User Experience

What You May Experience

What Students May Experience

This video purposefully has no sound.

Why this Matters

Captions and transcripts are essential for making video and audio content accessible to all students. For learners who are deaf or hard of hearing, captions are not optional: they are the only way to access spoken content. Without captions, these students are effectively excluded from any instructional material delivered through audio or video.

Captions also support a wide range of learners beyond those with hearing impairments. For students who are English language learners, captions make it easier to understand speech, especially when speakers talk quickly, have strong accents, or use unfamiliar terminology. Reading along while listening can reinforce comprehension and vocabulary development.

Students with attention-related challenges often find that captions help them stay focused and retain information more effectively. The dual input of audio and text can reduce cognitive load and help them stay engaged.

Captions are also helpful in everyday learning environments. Students studying in noisy places like cafes or shared spaces, or quiet ones like libraries, may not always be able to use audio. Captions allow them to follow along without missing important information.

High-quality captions do more than transcribe speech. They include all meaningful audio cues, including speaker identification, sound effects, and relevant background sounds, which are critical for full understanding. Transcripts offer similar benefits by allowing students to review spoken content later, search for specific terms, or take notes more efficiently.

Ultimately, captions and transcripts benefit everyone. They promote universal access, improve comprehension and retention, and offer flexibility in how students engage with course content.