This tool provides a way to show Youtube videos to the whole class, or for learners to search for and view videos without advertising being a distraction. The large buttons make it easy to pause a video to ask questions or hold a discussion etc.
What is AcessYouTube?
AccessYoutube was created by Mike Thrussell, for students at Henshaws Independent Specialist College, where many of the students have a visual impairment and additional difficulties. The clean and uncluttered user interface enables learners to search for videos without displaying those unwanted adverts. So, as well as making it easier to search and play videos, it also facilitates the use of assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Once a video is selected it is displayed, as shown below so that it becomes the only thing on the screen for the learner to focus on. The tool provides an ideal way to show Youtube videos to the whole class and the large buttons make it easy to pause a video to ask questions, hold a discussion etc. The use of large fonts, visual cues, icons and accessible means that learners with learning difficulties and disabilities can access YouTube videos independently.
Take a look at the two images below and spot the difference!
Ask yourself:
- What do you think the user was searching for?
- What website do you think they were searching?
- What are the differences in the results shown?
Standard YouTube search
Access YouTube search
Answers:
- The search was “Cooking fish.”
- Both searches were looking at the YouTube website.
- The differences – how the search results are presented and no unwanted adverts.
Written for HOLEX by Ideas4Learning Limited.