world.
Ricky Enger: I love that. It's happening more and more every day, so it's a wonderful thing to see. I like that blind and low-vision people are a part of this because if you're creating something and it doesn't really serve the audience that it was intended to serve, we probably have wasted a bit of time and maybe not made something as good as it could be, so yeah, I love that blind and low-vision people are involved.
I also like that on your site you have tools and templates that talk about, "If you're a describer, these are some things that you should think about." How did all of that come together? Was it a process that you created the tools as you went and you were learning along with everyone else and decided to compile that and share it with others, or how did this library and template of this is how you describe things come together?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Originally, when we were asked to work on this project, we were given a box of about 400 brochures and just said, "Can you make this happen?" What we started to first investigate was: Are there any tools out there to use for audio description? We had the expertise in accessibility, we had the expertise in writing, but we didn't have any way to build description and then get it to people, so our first few years we primarily spent designing the web tool. What we found in that process was that there are some best practices descriptions out there and when we discovered those, we wanted to share those with other people.
Ricky Enger: That actually means that people can go to your website and learn about all this, whether or not they're training directly with you.
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Yeah, absolutely. They can go to the UniDescription website, create a free account, build a project, disseminate the information however they want, and never talk to us, if they feel real comfortable. There's enough there in terms of background material and best practices. We publish our research there, so you can read our research. All of that is designed to create the infrastructure for description and let people do it. But then the Descriptathon is a way to bring energy to that effort and get people excited about it.
Another thing I'll say is when we first started creating descriptions on our tool, although we worked with people who are blind or low vision, they weren't a part of the teams in the beginning. They were more along the lines of reviewers or assessors. We just felt like it would be better to have those people involved with the process from the beginning as the drafts are getting created all the way through rather than just being a judge at the end of the process, like, "Did you do a good job or not?"
Once we made that switch, the quality of our descriptions just improved dramatically, I guess, is the best way to put it. It started to have people on the teams ask themselves more questions because they had a face and people, they talked to that they knew were going to be listening to this. Then the people in the ACB or BVA or Helen Keller, they would ask really great questions to their teammates and that would prompt these rich discussions and it would just all lead to better descriptions, so that co-creation model, something we've committed to for a few Descriptathons now, and I can't imagine ever changing that. That has really been an important development.
Ricky Enger: It really shows in the quality of material that has been produced. I'm so looking forward to, I've just gotten started exploring the app, and there are so many more sites for me to check out and then yet more for me to ask to be described. Even with all of this amazing wealth of description in the app already, we want more and more and more, right? Can you give any sneak peeks as to what is coming in the very near future that isn't in the app just yet?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: I mean, number one, even though we have done a lot of work, 130-plus sites, there are 400 in the system, so we're just at the very beginning of creating brochures for those sites. That doesn't even count the wayside signs and the exhibits. There's just a tremendous amount that needs to be done. What we've focused on is creating the training and the infrastructure to allow people to go out and create all the description that needs to happen.
We've been working with Parks Canada so there's some Canadian sites that we've been working with. We have scheduled to work with The Kennedy Center in D.C., which is a primary performing arts center in the country, to help make that more accessible. We're working with the national parks in the UK, so we're really trying to embody this idea that it's not just the United States that needs to be more accessible, it's the world that needs more be more accessible. Anywhere any person who is blind or low vision goes, they should be able to have equivalent experiences to people who are able to see the brochures or paper or wayside signs or whatever it is, and so we're really trying to push this as a universal experience throughout all societies and cultures and give people the tools to do it at no cost and just see where that leads us. So far, it's led us to quite a few exciting places and I think the future is bright.
Ricky Enger: I agree. Fantastic. I'm looking forward to so much more and love what you guys are doing. If people are interested in finding out more about UniDescription, what are a couple of ways they can do that?
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Well, the primary way is to go to the website, U-N-I description dot org, unidescription.org. There's a ton of information on there about our research or the best practices, about our Descriptathon, who's involved, and then the other part of that is you can go there. When you asked earlier, "How do you get started?" I really encourage people to just create an account and start describing things. You could describe your kitchen if you want, what's in the cupboards in your kitchen, and export that as a URL and you can keep it on your phone. I mean, there's just a lot of ways you can make all parts of your world more accessible with what we're providing already. But if you have any other questions or want to know more or want to get some other site involved, just send me an email to my name, [email protected] and I'll be happy to talk with you more.
Ricky Enger: Excellent. We'll have all of that in our show notes, so be sure and check that out. I want to thank you so much for taking a little time in describing what you do and starting to describe the world. I love it. Thanks so much.
Dr. Brett Oppegaard: Yeah, thank you.
Ricky Enger: Got something to say? Share your thoughts about this episode of Hadley Presents or make suggestions for future episodes. We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at [email protected], That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T @ Hadley dot E-D-U, or leave us a message at (847) 784-2870. Thanks for listening.
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Contact Dr. Brett Oppegaard at [email protected].
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Episode 44
We sat down with several Hadley staff members and asked them about their favorite tech tips, apps, and gadgets. Whether you consider yourself a tech expert or novice, the group recommends a variety of high-tech and low-tech options that fit your comfort level and interests.
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Episode 43
Judge David Tatel has served on the second most powerful court in the country since 1994. He also happens to be blind. Judge Tatel joins us to share his story on building a law career and family while dealing with changing vision, the technology and resources he's found useful, and what made him consider getting a guide dog in recent years.
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Episode 42
In honor of White Cane Safety Day today, we're joined by Hadley learner Larry Carlson and Orientation and Mobility Specialist Elijah Haines for a conversation about this important tool. Larry shares what made him decide to use a white cane, and Elijah shares tips for what to consider and how to adjust to using a white cane.
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Episode 41
Supriya Raman, manager of the Disability and Multicultural branches of the TSA, shares tips on traveling among shifting COVID restrictions. Supriya covers what to expect at the airport and what resources are available for people with visual impairment.
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Episode 40
Photographer Michael Nye chats with us about his latest art exhibit, "My Heart is Not Blind," a collection of photos and audio interviews of people with visual impairment. Through these stories, Michael provides a look into what he calls "our shared humanity and shared fragility," as well as common misunderstandings about blindness.
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Episode 39
Champion blind golfer Chad NeSmith talks about how vision loss shaped his life, and how he shares his passion for golf with others with vision loss.
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Episode 38
Doug Walker, Hadley co-director of R&D, and Ed Haines, Hadley Chief Program Officer, chat about the making of Hadley's "Adjusting to Vision Loss" workshop series. The series guides people through the emotional aspects of vision loss. Doug serves as the series' personal storyteller and narrator.
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Episode 37
In this episode we chat with ophthalmologist Dr. Angela Elam from the University of Michigan. Dr. Elam addresses common questions and concerns, and shares her advice for returning to the eye doctor among shifting COVID restrictions.
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Episode 36
Dorrie Rush, OE's Chief Content Officer, joins us for a chat about this wonderful online resource chock full of tips for living well with vision loss. You'll find great articles on using tech tools, tips for health and well-being, stories from others living with vision loss, a terrific podcast, and more.
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Episode 35
Learn about a new service that’s just launched in 2020 called Accessible Pharmacy. Accessible packaging and labeling and personalized customer support all free of charge to the end consumer, and specifically designed for those with vision impairment.
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Episode 33
In this episode, we chat with low vision optometrist Dr. Mark Wilkinson from the University of Iowa. Dr. Wilkinson answers common questions and shares his advice for getting the most out of low vision optometry appointments.
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Episode 32
Jan and Elgie Dow share how vision loss has changed their relationship and the advice they have for other couples.
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Episode 31
Join Hadley advisor Eddie Becerra as he shares about losing his sight from diabetic retinopathy, and how he gained a new perspective on life.
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Episode 30
Classically trained chef Regina Mitchell shares how vision loss shaped her life. Regina worked her way back into the kitchen and is now helping others cook with confidence, no matter their vision.
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Episode 29
In this episode we sit down with the director of Well Connected, an organization that offers free, call-in groups for adults over 60 on a wide variety of interest areas: games, music, meditation and more.
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Episode 28
Support groups can be a great way to connect with others who "get it." Listen in as as low vision support group leaders Lynndah Lahey and Judy Davis describe how their groups are run and what their members get out of them.
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Episode 27
World-renowned artist John Bramblitt describes how vision loss has shaped his painting and his life.
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Episode 26
In this episode, we chat with Dr. Tim Murray of the American Society of Retina Specialists. Dr. Murray treats eye diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. He answers common questions and shares his insights into the future of treatments.
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Episode 25
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Jullia Rosdahl, a glaucoma specialist from the Duke Eye Center, and ask her some of the many questions we’ve heard about glaucoma, its risk factors, and how to treat the disease.
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Episode 24
Hadley learning expert Jessica Smith shares her experience raising a puppy that may eventually become a guide dog. She covers what she’s learned and things to consider if you’d like to volunteer to help out a guide dog school.
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Episode 23
October 15 is White Cane Safety Day, a day to recognize this important tool that empowers people with visual impairment to travel safely and independently. It also brings attention to the general public to be mindful of visually impaired neighbors, giving them additional consideration and right-of-way when needed. We sat down with Kellee Sanchez, an orientation and mobility specialist, to talk about the history of White Cane Safety Day, and how a white cane can help those with vision loss.
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Episode 22
Be My Eyes is a free smartphone app that connects visually impaired users with sighted volunteers for help with visual tasks. We sat down with Will Butler from Be My Eyes to hear how the app started, tips for using it, and exciting new features that provide specialized assistance, including with Hadley.
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Episode 21
Tracy Simon from Eye2Eye peer support program shares her story of vision loss, how her program works, and the benefits of connecting with and supporting each other.
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Episode 20
Ophthalmologist Dr. Lori Provencher chats with us about how the coronavirus pandemic has changed doctor's visits. She shares tips for staying safe, questions to ask, and what to expect before, during and after your next office visit.
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Episode 19
Mindfulness expert Tiffany Guske returns to the podcast to share tips and insights on how to cope with life's challenges, such as vision loss or an illness, building resilience and focusing on self-compassion instead of judgment.
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Episode 18
Author of "When You Can't Believe Your Eyes," Hannah Fairbairn, chats with us about how to communicate in everyday situations when you can't rely on visual cues. Hear Hannah's own story about losing vision, her practical tips on adjusting to vision loss, and advice she has on regaining confidence in social situations.
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Episode 17
In this episode, we continue the conversation on living during the COVID-19 pandemic with a visual impairment. Listen in as we share some experiences, tips, and strategies for coping during these difficult times.
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Episode 16
The COVID-19 crisis has brought a wave of change and uncertainty to our everyday lives. Listen in as we share personal experiences, resources and some helpful tips...all from a blind or low vision perspective.
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Episode 15
Assistive technology experts Ricky Enger and Steve Kelley review BlindShell, a mobile phone built for those with visual impairment. They discuss the basic features, how it differs from a traditional smartphone, and how to decide if it's right for you.
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Episode 14
This week we sit down with Dan Roberts, author of "The First Year-Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed" and founder of MDSupport website and support group. Hear Dan's own story about being diagnosed with macular degeneration and what prompted him to reach out to others facing similar circumstances.
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Episode 13
Listen in as we explore the basics of using hand tools with a visual impairment. Gil Johnson, a visually impaired home repair expert, shares tips on everything from measuring, to leveling to hammering.
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Episode 12
Elections are right around the corner. So we gathered a panel to talk about options for voting no matter your level of vision. Listen in as we explore everything you need to know, from registering to vote to the many ways you can cast your ballot.
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Episode 11
Ricky sits down with Android Accessibility Product Manager Brian Kemler to discuss what is available on Android phones for those with visual impairment. From adjusting font size and color, or opting to listen with TalkBack instead, the commitment to making these powerful tools more useful to a wider audience is clear.
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Episode 10
In this episode, we chat with Gil Johnson, an experienced home repair and woodworking enthusiast about things to consider when undertaking home repair with blindness or low vision.
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Episode 9
Hadley's Debbie Good sits down to continue a conversation with author and visually impaired world traveler Dr. Wendy David. Together they explore a wide variety of helpful hints covering train, plane, and cruise travel as well as practical information on traveling internationally and navigating hotels.
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Episode 8
In this episode, Ricky Enger chats with Joe Strechay, associate producer on the Apple TV+ series SEE. The show takes place in a future where, after a viral apocalypse, all humans are blind. Joe takes us behind the scenes of the show and his work to help build an inclusive set for the cast and crew, including those with low to no vision. From casting to costumes, scripting to scenery, hear how Joe helped create a science fiction world that strives to be authentic to life with vision loss.
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Episode 7
Hadley's Debbie Good sits down with travel author Dr. Wendy David in this latest episode. In part one of this two-part interview, Debbie and Wendy discuss tips for traveling with confidence as a blind or low vision person, advice on picking destinations, considerations for traveling alone and in a group, and more!
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Episode 6
Ricky Enger is joined by Hadley's Debbie Worman and mindfulness expert Tiffany Guske in this latest episode. Debbie and Tiffany talk about what mindfulness is and the specific benefits that mindfulness can offer for those living with vision loss. Tiffany then walks listeners through a short mindfulness exercise.
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Episode 5
In this episode, Ricky Enger speaks with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, who shares the story of his sudden vision loss from NAION. Bruni speaks candidly on his adjustment to the change, maintaining a realistic attitude towards his vision loss, and the failure of medical professionals to provide resources after diagnosis.
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Episode 4
Listen in as we share practical tips on how to keep your handwriting readable. This resource-packed episode includes many useful techniques and solutions to common handwriting challenges. Hadley Learning Expert Jennifer Ottowitz chats with Sue Dalton, Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist.
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Episode 3
In this episode, Hadley's Steve Kelley speaks with Kendra Farrow, from the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision, located at Mississippi State. The episode serves as a guide for those new to vision rehabilitation, including determining who is eligible for services, key differences between the medical and social services models, and how to locate services in each state.
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Episode 2
In this episode, Ricky Enger chats with Microsoft's Jeremy Curry, a Senior Program Manager with the Windows Accessibility team. New vision accessibility features are now available in Windows 10 for low vision and screen reader users.
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Episode 1
In the inaugural episode of Hadley Presents, Ricky Enger and Jonathan Mosen of Aira chat about the ways in which a visual interpreter service, such as Aira, can be used to gain valuable visual information and enhance travel and leisure activities for blind and low vision users.