Frequently Asked Questions

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Are there other ways to make media presentations accessible?

Before investing in adding captions to videos, see if the video producers have a captioned version of their material available. If they do, make sure the captions are readable, grammatically correct, and synchronized with the audio. Also see if similar, accessible video content is available by a different producer.

Some institutions may want to provide a written transcript of the audio content to the student. However, while this option technically makes the material accessible, it does not provide equal access since the words are not synchronized with the visual action, creating confusion for the viewer.

Providing an interpreter for a media presentation offers only marginal access, since audible content often is delivered faster than an interpreter can sign and multiple speakers can be difficult for the interpreter to follow. Additional challenges include low lighting in the room where the presentation is taking place and the possibility that the deaf/hard of hearing individual does not know sign language.

The best way to make video content accessible is to show a high quality captioned version ensuring that the captions are readable, grammatically correct, and synchronized with the audio.