Congratulations, Accessibility Warriors! We’ve reached our final challenge of the semester. You’ve battled image alt text, conquered links and navigation, and emerged victorious from the PDF Upside Down. Now it’s time to face our last boss battle: video captioning.
Video captioning ensures that all students, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, can access the content in your videos. But here’s the secret: captions benefit everyone in your class, making this accessibility win one of the most universally impactful changes you can make.
Why Captions Matter for All Learners
Captions aren’t just for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (though they’re essential for them!). Think of captions as your Universal Design for Learning (UDL) secret weapon—a change that improves learning for your entire class:
- Non-native English speakers process written text alongside audio more easily, improving comprehension and vocabulary acquisition.
- Students in noisy environments (coffee shops, home with roommates, busy libraries) can still follow along with course content.
- Learners with ADHD or auditory processing differences benefit from dual channels of information, helping them stay focused and retain content.
- Anyone watching without sound can access your videos during their commute, in public spaces, or when they need to keep the volume off.
- Better retention for all students when they can read and listen simultaneously, reinforcing key concepts through multiple pathways.
You’re not just checking a compliance box—you’re creating better learning experiences for every student in your course.
Captioning Videos in Canvas Studio
Canvas Studio makes captioning manageable with auto-generated captions—but remember, auto-captions are only your first draft. Here’s your battle plan:
Steps to caption your video:
- Upload your video to Canvas Studio (or record directly in Studio)
- Canvas automatically generates captions
- Click on your video, then click Edit
- Select Captions from the left menu
- Review and edit the auto-generated captions line by line
- Click Save when finished
Common caption errors to fix:
- Misheard discipline-specific vocabulary
- Missing punctuation (students need those pauses!)
- Line breaks in awkward places
- Missing speaker labels for multi-person videos
- Absent sound descriptions
Pro tip: Break captions at natural speech pauses and keep lines to 1-2 sentences max for readability.
Adding Speaker Labels
If your video includes multiple speakers (guest lecturers, panel discussions, student presentations), identify who’s talking:
[Dr. Martinez]: Welcome to today’s discussion on climate policy.
[Student]: Can you explain the carbon tax proposal?
[Dr. Martinez]: Great question! Let me break that down.
Speaker labels help students follow conversations and know who said what—especially important for online learners who can’t see the classroom context.
Adding Descriptive Text: Sounds and Visuals
Describe important sounds in [brackets] for students who can’t hear them:
[upbeat music playing]
[beaker bubbling]
[students laughing]
[door slams]
[applause]
Describe visual content that isn’t covered by your narration. Here are examples across different disciplines:
Art history class showing a painting: “On screen is Monet’s Water Lilies from 1919. The canvas shows a horizontal composition dominated by blues and greens. Lily pads float across the water’s surface in the lower half, while reflections of sky and clouds fill the upper portion.”
Chemistry demonstration: “I’m adding three drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the clear solution. [pause] Notice the solution immediately turns bright pink, indicating a basic pH. Now I’m slowly adding hydrochloric acid. Watch the color fade from pink to pale pink, and now it’s completely clear again.”
Math problem on the board: “I’ve written the equation 2x plus 5 equals 15 on the board. Below that, I’m showing step one: subtract 5 from both sides.”
Planning for the Future: Creating Accessible Videos from the Start
Here’s your most powerful strategy: build accessibility into your videos as you create them. When recording future content, narrate your actions and describe visual elements aloud.
Instead of silently demonstrating, verbalize everything:
- “I’m clicking the blue Submit button in the top right corner”
- “Notice this graph shows an upward trend from 2020 to 2023”
- “This diagram has three interconnected circles labeled A, B, and C”
- “I’m now opening the File menu and selecting Export”
Think like a radio announcer: If someone couldn’t see your screen, would they understand what’s happening? If not, add more verbal description.
This approach makes your videos:
- More accessible by default
- Easier to follow for all students
- Better for audio-only learners
- Ready for captions without extra work
Instead of retrofitting accessibility into existing videos, you’re creating inclusive content from the beginning—saving yourself time and improving the learning experience for everyone.
Let’s go Forth and Conquer our Final Foe!
You’ve traveled through the Accessibility Upside Down this semester, facing boss battles with PDFs, images, links, navigation, and now video captions. Each accessible element you’ve created opens doors for learners and strengthens your courses.
Your arsenal of accessibility moves:
- Caption videos in Canvas Studio and edit for accuracy
- Add speaker labels for multi-person conversations
- Include sound descriptions in [brackets]
- Describe visual content through clear narration
- Build accessibility into future videos from the start
Would you like to talk a little more about captioning videos for accessibility? Join us this Thursday, November 13 at 1:30 PM or Friday, November 14 at 9:00 AM for a short workshop demonstrating what accessible captions look like. Sign up on the CTLE Events Page.
Once this battle is behind us, let us celebrate our success with a visit to Scoops Ahoy!