Submit a Captioning Services Request

Submit a Captioning Services Request

All audio and video content must be accessible to students at the time of dissemination, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state digital accessibility regulations. Federal and state laws require all video content to be captioned accurately rather than solely using auto-generated captions or transcripts. Instructors should submit audio and video files for captioning for use in their Canvas courses.

Commercial Captioning Services Procedure

Only audio and video recordings in Panopto can be submitted for closed captioning using the 3PlayMedia commercial captioning service. To submit an audio or video file for closed captioning, the instructor needs to complete the following steps:

1. Complete the Captioning Request Form

2. Locate the Video: In your Canvas course, click Panopto in the navigation menu. Hover over the recording you want to caption and click Settings.

3. Order Captions: In the pop-up window, select Captions on the left. Under Request Captions, choose Human Captioning (3Play Media: 2 Business Days) and click Order (a confirmation will appear).

4. Review: After 24-48 hours, check the video to verify the captions are accurate. Contact Canvas Support if you have any issues.

NOTE:  If you have external videos from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo that you do not own, you can download them to Panopto in your course and caption them under Fair Use. This is permitted under the U.S. Copyright Office’s ruling (83 FR 54010) when no accessible version is available at a reasonable price or within a suitable timeframe, thereby ensuring compliance with accessibility laws such as the ADA, IDEA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

• If you need assistance downloading videos from other platforms, please email the Instructional Accessibility Designer with the names of the recordings, their URLs (web addresses), and the course number and section where the recordings will be used.

• If you do NOT want to use our commercial caption service for audio and video files in your Canvas courses, the following options are available:

  • It is possible to obtain fully captioned content from the TWU Library and link it to Canvas courses.

  • Faculty Commons offers training for Graduate Assistants, student workers, instructors, and other resources to create closed captions.

  • Look for resources available in your college to caption videos and contact Faculty Commons (facultycommons@twu.edu) as needed for additional training. 

Support Options

For assistance:

1. Contact an Instructional Designer to learn more about making audio and video content accessible to all students in your Canvas courses.

2. Canvas Support will be available 24/7 by phone, live chat, or email through the Help menu within Canvas after you have logged in. For more information see How to Contact Canvas Support.

3. If you are unable to log in, please contact the Technology Service Desk at 940-898-3971 or servicedesk@twu.edu for assistance.