How to Create Accessible Videos
Videos shared through Moodle or other online platforms need to be accessible to students who have difficulty hearing or seeing, have learning differences, or have another condition that may make it difficult for them to access standard video. In order to aid these students, all prerecorded videos that include spoken words or other meaningful audio should either contain accurate captions on the video or have an accurate transcript with the video. Captions display the spoken words and other important audio information while the video plays. A transcript provides the same information in a separate text format that students can read.
Many video tools can automatically generate captions or transcripts. Automatically generated text provides a useful starting point, but it should be reviewed and corrected before the video is shared with students. Pay particular attention to names, specialized terminology, punctuation, and other words that automatic transcription systems may not recognize correctly.
Pacific University provides several tools that can help you create captions or transcripts, including YouTube, Google Drive, and Google Vids. These tools each have slightly different capabilities, and which option you will choose depends primarily on where the video will be stored and how you plan to use it.
1. Create Captions or a Transcript in YouTube
YouTube is a good option when you plan to embed the video in Moodle or if you want to share the video.
Upload Your Video
- Go to YouTube Studio.
- Select Create, and then select Upload videos.
- Select the video file you want to upload.
- Complete the upload process.
YouTube will automatically generate captions for many uploaded videos. Caption processing may take some time after the video has been uploaded.
Review and Correct the Captions
- In YouTube Studio, select Subtitles from the left-hand menu.
- Select the video you want to review.
- Locate the automatically generated caption track.
- Select the option to edit the captions.
- Review the captions and correct any errors.
- Save or publish your changes.
The caption text can also serve as the basis for a transcript if you need to provide the video content in a separate text format.
For additional instructions, see Google’s guide to using automatic captions on YouTube:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554
2. Create Captions or a Transcript in Google Drive
Google Drive is a good option when you already have a video file and want to share that file directly with students.
Upload Your Video
- Open Google Drive.
- Select New, and then select File upload.
- Select the video file you want to upload.
Generate Captions
After the video has uploaded:
- Right-click the video file.
- Select Manage caption tracks.
- Select Generate automatic captions.
You can also open the video, select the three-dot menu, and choose Manage caption tracks to access the captioning options.
Depending on Pacific University’s Google Workspace settings, captions may be generated automatically for some uploaded videos.
Once captions have been generated, students can turn them on using the CC button in the Google Drive video player.
View the Transcript
Google Drive can also display a transcript for videos that have captions.
- Open the video in Google Drive.
- Select the Settings icon in the video player.
- Select Transcript.
The transcript appears next to the video and follows the video as it plays. Students can also select text in the transcript to move to that point in the video.
For additional information about working with video files in Google Drive, see:
https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2423694
3. Create Captions or a Transcript in Google Vids
Google Vids can be useful when you have an existing video file that you want to edit or prepare before using it somewhere else, such as in a Moodle activity or an H5P interactive video.
Add an Existing Video
- Open Google Vids.
- Upload a video from your computer or select a video stored in Google Drive.
- Add the uploaded video to your Vid.
Generate Captions
Google Vids can automatically generate captions for video that contains speech.
- Open the Vid.
- Select View > Closed captions > Auto-generated to display automatically generated captions.
- To review or edit the captions, select Tools > Closed captions.
- Review the captions and correct any errors.
Google Vids also provides options for adding styled captions directly to a video. This can be useful when creating a new version of a video that you plan to use in another tool or activity.
Generate a Transcript
Google Vids can also generate a transcript from an existing video clip.
- Add the video to Google Vids.
- Select the video clip.
- Open the transcript editing tool.
- Vids will generate a transcript of the spoken content.
- Review the transcript and correct any errors before using it as the accessible text version of the video.
For additional instructions on working with captions in Google Vids, see:
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/14953386
4. Always Review Automatic Captions and Transcripts
Regardless of which tool you use, do not assume that automatically generated captions or transcripts are accurate.
Before sharing a video or transcript with students, review the automatically generated text and correct errors. Pay particular attention to:
- Names of people and places
- Discipline-specific or technical terminology
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- Numbers and dates
- Words that sound similar
- Important non-speech audio that students need to understand the video
Whether you provide captions or a transcript, the goal is to provide the same meaningful information that a student listening to the video’s audio would receive.