Creating Accessible Audio and Video Resources

Research has shown that using audio and video in online courses is an effective way to present content to learners (Hartsell & Yuen, 2006). Access to audio and video resources is essential for students with disabilities to have equitable access to the same information as other students in your courses. 

Depending on the type of audio or video resource, closed captions (a text version of the audio that is shown synchronized in the media player), transcripts (a separate text version of the audio), or audio descriptions of visual information (an additional audio stream that describes context essential for comprehension of the visual content) need to be available:

• Videos with audio require closed captions, or text displaying the audio content that is synchronized with the video. Closed captions can be manually created for your video or auto-generated using speech recognition software. The end result needs to accurately reflect the content heard in the video. See the Closed Captions section of this document for steps you can take to caption your videos.

• Audio content such as a podcast or audio-only lecture requires you to provide a text transcript of the spoken content. Your text transcript should also be an accessible document you create using Word, Google Docs or another format. See the Transcripts section of this document for more information on how to create a text transcript.

• If your video does not have audio, you need to provide an audio description. See the section on Audio Descriptions in this document.

*NOTE: Audio descriptions are only required if the key visual elements that you want students to comprehend from the narrative are not included in the video. Audio descriptions help any low vision students understand all the content included in the video. 

Instructors can select closed captioned videos from a (1) library database, (2) YouTube, or (3) create their own video with closed captions to use in courses. 

Steps for Selecting Captioned Videos

1. 1. Contact your Subject Librarian to help you determine if there are any audio or videos available in one of the 47 audio and video databases TWU Libraries has available.

   2. Search YouTube for videos that already have captions by using filters.

• You should preview videos before including one in your course, since there is no guarantee that the captions are 100% accurate or in English.

• The caption filter will pull videos where the video owners have uploaded captions with their videos.

• After searching for the specific content desired, click on filters and select “subtitles/CC”.

1. 3. If you are unable to locate a captioned video with content that meets your requirements, consider creating your captioned videos.

Steps to Add Your Own Closed Captions to Videos

1. Using Panopto or YouTube to create auto-generated captions for videos (MP4 files).

2. Use the auto-generated speech recognition features in Panopto to import and edit automatic captions to your video

• How to Add and Edit Auto Captions in Panopto

3. Use the auto-generated speech recognition features in YouTube to import and edit automatic captions to your video

• How to Edit Auto-Generated Captions on YouTube

NOTE: Panopto or YouTube record lectures enable your students to stream the content which helps with slow internet connections.

A transcript provides your learners with a text version of your audio or video content. Transcripts make the content presented easy for students to review, annotate, and search. You can also use a transcript to create captions for your videos. 

Create a transcript of your video's audio into text.

1. 1. 1. Manual transcriptions are created using a script of the text that is said in the video. This can be done using software or programs for manual transcription creation such as:

• Word processors like Word or Google Docs

• Amara

1. 1. 2. Automatic speech recognition technology can be used to create a transcript. Software for machine-aided transcriptions include:

• YouTube

• Panopto

• Google Docs Voice Typing

​Note: If you use any of the above software except YouTube to transcribe pre-recorded audio, directions are available on how to route your computer’s audio output back into the computer for better transcription quality for both Mac and Windows.

Audio descriptions provide learners with additional information about what is visible in a video. For example, if an object is shown in a video that is not referred to verbally, an audio description would allow learners who cannot see the object to understand the importance of the information being conveyed. Audio descriptions can be expensive and time-consuming to produce. 

1. Verbally describe all visually displayed information in your video or audio recordings. For example, in a recorded lecture – rather than saying “I’ve drawn lines on the board,” you can say “I am drawing two parallel lines about three inches apart from one another” which describes the information verbally and there is no additional need for audio descriptions.

2. Identify when the speaker changes. For low vision students it can be helpful to have one person speak at a time and identify each speaker and noting speaker changes helps the students watching to maintain focus and understanding.

3. Verbally explain any participation. For example, if you ask the students to raise their hands in response to a question, be sure to relay the findings to the group by stating something like "About a third of you raised your hands in the affirmative."

• Amara. (n.d.). Caption, subtitle and TRANSLATE VIDEO. Retrieved from https://amara.org/en/ 

• Google Help Center. (2020). Type with your voice - docs editors help. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en 

• Hartsell, T. & Yuen, S.C.Y. (2006). Video Streaming in Online Learning. AACE Journal, 14(1), 31-43. Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved April 9, 2020 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/6152/

• Hoffman, C. (2019, January 26). How to record the sound coming from your pc (even without stereo mix). Retrieved from https://www.howtogeek.com/217348/how-to-record-the-sound-coming-from-your-pc-even-without-stereo-mix/ 

• Panopto. (2020). How to add ASR (Automatic speech recognition) captions into a video. Retrieved from https://support.panopto.com/s/article/ASR-Generated-Captions 

• StackExchange. (2016, October 01). OS x: Route audio output to audio input. Retrieved from https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/221980/os-x-route-audio-output-to-audio-input 

• Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM). (n.d.). Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. Retrieved from https://webaim.org/techniques/captions/ 

• Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM). (n.d.) Listen to Audio Descriptions in MP3 Format (152KB). Retrieved from https://webaim.org/techniques/captions/media/audiodesc.mp3 

• YouTube. (2020). Use automatic captioning - YouTube help. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554?hl=en