SWAY: Switch Accessible YouTube

| tags: motor impaired, enabling technology

My friend and source of ideas for interesting projects, Karen Erickson, suggested that kids love watching YouTube videos but they aren't readily accessible to switch users. Couldn't we make an accessible version, she asked?

I presented this opportunity to Greg K., my latest intern from the NC School of Science and Math, a residential magnet high-school for students from around the state with aptitude and interest in science and math. In only a few weeks, Greg taught himself Javascript and the YouTube API and has a working prototype.

Check out his work at http://www.cs.unc.edu/~gb/AccessibleYouTube/.

This is just a prototype, and we are eager to get your feedback on what other features it needs. Right now you can choose and play videos from a YouTube playlist entered into a form.

Features we hope to support soon include:

  • Browsing YouTube categories and related videos.
  • Creating your own playlist
  • Emailing video links to friends

What else should we include?