Creating Alt Text for Images

This challenge focuses on making educational materials more accessible by using Generative AI to generate and refine alternative text (alt text) for images.

Use ChatGPT-4o to create alternative text for an image and assess its quality. While AI can assist in generating alt text quickly, it’s important to review and refine the output to ensure it is accurate, meaningful, and provides the necessary context. This exercise encourages a balance between AI efficiency and human judgment in creating accessible learning materials.

Challenge

Generative AI, like ChatGPT-4o, can be used to quickly generate alternative text for images—an essential step in making content accessible to all learners. In this challenge, you will use ChatGPT-4o to create alt text for an educational image and evaluate the result for clarity, relevance, and usefulness to someone using a screen reader. The goal is to assess the quality of AI-generated descriptions and refine them where necessary, striking a balance between AI efficiency and the human insight needed to ensure accessibility.

Instructions

1. Ensure you are logged into ChatGPT-4o.
2. Upload an image relevant to your subject area or a topic you teach.
3. Use the following prompt:
   “Act as an expert in web accessibility and write concise and meaningful alternative text for this image so that it can be described via a screen reader.”
4. Review the AI-generated alt text and assess it based on:
   • Accuracy – Does it describe the image faithfully?
   • Clarity – Is the description easy to understand and succinct?
   • Context – Does it include the necessary educational context (if applicable)?
5. Make refinements as needed to improve the alt text.

Reflect and Share

What does this challenge reveal about the role of AI in teaching and learning? Try it out and share what you discovered in the comment box below, whether it’s your final product, a reflection, or a surprising insight.

Example

For this challenge, I generated the following alternative text for an image:

Alternative Text: A black and white photograph of a farm field with two sections labeled. The left side is labeled “Starved by lack of plant food,” showing sparse and unhealthy plants, while the right side is labeled “Nourished on phosphate and lime,” showing healthier, more abundant growth. A person kneels in the field, tending to the plants.

Try generating alt text for an image of your choice and reflect on the results.