Why Are Captions Important?
In the words of Virginia Tech’s Choosing accessible learning materials campaign, captions are important for
- Watching video in sound sensitive environments
- Supporting additional comprehension
- Accessibility for deaf, hard of hearing, and multilingual audience members
- Improving search engine hits
Best Practices for Sharing Video Content
- Always remember to turn on the closed captioning when playing video content. If captioning is available for a video, you should see the “CC” icon at the bottom of the video window.
- Before playing the video, provide a short description or a question for the viewers to consider while watching
- Provide links to the videos for participants who may want to review it again
- Upload transcripts of videos next to closed captioned videos in online courses.
What If Captioning Isn’t Available?
- If the video content belongs to the Adult Numeracy Center, alert the project lead as soon as possible.
- If the video comes from another source, auto-captioning may be available by adjusting the accessibility settings of your device or the browser you’re using to play the video.