10 Day Accessibility Challenge

Accessibility Challenge | Day Ten | Video Captions

Video Captions

Captions are a text version of the spoken audio, plus a description of important sounds, that is synchronized with the video. Typically users can toggle captions on or off using a CC button on their media player. Captions must be available in order to ensure that video and audio content is accessible to people who have hearing impairment. In addition, they help the following people:

English-language learners, or anyone who is unfamiliar with the vocabulary used in the video
People who process information better if presented in multiple modes (sound and text)
People who have the sound turned off on their devices, or who are in noisy environments

Subtitles are similar to captions, but are used for translating spoken content into another language. If subtitles are available for a video, they’re typically provided in a list of languages, accessed via the CC button on the media player. Some media players erroneously use the term subtitles when referring to captions.

Video Captioning Tips and Resources

Here are a few points to remember:

All video content in our courses must have accurate captions
Automatic captioning is not accurate enough to meet ADA standards
Common media creation tools — Panopto, Screencast-O-Matic, and YouTube — allow us to edit auto-generated captions

Panopto is embedded within Canvas, so we recommend using it for your instructional videos. It automatically adds captions, but they do need to be edited for accuracy. Please visit these links to learn how to record videos in Panopto and edit your captions:

Video Captioning - Panopto
Panopto demo: Record a Video
Panopto demo: Edit a Video
Bonus resource: CCAC Creating Accessible Captions (a free, self-paced online course)

If you need support with video captioning, don't hesitate to reach out to us at the Skyline CTTL. We've got your back!

Bonus Tip: Transcripts

Transcripts are text versions of the video content. They are not only useful for students with disabilities, but also for those who have slow Internet connections or other technical issues. Also, transcripts can easily be searched or scanned quickly, so they can provide a more efficient means to access the video’s content. Transcripts should include both audio content and descriptions of important visual information.

While transcripts are a "nice to have" for all students, they may be required as an academic accommodation for some students with disabilities. If you can provide accessible transcripts for your videos (linked on the Canvas page underneath the video), you will allow all of your students to access the instructional content without needing to seek assistance from the Educational Access Center — and do a favor to those who may have slow Internet connections or simply prefer to read.

Submit the Challenge

For today's challenge we invite you to submit a Canvas page that has an accurately captioned video. Submit the URL of the Canvas page to the following submission portal: Accessibility Day Ten Challenge.

Skyline College | Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning | Distance Education

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse