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Students Affected: 
Principles: Provide Meaningful Alternatives
What It Means
If you've ever turned on television closed captioning, you've seen words at the bottom or top of the screen that are synchronized with the spoken dialogue. Web video captioning works the same way—captions provide an equivalent to the words on the screen for users who can't hear sounds. Captions can be provided in addition to a 
transcript.
If You Do It Wrong: Students with hearing impairments cannot understand a video that uses sound to convey information.
| Example |
Can you identify the two types of apologies described in this video? Due to the nature of this exercise, the video does not include sound. (Links open in new windows.)
Watch the video. [RealOne]
(Video files require the free RealOne Player.) |
|
If You Do It Right: Students with hearing impairments can follow the dialogue by reading the captions on the screen. Other students, including those with learning disabilities, may also benefit from reading the captions, especially when words are unintelligible or unfamiliar jargon is used.
How It Works
Captioning requires you to synchronize a text version of the narration and sound effects with on-screen visuals. It can be a time-consuming process, but it is the best way to create accessible video. Most Web multimedia can be captioned using the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) or Microsoft Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI). Both are relatively easy-to-learn, HTML-like languages.
It is good practice to always include a transcript in addition to captions, as it will support students who cannot download the video.
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