Closed Captioning

Yesterday, I fell in love at first sight with Voicethread, but there were some issues with accessibility.  I clicked the closed captioning icon, and nothing happened. Voicethread and I were on the rocks, and I had to think about whether we had a future together or not.  Just like in a relationship, a good therapist (professor) can help you work through those issues.  Dr. Dennen described a hack she uses to include closed captioning in Voicethread presentations.  I thought I would share that hack and a few others for making Voicethread presentations accessible.  

Option 1

Youtube

Dr. Dennen uses Youtube to insert closed captioning in Voicethread presentations. Upload the Voicethread presentation into Youtube and you too can add your own subtitles/closed captioning.  Youtube lets you add the subtitles/closed captioning in three ways.  

• You can let Youtube do it automatically (which is sure to lead to a few embarrassingly awkward words or sentences popping up on the screen). I practiced with a regular video, and the subtitles were hilarious.  People speak at different rates and with different accents.  Youtube does not figure this out well. You can let Youtube do it automatically then go back and edit for accuracy.  
• OR, you can type in the subtitles without the automatic feature.  Youtube will help you sync the text and speech.  
• OR, you can upload a script of the speech in a text document and Youtube will help you sync the text and speech. I've embedded this Youtube video to get you going.  I use a lot of Derral's 'How to...' videos when I'm stuck, but you can find your favorite Youtube trainer and follow their instructions.  

Option 2

Professional cc Services

Companies like CaptionSync will do the closed captioning for you. The CaptionSync Smart Player is currently available at no extra cost to AST users, provided the videos themselves are hosted on platforms into which the player is integrated. It currently works with Kaltura, Brightcove, YouTube, Vimeo (with some caveats), and self-hosted MP4 video. There's a cost of course to the rest of us, but if you're like me, and you find transcribing tedious and don't mind spending a few dollars, it can be worth the price. I've highlighted CaptionSync here but do your research and find the product/company that best meets your needs and budget.

Option 3

University-based Services for Students with Disabilities

The National Association for the Deaf's website states:

As a recipient of federal financial assistance, a post-secondary institution has an obligation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to be accessible to students and other individuals with disabilities. As a part of this obligation, the U.S. Department of Education has determined that these institutions must provide necessary auxiliary aids and services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including qualified interpreters, transcribers, notetakers, and provision of closed captioning or other access for televised information. 34 C.F.R. § 104.44(d). This obligation applies to all of the activities of the college, including extracurricular activities, off-site internships, and activities open to the public, or to part-time, non-credit or non-matriculated students, and to employees.

Professors and students may check to see what closed captioning services are offered at their institutions. It's possible that the college or university may do the subtitles/closed captioning of your Voicethread presentation for you, but they may need adequate notice to get it done. A few day wait time not uncommon.

Where do we go from here?

I still haven't figured out how to make sure that verbal comments on the Voicethread presentations are always accessible. A reader suggested that a 'TEXT COMMENTS ONLY' parameter might be the patch until something better comes along. I'll take it! Our relationship issues not totally solved, but Voicethread and I are working it out! Thanks for reading and I'll be back with another web 2.0 tool soon.