How To: Caption Videos

Videos and audio with a text alternative such as captions, subtitles, or transcripts benefit users who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, and have learning disabilities. But any individual can benefit from accessible video and audio content:

• Non-native English speakers or individuals learning English.
• Individuals in sound-sensitive areas such as at libraries, at home with a sleeping baby or spouse, using public transportation, etc…

Captions, subtitles, and transcripts also provide:

• Better user experience and content engagement.
• Assistance to students for studying in note-taking, test preparation, and material comprehension.
• Improved ability to locate information within the video or audio file through search engines.
• Clarity when content has heavy accents, characters who mumble or whisper, over-powering music tracks and background noise.

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Differences

NOTE:

• Closed Captions can be turned on or off within the player (most common) and edited by the author.
• Open Captions are imprinted on the video and can not be disabled, placed into a transcript, or edited.

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Course Content

• All embedded or linked video and audio content should have captioning available when located and added from the Internet.
  • Look for a Closed Caption symbol within the video service's player, select the default or English and review what is spoken against the captions provided for accuracy.
    
• To create original (self-produced and recorded) content it is best to first write and save a script within Microsoft Office Word and then record in a quiet distraction-free environment.
  • While some video hosting services offer auto-generated captions, they may not be accurate. You have a couple of options:
    • Upload all of your self-recorded video and audio content into "My Media" within Canvas. Uploaded media files have automatic transcription added after processing the upload. After the processing and transcription are complete, you can edit the automatic captions for accuracy.
    • A captioning request can be sent to elearning@fsw.edu to utilize 3PlayMedia's professional transcription services which FSW licenses. Please include the public or shareable video URL of the video for transcription.
  • The script written for the video recording can serve as the Transcript for the content.
• For publisher content, check the accessibility of materials and provide this information to students or contact the publisher directly.
• The Canvas Support Document on Videos describes how to add caption files to videos directly uploaded or captured within the platform.
  • Note: Video and audio files directly uploaded to the Canvas course files are not automatically captioned and require manual caption creation. These files also count against the overall course storage limit. Consider instead, uploading your content to "My Media."

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Captioning Tools

Although writing and saving a script for course video and audio content within Microsoft Office Word before recording is preferred, it can also be very tedious. Below are some tools to assist with authoring the text alternative to course content.

Google Docs

FSW provides students, faculty, and staff with a free Google Docs account which contains a speech-to-text tool called "Voice typing...". To use this feature it is best to use the Google Chrome browser, the computer must have a microphone (built-in or plugged-in), and the browser needs permission granted to access the microphone. For further information on voice commands and setup please consult the "Type with your voice" help document. Once the microphone is working follow the steps below:

1. Log into the FSW Portal
2. Under the box "Apps for Employees" or "Apps for Students" select "Google Docs"
3. Start a new blank document by selecting the "Blank" page with a blue plus symbol on it
   
4. Within the new "Untitled document" select the "Tools" menu option
5. Select the "Voice typing..." option from the menu or use the keyboard shortcut
   
6. A floating window with a microphone icon will appear and can be dragged to any area within the document window.
   
7. Select the microphone icon, a browser alert will ask for permission to use the computer's microphone, select "Allow"
   
8. Begin speaking toward or into the microphone and the speech will be typed into the document. The quality of transcription will depend on the environment.
9. As the document is edited it will automatically be saved
10. Select the text "Untitled document" to give the document a meaningful file name.

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Google Slides

FSW provides students, faculty, and staff with a free Google Slides account which contains a speech-to-text tool called "Voice type speaker notes...". To use this feature it is best to use the Google Chrome browser, the computer must have a microphone (built-in or plugged-in), and the browser needs permission granted to access the microphone. For further information on voice commands and setup please consult the "Type with your voice" help document. Once the microphone is working follow the steps below:

1. Log into the FSW Portal
2. Under the box "Apps for Employees" or "Apps for Students" select "Google Docs"
3. Select the three horizontal line icon, for the Main Menu, next to the Google Docs logo to change the app to "Slides"
   
4. Start a new blank presentation by selecting the "Blank" slide with a yellow plus symbol on it
   
5. Within the new "Untitled presentation" select the "Tools" menu option
6. Select the "Voice type speaker notes..." option from the menu or use the keyboard shortcut
   
7. A floating window with a microphone icon will appear and can be dragged to any area within the presentation window.
   
8. Select the microphone icon, a browser alert will ask for permission to use the computer's microphone, select "Allow"
   
9. Begin speaking toward or into the microphone and the speech will be typed within the speaker notes section below the current slide. Quality of transcription will depend on the environment.
10. After each slide, select the red microphone within a red circle icon to pause the typing.
11. Advance to the next slide and select the microphone icon again to continue speaker notes.
12. As the presentation is edited it will automatically be saved
13. Select the text "Untitled presentation" to give the presentation a meaningful file name.

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Web Captioner

Web Captioner is a free web application used within the Google Chrome Browser. Simply visit their website, select "Start Captioning," allow microphone access, and start speaking. You are able to download a transcript in Word or plain text format. No account is needed to begin using this service.

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Locating Captioned Content

Numerous online video providers have a mechanism to automatically generate captions (Kaltura, YouTube, and more...) and allow for content hosted on their site to be embedded within courses. Because most captions are auto-generated they may be inaccurate, always check the captions against what is spoken. Below are only two examples that provide captioned content easily accessible to embed within the Canvas platform.

• YouTube makes locating openly licensed Closed Captioned content easy through search filters. The videos are primarily auto-captioned, but YouTube offers an easy subtitle editor for users to correct their captions.
  
  1. Search for the topic you would like within your course
  2. Above the "results list," select the "Filter" icon
  3. Select "Subtitles/CC"
     • The "Filters" screen will retract and the results list will update, to further drill down your results continue to select the "Filter" option.
• The FSW Libraries offer streaming video databases where video content is captioned. A librarian can help you choose which database to use for your courses. To access streaming video resources such as feature films, documentaries, and other academic clips follow the steps below:

1. Visit the FSW Libraries Homepage
2. Locate the "Databases" link in the "Quick Links" section
3. Select the filter "All Database Types" and then select "Streaming Videos."
4. Once you select a database name you will be prompted to log in with your FSW Portal User name and Password.

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