Accessible Videos, Captions, and Transcripts

Always include links to videos according to the instructions in this Module. Some screen readers will not draw attention to an embedded video. Include instructions for how to toggle the captions in the videos and download the transcript. 

• Captions have special code that tells the video software at what time point to play the caption in sync with the speaker. Do not edit theses and make sure the spacing is correct if editing captions. Captions are produced in a specific format and must be saved in that exact format. On a PC, you can save file in Wordpad (not Microsoft Word) according to their original file by typing in the extension at the end of the file name when you save, e.g., .srt
• Transcripts do not have time codes and instead read like a typical text document. Save these as a .txt file (not a Word file). If multiple speakers are on the video, we recommend adding their names before their sections. Note that while YouTube accepts .txt files and converts them to captions, not all services do. Some will require reuploading in the original format.

All videos need accurate captions. Captions are used commonly these days by people for reasons ranging from disabilities and learning challenges to speaking English as a second language (or third, or fourth, etc.)

Some students read the transcript or listen to the lecture instead of watching the video. Therefore, as mentioned above, always describe images you use in your videos. Avoid saying, “I won’t read this aloud, you can just read it yourself.”

For your own videos, you can auto-generate captions for your videos in almost all platforms, but you will need to download the transcript or captions and correct it for inaccuracies while listening to the original video. They are especially inaccurate with heavily accented English. Use the Find and Replace function to remove the following: um. um uh. uh  This practice will help with readability. You can also do the same with terms the software consistently gets wrong, like key terms in the field. 

Captions can be time consuming, but they are very much worth it. In many countries, accurate captions are also legally mandated.