Closed Captioning

Closed Captioning displays the audio content from a video as text on the screen, providing users with a hearing accommodation the same benefit from the video.  Closed Captioning also helps all users who would like to review a video but don't necessarily have the ability to use the sound or using the captions for the proper spelling of names or items brought up in the video.  If you are creating or purchasing a video there are a couple of things you will need to keep in mind as it relates to Closed Captioning (CC).  You will need to know when you have to have something CC'ed and how to get a video CC'ed when necessary.

You can use our Accessibility Tool to help you or work through this Closed Captioning Flow Chart

When creating or purchasing a video, your first consideration is "Does this need to be captioned"?

Yes, you must have a closed captioned video when:

• The video is being re-used with an unknown audience.  Example would be purchasing a DVD to show in class that you intend to use every Fall semester.  Because you will be re-using this video each year and you don't know who your future students are, you will need to have a closed captioned video.  A marketing video would be another example, the video will be watched multiple times by unknown users.
• You have a student, staff member, committee member, or user that has a hearing accommodation.  This overrides all considerations and all videos that are intended to be watched by someone with a hearing accommodation must be captioned.

No, you don't need to closed caption a video when:

• The video is intended for single-use, such as an announcement in a Blackboard course or a monthly update for committee members.
• You know your audience and no one requires hearing accommodation.  If the video has a specific audience and no one has a hearing accommodation, you don't need captioning.

Once you've determined your video needs captioning:

If you're purchasing a video or using one from online, check if the video is already captioned.

• If the video is already captioned you're done
• If it's not then you can request the video creator to caption the video or allow Northwood Tech to caption it.

If you've created a video you will need to caption the video yourself.

• You can use Camtasia to create captions for your video.  Visit their captions support page for more information: Captions in Camtasia
• The Library is also available to assist with captioning.  You can submit a Help Desk ticket for captioning assistance.  Please have your video uploaded to Knowmia before submitting the ticket.

If you need assistance with using Camtasia or TechSmith Knowmia to create your own captions, please stop down to your local Learning Technology Center.