# Tagged Cooltech: Poet Image Description **URL:** https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352 **Category:** Sharing Zone **Tags:** cooltech **Created:** [May 17, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352 "2023-05-17T19:09:12Z") **Posts on this page:** 4 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/user_avatar/connect.oeglobal.org/cogdog/32/2_2.png) [@cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/u/cogdog) #### Post date: [May 17, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352/1 "2023-05-17T19:09:12Z")
**What’s cool?** Poet Image Description **Tell me more!** * * * Developed by The DIAGRAM Center (Digital Image And Graphic Resources for Accessible Materials), a Benetech Global Literacy initiative, the Poet Training Tool is a web based image description resource that helps people learn when and how to describe various types of images frequently found in educational books. Users of this tool have access to best practice guidelines and hands-on exercises that help cultivate skills for writing effective image descriptions for critical visual content. **Where is it?** : [https://poet.diagramcenter.org/](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/) * * * This is one among many items I regularly [tag in Pinboard as cooltech](https://pinboard.in/u:cogdog/t:cooltech/), and automatically autoshares as #cogdogcooltech to [Twitter](https://twitter.com/search?q=%2523cogdogcooltech&f=live) and [Mastodon](https://social.fossdle.org/tags/cogdogcooltech). Now the Coolness is in OEG Connect 😉 Have you ever been to [Cool](https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/6706527857/)? Do you know of something cool I should share? Just reply below and I will check it out. ---
### Author: ![cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/user_avatar/connect.oeglobal.org/cogdog/32/2_2.png) [@cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/u/cogdog) #### Post date: [May 17, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352/2 "2023-05-17T20:55:27Z")
This is an incredibly useful site for not only learning about creating image descriptions to accessibility but a fantastic set of interactive activities and subject specific examples to help anyone improve their practice. It’s a well designed resource! - Start with [When to Describe](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/when.html) for a decision tree process to help you determine when/if alternative descriptions are needed (see [the full flow chart](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/images/decision_tree_flow_chart.jpg)) as well as an options new to me- [tactile graphics](https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-tactile-graphics?464=). You get to practice through 8 different examples that traverse the decision tree. - Next, and where it gets even better, is [How to Describe images](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/how.html) with a set of 8 examples to work through guidelines for key element- context, audience, layout, function, and tone. And then specific examples for subjects like Chemistry Art, Math but also media types- Maps, Diagrams, Tables, Flowcharts. Each starts with general guidelines for the image, then a place to practice, and even a template to use to help you organize the needed information, and a suggested example ![POET guidelines for Benn Diagrams includes (1) Focus on data, not on appearance. (2) Provide data in brief statements. (3) Give a summary if one is immediately apparent. (4) Include the caption only if it is not accessible from elsewhere in the text.](https://connect.oeglobal.org/uploads/default/original/2X/1/1a2cfa2b5f6abfaf9ac284f6c5fb2f9f68a378d9.jpeg) - [Practice Describing](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/practice.html) where you upload your own image, select from a series of options to classify what kind of image it is. POET provides some suggestions, and then you practice writing. There is no evaluation, but the framework is good practice. So I tried it with… what else, a photo of my dog! ![Under Upload and Image to described, the choose button has been used to display a photo of a dog sleeping on the floor. Under "Select a Classification that Matches Your Image", I chose "photographs" and the Try Describing This Image button is ready for me to use](https://connect.oeglobal.org/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f239cca9f4dabdcefb772b85416e1b87042adb16.jpeg) As shown (and image described above) have uploaded the image and selected the classification of “Photographs” Based on my classification choice, POET offers these guidelines for photos ![For Practice Describing, the Photography guidelines include (1) Depending on context, the photo may be decorative and require no description. (2) Depending on context, a description of the location/setting and the subject may be needed. (3) Depending on context, a description of foreground, background, color, and directional orientation of objects may be needed.](https://connect.oeglobal.org/uploads/default/original/2X/7/7a4318e8d6b9fc303e01459efe2d00faa8387f97.jpeg) Okay, for Try Describing, it’s my turn to try… ![In an editing field labeled "Try Describing" for the image of a dog sleeping is "A low level view of a medium sized brown and white dog asleep on the floor, nose in the foreground, eyes closed"](https://connect.oeglobal.org/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f7dd142d4fde4129635bf8cb532adbf518f32849.jpeg) That is not really a fantastic description, I wanted just to have a screenshot. I go back as well to something that has been useful > **[How to write an image description](https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546)** > > I wrote this how-to guide with the immensely helpful counsel and insights from Bex Leon and Robin Fanning, as well as through an online… where the author shares a framework of “Object-action-context”: > Something that I learned from talking to Bex is that there is a storytelling aspect to writing descriptions. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to go from left to right describe everything in an image because that might lose the central message or create a disorienting feeling. For that reason, I came up with a framework that I recommend called object-action-context. > > The **object** is the main focus. The **action** describes what’s happening, usually what the object is doing. The **context** describes the surrounding environment. > > I recommend this format because it keeps the description objective, concise, and descriptive. I have gotten much more deliberate and focused on writing image descriptions. I am not convinced there is are absolutely correct ways to do it, but it’s always better than ignoring doing it. Also, for users here of this Discourse powered site, when you add an image to your post (just drag and drop from your device ot use the Add Image/File icon in the middle of the tool bar), by default the image description is the file name, and 99% of the time that does not help. Once you image us uploaded, though, on the right side preview of your post, look for the pencil icon under the image to compose a better alternative description. ![Screenshot of discourse editor showing location of image code and where to edit alt text](https://connect.oeglobal.org/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d2b49def263481a0de66b7f979c8886e5b0d5286.jpeg) What are your go to suggestions for learning to write image descriptions? How often do you do this in regular practice? And give [POET](https://poet.diagramcenter.org/index.html) a try and let us know what you think of it as a resource. ---
### Author: ![CGERMANO](https://connect.oeglobal.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@CGERMANO](https://connect.oeglobal.org/u/CGERMANO) #### Post date: [May 18, 2023, 12:18pm UTC](https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352/3 "2023-05-18T12:18:21Z")
I am sharing this with our design team, marketing team, and building into a tool for the pre-teaching students I work with. Thanks for sharing @cogdog ---
### Author: ![cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/user_avatar/connect.oeglobal.org/cogdog/32/2_2.png) [@cogdog](https://connect.oeglobal.org/u/cogdog) #### Post date: [May 18, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://connect.oeglobal.org/t/tagged-cooltech-poet-image-description/5352/4 "2023-05-18T18:21:09Z")
And it’s all relevant as May 18 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day – let’s all be GAAD. > **[GAAD](https://accessibility.day/)** > > Thursday, May 18, 2023, help us celebrate the 12th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with... I found out from today’s [DS106 Daily Create](https://daily.ds106.us/tdc4143/) so I responded with a wee poem about Poet. > **[Alan Levine (@cogdog@social.fossdle.org)](https://social.fossdle.org/@cogdog/110391014118264701)** > > Attached: 1 image > > @tdc@social.ds106.us #dailycreate #tdc4143 #ds106 > > For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I was excited yesterday to discover Poet, so I made a poem about it. > > Check out https://poet.diagramcenter.org/