Include both accurate captions and audio descriptions in videos and transcripts in audio-only recordings.
Introduction
Video and audio content, such videos, narrated slideshows, and podcasts, are increasingly being used to enrich and deliver online experiences. To meet University policy requirements, video and audio content must include text-based alternatives so all users can access the information.
Video captions and audio transcripts provide access to a variety of users, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, are learning a new language or whose primary language differs from the audio, have learning difficulties or auditory processing differences, and more. Transcripts are also text-searchable, making them easier to navigate and synthesize for some people.
Audio descriptions provide access to those who are blind or have low vision, are learning another language or whose primary language differs from the audio content, have learning disabilities, and more.
Best Practices
Review, edit, or create captions for videos
Captions are text blocks in a video that display all audio information, including spoken words, sounds, and music. Captions are:
- Time coded so that lines of legible text appear in conjunction with the audio for a comprehensible amount of time.
- Either “closed” (able to be turned on or off by the user) or “open” (on all the time)
- Displayed in the same language as the audio
Subtitles are similar to captions, but they display only spoken content, usually in a language other than the language of the audio, and they can be turned on or off by the user.
Review your videos
Do they include captions that adequately match what the speakers are saying? When speakers change in the audio, is this noted within the captions? If not, replace the videos or include adequate captions.
| Type of video | Captioning options |
|---|---|
| Videos you share |
|
| Videos uploaded to Canvas | There are no simple workflows to caption videos uploaded directly to Canvas. Consider uploading the video to Kaltura in Canvas instead by following steps on the pages below: |
| Videos you own | Edit auto-generated captions in YouTube, Kaltura, and VoiceThread. |
Review or integrate audio descriptions
- Audio descriptions use the audio track to describe what is happening within a video. With some planning, they are relatively easy to include while recording a new video. They can be added to existing videos by recording a narrator's voice in the natural pauses and silences, but this is a newer and expensive method.
- Review your videos. Does the audio adequately explain what is happening on screen? If not, replace the videos or add audio descriptions.
| Type of video | Audio description options |
|---|---|
| Videos you share | Replace the videos with others that have integrated audio descriptions. Use Kaltura's workflow to add audio descriptions. It costs $9 per minute and will be billed to your department. |
| Videos you own | Use Kaltura's edit function to correct mistakes in the autogenerated captions. |
Audio description examples
Include transcripts
Transcripts are plain-text versions of the speech or audio in a video or audio recording. Unlike captions, transcripts are not time-coded; they are static documents.
If you are sharing an audio recording, include a transcript. Each line of text should identify who said what. Don't share audio without a transcript. This violates University policy.
Choose accessible playback tools
Choose a playback tool that is both mouse- and keyboard-navigable, and that allows the user to adjust the quality and speed of playback.
Kaltura and YouTube are good choices for hosting video.
Google Drive and Kaltura are good choices for hosting audio clips.