How to Provide Captions and Transcripts

DRAFT - 2026-APR-21

Captions and Transcripts Meet a Wide Range of Access Needs 

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Providing text captions and transcripts with recordings and at events is essential to meet a variety of access needs related to perceptual and cognitive disabilities as well as technological limitations and environmental factors (sleeping child, noisy bus). Systems such as Zoom, EchoVideo, and Canvas have built-in features for converting speech-to-text that will work with common terms and prioritized accents. Be sure to check captions for accuracy in recorded content. 

Quick tips for making audio accessible

• Always use the microphone when speaking at live events. 
• Display captions in Zoom meetings. Project captions at live events using Zoom or Powerpoint.
• Record video content in Zoom or Canvas with auto-captioning turned on.
• Generate captions for recordings without captions by uploading the files to Canvas or EchoVideo.
• Use the captions editor in Canvas or EchoVideo to check and correct captions in recordings.

Tips for Making Video & Audio Content Accessible

Provide Captions at Live Online and In-Person Events

Always use the microphone at live events if one is provided (no matter how loud you think you can be). Tapping into the sound system helps with many audio access needs and improves the accuracy of auto-generated captions. 

When hosting a live class or event, provide live captions using Zoom, PowerPoint, or Google Slides. Even if everyone is in the room, Zoom can provide captions by opening a Zoom meeting and projecting the screen on the wall, and/or sharing the link with participants who can then watch the captions on their own devices. Powerpoint and Google Slides also offer captioning in presentation mode. When accuracy is essential, and terminology or accents may be misinterpreted by an algorithmic auto-captioner, it is possible to contract with a human captioner.  

Record Video with Autocaptioning  

When recording video capture automatic transcriptions using Zoom, EchoVideo or Canvas Studio. If you are most comfortable recording yourself in Zoom, or if you are holding a recorded event in Zoom, setting Zoom to save the recording in the cloud will save a transcription along with the video. l

Provide a full text transcription as a separate file, especially for audio-only recordings , this can help with a range of access needs. Transcripts are easier to skim and search than captions. Make sure to check the text to correct errors and add any necessary descriptions of visual content (e.g. “It hurts here.” [ said Bob, pointing to the top of his head.]) 

When recording video content, include descriptions of significant visual content. If showing something, or gesturing, add a quick description (as if on a podcast or radio), for example, if pointing to a map, replace “here” with “here, just north of Amherst on route 116.”

Adding Captions to Pre-Recorded Videos 

Check existing video recordings for captions by playing the video; if captions do not immediately appear, see if they can be activated with a setting or CC button in the controls. If there are no captions with the video, there are several options for generating captions and transcripts. The following are quick summaries of these options, for more details, contact EdTech or check YouTube for tutorials.  

• EchoVideo. Once you request a EchoVideo site for a course, go to settings and turn on “automatic transcription.” Now every video recorded or uploaded to that EchoVideo site will get an automatic transcription that students can follow and search when watching. Check the transcription for errors and use the editor to correct them. Note: this transcription can be downloaded as a .ttf file, which can be used to load captions into YouTube and other systems. 

• Canvas. Captioning is on by default for media that is recorded or uploaded through Canvas Studio. Check and edit captions for a video by going to the Studio > Media. Locate the media recording and select the Captions tab. On the Captions tab, select More (the three dots), and then select Edit.  

• Microsoft ClipChamp. If you have a video file uploaded to OneDrive or Sharepoint, double click on the file to activate EDIT, then set it to caption. 

• Microsoft Word (Online) - transcription only. Log in to the online version of Microsoft Word ( https://word.cloud.microsoft/). Open a blank Document. Under the Home tab, on the far right, there is a button called “Dictate.” Activate the Dictate dropdown menu and select “Transcribe.” Select “Upload audio” and choose the audio file you want transcribed. The transcription will be inserted into the new document.

Note about Accuracy

The accuracy of automatic, algorithmic speech recognition depends on the system, the quality of the audio, the terminology being used, and how closely the speaker's accent matches the prioritized midwestern (Ohio) accent used to train the models. Most tools mentioned above provide editors for checking and correcting captions and transcriptions. Before sharing a recording, run through the text to be sure that essential information is accurate (e.g. negatives have become positives: "do not" becomes "do") and that nothing is confusing or offensive (e.g. when "deaf" gets rendered as "death".) 

Image If you have questions, or need any assistance reviewing or making your course content accessible, we are here to help! Contact us at DigitalLearning [at] umass [dot] edu (DigitalLearning[at]umass[dot]edu).