Captioning videos is an accessibility must for individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Captions also benefit those who do not understand the speaker’s accent (we all have accents!), and those who do not have sound available while watching the video.
Providing a transcript – a textual version of the video – further increases accessibility of the content. People who are deaf-blind can access the content by using a refreshable (dynamic) Braille display, which converts text into Braille.
Like captions, providing transcripts also has auxiliary benefits:
- The text is then searchable by search engines.
- People can double-check a point without watching the video again.
- Some people prefer reading rather than watching a video; others prefer both.
- Content is still available when the video is not; for example, a Flash video can not be viewed on a iPad.
What other benefits are there to providing video transcripts? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I like the example video you had for your illustration. There is hardly a case where I will watch a video online that is more than 3-5 minutes. I can pour through a transcript much faster, to determine the value.
What do you think about tv news sites who usually provide a summary that is nearly a transcript, without specifically stating it?
I’ve captioned a few news videos to find that case several times. The complete story is covered in writing, but there is a video with the same content.
Join us please.
Use link on http://www.ccacaptioning.org
Let us know if you have any questions.
We can also share blog links.
Lauren/CCAC
[...] week I shared the benefits of providing a transcript in addition to captioning a video (an accessibility must!). But, short of transcribing each word [...]