Accessible Childrens Programming Now Available

Still image from Bill Nye the Science Guy

The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) now offers free, on-demand children's television programming for students with visual or hearing disabilities through its Accessible Television Portal project.

The portal currently offers 73 episodes of 19 different shows, such as Ocean Mysteries, The Magic School Bus, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Expedition Wild and Peg + Cat. Students can view the episodes online with closed captioning and descriptions. The DCMP will add more shows from other producers over the next two years. Several Spanish-language programs are also available.

Educators, parents or professionals who work with qualified students can apply for access to the portal. Once approved, they can view the content on Internet-connected computers, tablets, mobile phones, mobile apps and set-top boxes. The portal itself is fully accessible to people with sensory impairments.

“In the digital age, the capability exists to deliver a higher level of personalized programming for students who were underserved in the past,” said Secretary Arne Duncan, in a prepared statement.

The video-on-demand content is provided at no cost by television networks, producers and distributors, including PBS Kids, Sesame Workshop, Cartoon Network, Sprout (NBC), the Fred Rogers Company, Scholastic Media, Litton Entertainment, Out of the Blue and Fremantle Television.

The DCMP is funded by the United States Department of Education and administered by the National Association of the Deaf. Further information about the Accessible Television Portal can be found on the DCMP's site.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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