Accessible Audio and Video Content
Policy
Our office is committed to supporting all faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences with creating captions for instructional videos that currently lack this essential accessibility feature. While we provide this captioning assistance service, it is important to note that instructors maintain full responsibility for editing and reviewing all generated captions to ensure accuracy and quality before using them in their courses. To manage resources effectively, our captioning support is limited to videos required during the first two weeks of the semester only. For any additional captioning needs beyond this initial period, individual departments are responsible for arranging their own video captioning services through university-approved vendors, which can be found on this link.
Audio Accessibility
Audio and Video transcript are full text versions of all content in the media including speech and other important audio and visual information.
Accessible Transcripts
For a transcript to be accessible, it must:
- Identify all the speakers in the media
- Indication of who is speaking and when speakers change
- Have precise spelling and punctuation
- Describe when important contextual events occur
- Example: a description of a crowd clapping would look like "[crowd applauds]".
- Example: a description of a crowd clapping would look like "[crowd applauds]".
What media requires transcripts?
The only media that require transcripts are:
- Audio-only content (like podcasts)
- Videos with important information that isn't spoken AND an audio description is unavailable
Transcripts aren't necessary for videos where all information is conveyed by spoken language, though we encourage providing them if you'd like to.
However, all videos require captions to meet Ohio State's accessibility policy.
Method 1: Accordions
Add an accordion with the transcript text below the media.
Method 2: Embed the Transcript to Page
Attach a text file below the audio file.
- We recommend using file formats such as .txt, .docx, or .rtf for your transcript.
- .txt files have an advantage over other formats because it can open inside a user's browser.
If you are interested in learning how to add captions using tools made available by the university use the accordion menus below.
Video Accessibility
Caption Resources for Accessible Media
Making your media accessible is an essential part of inclusive education. These resources will help you create proper captions for your content:
- YouTube Captioning Guide - A step-by-step guide from Ohio State University on how to create and edit captions for YouTube videos, including best practices for educational content.
- Section 508 Captioning Guidelines - Federal guidelines for creating effective captions and transcripts, including caption timing, accuracy standards, and best practices to ensure your media meets accessibility requirements.