Promoting Accessibility with

Closed Captioning and Video Transcripts

Videos have become a necessary and popular component of online learning. They are often used in weekly announcements, course and module introductions, online or virtual lectures, instructional and supplemental material, assignments, discussions, and even for assignment feedback. Videos are also engaging because they combine sight, sound, action, and even text.

Videos can be shared by linking or embedding online videos (such as from YouTube), by uploading a video from a local storage area (such as a computer folder, Google Drive, or a flash drive), and by recording directly into D2L using a Video Note. (See this page for instructions on embedding and linking videos on D2L.)

With any video on D2L, the PSC Handbook for Online Education and best practices in online instruction recommend that students have access to closed captioning and/or a transcript of the video. YouTube (and possibly other online platforms) already contain links for closed captions and transcripts that students can access on their own.

However, instructors may need to add captions or provide a transcript for a recorded video that's saved in a local storage area. The easiest way to do this is to upload the video to YouTube and to share or embed it on D2L. (See this page for instructions on uploading videos to YouTube.) Otherwise, instructors can upload a document containing the transcript next to the video on D2L, or they can use video editing software to incorporate captions into a recorded video.

This page provides information about captions and transcripts with YouTube and videos stored on Google Drive.

Example of an embedded video with a link to the video transcript.

(The transcript is provided as a separate document).

Captions and Transcripts on YouTube

YouTube is one of the most popular online video platforms for sharing educational videos. Instructors can find videos that are already on YouTube, or they can upload and share their own videos. YouTube videos can be shared on D2L either through a link or by embedding them on a D2L page.

Information about embedding and linking YouTube and other online videos can be found here. Information about uploading videos to YouTube can be found here.

Closed Captions on a YouTube Video

Click the Closed Captioning icon (CC) to view captions on the screen.

Students and other viewers have to enable closed captioning on their own. Instructors cannot enable closed captioning to appear automatically on an embedded YouTube video.

Transcripts on a YouTube Video

Transcripts for a YouTube video will appear on the right when they are enabled.

To enable transcripts, click the three buttons on the bottom right, then select "Open Transcript."

Copy the text of the transcript that appears on the right of the video, and paste it on D2L or in a text document (such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word). Then, share the transcript document with students by uploading or linking the document next to the video on D2L.

(Click the three dots and click "Toggle Timestamps" to remove the time on the left.)

Alternatively, instructors could also inform students that the transcript of the video can be found using this process.

Captions and Transcripts with Recorded Google Meet Videos

During a live Google Meet session, participants can turn on closed captioning for themselves by clicking the closed captioning button on the control bar at the bottom. However, the closed captioning will not be saved when the Google Meet session is recorded.

To generate video captions and transcripts, you can upload the video to YouTube (using the instructions on this page). Then, use the process described above to copy the transcript. Or, inform students that transcripts can be found on the video's YouTube page.

You could also provide a written transcript next to the video on D2L (without uploading it to YouTube) by uploading the transcript as a Microsoft Word, PDF, or Google Document file.

Add Closed Captioning to a Recorded Google Meet Video

(And Other Videos in Your Google Drive Account)

You can also add closed captioning to a recorded video that's saved in your Google Drive account. This process works for videos recorded with Google Meet and other video software.

Begin by recording your video and saving it in Google Drive. Google Meet recordings save to Google Drive automatically (they save in a folder called "Meet Recordings"). For other video recording software, save the video to Google Drive, or move it manually.

Next, save your transcript in a document file, such as Word, Google Docs, or a simple Text file.

Go into your Google Drive account, right click on the video, and select "Manage Caption Tracks."

The video will open in a preview window, and there will be a link on the right to "Add New Caption Tracks."

Click "Add New Caption Tracks," and locate the document that contains the transcript. Click "Upload" when done. You can close the video preview window.

When you play the video, click the Closed Captioning icon to view captions from the transcript you uploaded.

For more information and support, contact Online Learning.

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