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Students Affected: 
Principles: Provide Meaningful Alternatives, Degrade Gracefully
What It Means
A transcript is a written account of spoken text, much like the text of a play or a written interview. A good transcript allows students to review an alternate version of the content or print it out for later review. It can also increase comprehension because students can review the content at their own pace.
If You Do It Wrong: Students with hearing impairments do not have access to portions of your class because they cannot access the content in an audio clip or a video segment with sound.
If You Do It Right: Students with hearing impairments or who have trouble playing the media file can follow a link to a transcript. Students can print the transcript for later review.
How It Works
- Whenever you provide a link to an audio or video file, also provide a link to a transcript.
- A transcript includes all of the dialogue in text format. If the dialogue is supplemented by visuals (for example, PowerPoint slides) the transcript should also include descriptions of those visuals.
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If you use pre-existing video, check with the video publisher or distributor to see if a transcript is available. If you create your own video, check with your university's disability services office. They may be able to help you find someone who can type the transcript. |
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- The transcript can be formatted as text or a simple Web page. You can enhance a transcript with photos of the presenter and/or snapshots of supplementary visuals (images, animations, PowerPoint slides, etc.) with appropriate
text equivalents. Whatever format you use, it should be accessible and well designed.
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