[Syna Khanna]: Midterm Portfolio – #1 Alt Text Comic

The Project (Original)

Original Google Slides Link:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aLtR85YZBAkay9JFMWzDJ04gn9Hy5ZWIGQI8SbJ7uvE/edit?usp=sharing

Original Comic Image:

Syna is at 125th Street station. Syna is in the train. Syna is seeing flowers.

Project Description 

For this project, we were instructed to add alt-text to the comic via Google Slides.

Documentation 

The following is the documentation of the original project:

Step-by-step documentation consists of the following: Step 1: I started with the existing comic template. I brainstormed story ideas with my recent photos. Step 2: I added my own recent images to the comic strip. I created a visual version of the story. Step 3: I added alt-text to the images by enable to the screen reader accessibility feature. Step 4: I began to add captions to the images to tell the full story! Step 5: I completed all the steps and made sure I am not missing anything.

Reflection Questions

1. What is the theme of the work?

The theme of the work is to demonstrate the use of alt-text on a comic which I created about a girl who visits a flower garden in the Bronx.​

2. How is that theme particularly expressed through the modality of the week?

I have expressed this comic by fulfilling the requirements on the comic template.

3. Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality?

The physical elements such as images and caption are perfectly layed out within this modality.​

4. Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week?

The captions are not too long because I am finding a hard time to express a deeper meaning of the photos.​

5. Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?

​People who do not have screen-readers cannot access the alt-text of the content.

6. Now that you’ve identified who is excluded, what is one way you could remix this piece to include another population?

I will need to figure out a way to display the alt-text of the content so that users who have the extension can access them.

Additional Modality

Project:

New Google Slides Link:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1N3ho2kojZrZo7DkHPe2HinlGVtQTKycDl-AS0NG7VIg/edit?usp=sharing

What modality did you apply?

I added audio descriptions below each comic panel in which I narrate the comic and explain the visuals.

How did you decide on this modality?

I decided on this modality as I realized that those who are hard of seeing cannot understand the images. The alt-text which was in the original comic mainly narrated the captions and didn’t provide descriptive details of the visuals.

What does the beholder gain from this additional modality? Why?

From this additional modality, the beholder can understand the visuals of the comic in greater detail, and analyze that information to speculate the mood of the scene and possibly realize another meaning to the comic.

Does the beholder lose anything from this modality? What?

The beholder does not lose anything from adding this additional modality.

Show documentation of this modality:

Step 1: I wrote a script of what I will say in the audio description.

Step 1: Script of Audio Description

Step 2: I opened Quicktime Player and set up audio recording.

Step 2: Setting up audio recording with Quicktime Player.

Step 3: I recorded my voice reading the script.

Step 3: Recording audio.

Step 4: I uploaded the audio files to Google Drive.

Step 4: Uploading Audio to Google Drive

Step 5: I added the audio to the comic.

Step 5: Inserting audio files in Google Slide of the comic.