The Captioning Project: Why Caption?

Accurate captions and transcripts provide a means of engagement for many members of your audience - not just those who rely on them as a disability-related accommodation.

Why caption?

Captions/transcripts can be provided for both live and recorded events. The information below will focus on the provision of these resources for recorded audio/visual materials.

Often thought of only as a disability-related accommodation, captions and transcripts provide an enhanced means for engagement for many.  Participants can gain from these resources by taking advantage of one or more of the following captioning benefits:

  • Increase focus
  • Retain information
  • Overcome poor audio
  • Overcome an unstable internet connection
  • Engage while situated in a sensitive or loud environment
  • Understand a speaker with a heavy accent or other articulation difficulties
  • The opportunity to slow down the audio to review difficult vocabulary and unfamiliar terms
  • Have a greater understanding of content when English is not the native language

Our colleagues at the University of Washington have created an excellent video highlighting two faculty members and the benefits of providing captions in their course. Also, the video provides basic information on creating captions and their broad benefits:

(Information on Audio Description at UVA.)

Using the services provided by our vendors through The Captioning Project is one step towards providing accurate captions. The next step is to integrate them with your video.

More information and research on the benefits of captions:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Academic Affairs