Described and Captioned Media Program Newsletter


This month’s features:

Top 5 Reasons to Use the DCMP		January's American Heroes		Audio Description Aids Literacy
Help is available for students with special needs...pass it on!		Accessible educational media for hero study.		A few well-chosen words aid students with vision loss.

Top 5 Reasons to Use the DCMP

Do you have a child in your classroom or at home who has difficulty understanding educational media because he or she is visually impaired, blind, hard of hearing, deaf, or deaf-blind? A solution to this problem is the free-loan collection of described and captioned educational media provided by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) through funding by the U.S. Department of Education.

The DCMP is also the go-to center for information about educational media access, including tips for effective use, research reports which support the need, and how-to guidelines for adding descriptions and captions to media. And there is more-we answer teachers' questions about equal access and help parents advocate for their children's educational needs. Share this information with your friends and colleagues-pass it on!

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January's American Heroes

Martin Luther King, Jr.: This year, Dr. King's birthday will be officially observed on January 16th. While many businesses and government offices are closed for the federal holiday, millions of Americans will be joining the effort to transform the holiday into a " Day of Service." Take a moment to review this title about Dr. King--and, perhaps, sample his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, or one of many other inspirational speeches available from the DCMP--to learn why the great civil and human rights leader would encourage every American to show their support for their community and help to transform their society into one reflecting the ideals of equality and liberty.

Louis Braille: In celebration of the birthday (January 4-earlier this month) of perhaps the most pivotal figure in the history of communication for people who are blind, the DCMP is pleased to present the short film Young Heroes: Louis Braille , available with description and captions. Check out A DCMP Resource Guide for Young Heroes: Louis Braille for more bits of trivia and background information about Louis.

Paul Revere and Betsy Ross: Like other January heroes, they helped to transform their society into one reflecting the ideals of equality and liberty. Young children will like the DCMP title Paul Revere, which focus on his activities during the Revolutionary War and particularly on his famous ride. The U.S. Flag and America's Flags are also titles for children in grades K-8, and they explain the evolution of our flag, flag etiquette, our flag's nicknames, and what our flag symbolizes.

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Audio Description Aids Literacy

Over the past several months, the DCMP has presented articles written by various description vendors. This month we offer the fifth such article for those who are interested in learning more about description.

"A picture is worth 1000 words? Maybe. But the audio describer might say that a few well-chosen words can conjure vivid and lasting images." So states Joel Snyder, the author of the new DCMP clearinghouse article entitled Listening is Learning: Audio Description Aids Literacy. Mr. Snyder was one of the first audio describers, beginning his description of theater events and media in 1981. Since then he has produced description for nationally broadcast films and network series and has introduced description techniques in over 30 countries around the world. In the article he indicates that in film and media there is often "...no time to describe everything." So describers "...must choose what's most important to convey the essence of the visual experience. Then they must find words that are concise, vivid, and imaginative to elicit images in their listeners' mind's eyes." Read his article to learn more, including his thoughts about how Labanotation (a movement analysis technique for noting dance) and description have much in common.

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Quick Hits

Being Healthy and Safe in 2012

Video Description for the 21st Century Classroom

Everyone's Best Friend

How I Quit Smoking and Saved My Life follows Jenny, a typical teenager who is trying to quit smoking. For her and other teens to break their addiction to both nicotine and the smoking culture Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana explains their harmful effects and why self-esteem and self-worth are better fostered without drugs. See our Health and Wellness Flyer to learn how to preserve your family's well-being with free accessible media.

Remember to join us for a free, forward-looking webinar on the changing world of education video description on January 24, 2012 at 02:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST. The innovative webinar is presented by the DCMP, in collaboration with the Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC), and the Description Leadership Network (DLN). This exciting and interactive presentation is perfect for teachers, administrators, and parents who want to know all about the latest developments in video description technology and how it can help blind and visually-impaired students in every educational setting.

Dogs have been called man's best friend, but how did they earn that title? Learn how this relationship developed in How Dogs Became Man's Best Friend: Genetics and Domestication. New dog owners can learn basic training techniques in The Pet School Home Training Video. Students who are interested in working with dogs as a career should watch, Dog Trainer, which tells about training service dogs. Little Heroes tells the story of how a girl and her dog preform a miraculous rescue. So, whether you want fiction, fact, or how-to, DCMP has the right video for you.

The contents of this newsletter were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Cooperative Agreement #H327N060002.

However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Ernest Hairston.

The DCMP is administered by the National Association of the Deaf.