Blog

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• Captioning

Captioning and Transcription for Higher Education

Noah Pearson

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May 21, 2025

Strategizing Accessibility in Higher Education [Webinar]

There are many benefits to offering captions for online video in higher education institutions. Closed captioning in higher education makes videos more accessible to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. By prioritizing video accessibility, colleges and universities can ensure that more students have equal access to educational content and media.

Importantly, providing accessible video content is not just a best practice—it is a legal obligation. Under various legislation, colleges and universities are required to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.

While captions are primarily intended to make videos accessible to people with disabilities, they can also benefit all students. One study revealed that 80% of people who use captions are not deaf or hard of hearing – they find that captions improve their engagement, focus, and comprehension.

Another study by the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) explored the impact of captions and transcripts on student learning. The results shed light on the value of captions in the classroom and showed that accessible video could have a positive impact on students’ performance.

What’s Important for Captioning in Higher Education?

Caption Accuracy

Inaccurate captions are frustrating for anyone, but for students, it’s particularly detrimental to their learning and performance. Many students rely on captions to assist them in their studies, especially those who are:

• D/deaf or hard of hearing
• English language learners or non-native English speakers
• Individuals with learning disabilities

Accurate captions are a necessity for higher education institutions because students must have access to accurate learning materials, including educational videos.

Note that in 2019, the court acknowledged that caption accuracy is critical to accessibility as seen in its decision for the NAD v. Harvard and NAD v. MIT accessibility suits.

Timeliness

Captions must be made available simultaneously with the video content to ensure that all students have equal access to instructional materials. This is especially critical in educational environments where videos are used as part of core instruction, assignments, or assessments.

When captions are delayed, students who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who rely on captions for comprehension, may fall behind or miss essential information. This creates a situation of unequal access, which can not only disadvantage the student academically but may also place the institution at risk of noncompliance with federal accessibility laws.

Billing Flexibility

Universities often have many different departments and may even have additional campuses aside from the main campus. Higher education institutions require flexible billing options to bill each department or campus separately and to provide specific administrators access to billing information. A smooth billing process helps to make the entire captioning process painless, efficient, and sustainable.

Legal Compliance and Accessibility Standards

Higher education institutions are legally obligated to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal access to academic content and services. This includes captioning and transcription for video and audio materials, which are considered essential components of accessible communication.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA is a foundational civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. Two key sections apply to colleges and universities:

• Title II applies to public institutions (such as state colleges and universities), requiring them to provide equal access to all programs, services, and activities. This includes ensuring that digital content is accessible through accurate captioning and transcription.
• Title III applies to private institutions, mandating that they remove barriers to access and provide auxiliary aids and services, including captioning, to ensure effective communication with students with disabilities.

Click here for information on the rapidly approaching ADA compliance deadlines.

The Rehabilitation Act

Two key provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are especially relevant to higher education institutions:

• Section 504: Requires institutions receiving federal funding to provide equal access to students with disabilities through academic adjustments and auxiliary aids, such as captions and transcripts.
• Section 508: Mandates that electronic and information technology used by federally funded institutions be accessible, following standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Common Challenges in Captioning for Higher Education

Restricted Budgets

State schools have set funding for academic programs and departments, whether it be from private donations or state and federal funding. This requires state schools to operate within a limited budget, which is one of their most significant barriers to captioning. They will look for a captioning solution that allows them to stay within budget while still maintaining a 99% accuracy rate of their content.

Workflow and Compatibility

While the process for captioning in higher education varies from college to college, there are often several steps a professor must go through to get a video captioned on time. Sending a captioning request may take a lot of back and forth. Having a solution that helps a college streamline the captioning process will ensure that videos are captioned when students need them.

There are many options for lecture capture systems and video platforms, and schools will use whichever platform fits their unique needs. To ensure their transcription and captioning processes are seamless and efficient, schools will look for captions that are compatible with their lecture capture systems and video platforms.

Complex Content

Higher education institutions offer multiple areas of study and hundreds of degrees and certificates with different focuses. For reference, the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers over 600 undergraduate majors and certificates. With large amounts of high-level content in varying subjects, it’s a challenge for schools to ensure their content is transcribed accurately.

How Captions & Transcripts Impact Students’ Performance

What Vendor Features Are Important for Higher Education?

Guaranteed Accuracy

3Play Media’s closed captions and transcripts comply with federal accessibility laws. Our captions provide a measured accuracy rate of 99.6%, and we guarantee at least 99% accuracy, even in cases of poor audio quality, multiple speakers, difficult content, and accents.

Competitive Pricing

Our advanced technology is what enables our competitive prices, but our quality assurance measures ensure that our caption quality is top-notch. We also offer flexible billing, allowing customers to have project-level billing for higher education organizations that require that multiple departments and campuses are billed separately or have access to separate billing information.

Skilled Transcript Editors

3Play Media always provides accurate transcripts for a broad range of complex content. We have a staff of thousands of skilled transcript editors who can edit content from topics in which they are knowledgeable. We also allow customers to upload wordlists with correct spellings, punctuation, and capitalization for difficult words and subject-specific terms.

Video Platform Integrations

Integrations with lecture capture systems and online video management platforms allow for a more streamlined captioning process. 3Play offers integrations with all major video players, including Kaltura, Panopto, Mediasite, Echo360, and YouTube. Our integrations will automatically post your captions back to your video, giving you more time to focus on other projects.

User-friendly Account System

Our Account System is easy for customers to use, and you can rest assured that captioning won’t be a complicated endeavor. Each account can support multiple users, departments, and permissions. Account admins can control user access to any of the core account functions like invoices & billing, uploading, editing, publishing control, and user management. On top of that, we have a fabulous support team to help you along the way.

Higher Education Institutions that Use 3Play Media

This blog post is written for educational and general information purposes only, and does not constitute specific legal advice. This blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

This blog was originally published on April 27, 2020 by Jaclyn Leduc and has since been updated by Abby Alepa and Noah Pearson for accuracy, clarity, and freshness.

About the author

Noah Pearson

As a marketing specialist with 3Play Media, Noah specializes in accessibility and localization content creation, leveraging his technology expertise to help organizations expand their global reach and create a more inclusive digital experience.

The post Captioning and Transcription for Higher Education appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

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• Captioning

Everything to Know About the Distance Education Captioning and Transcription (DECT) Grant

3Play Media

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December 18, 2023

Need A DECT Vendor? Get Started with 3Play Media

In our 2023 State of Captioning Report, we learned that budget and lack of resources remain major barriers to providing captioning. One way to overcome these accessibility barriers is through grant funds, such as the Distance Education Captioning and Transcription (DECT) grant. 

Since 2008, the DECT grant has enabled California Community College systems to expand their video accessibility efforts. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, online delivery of courses has increased. To ensure the accessibility of distance learning, features like captioning and audio description are often required for compliance with state and federal laws.

3Play Media is thrilled to be an approved vendor for the DECT grant! Read on to discover what the DECT grant is, how you can apply using 3Play Media, and why California Community Colleges love using 3Play for DECT-funded services.

What Is the DECT Grant?

The Distance Education Captioning and Transcription (DECT) grant provides California Community College systems (CCCs) funding for video accessibility needs to “enhance access and inspire learning for students utilizing distance education.” As of October 1, 2022, the requirement that a student with an Academic Accommodation Plan (AAP) be enrolled in the course is no longer required. 

3Play Media is a pre-approved vendor for the DECT grant and the leading choice for closed captioning, real-time captioning, and audio description for CCCs.

CCCs cover millions of students attending 116 colleges, making the DECT grant an enormous feat in creating more accessible educational content. This program enables member colleges to utilize 3Play’s captioning, transcription, live captioning, and audio description solutions for eligible distance learning materials, and have it paid for directly by grant funds.

How to Apply for a DECT Grant Using 3Play Media

Below are the steps to apply for a DECT Grant using 3Play Media:

Receive Pre-Approval

Using this method, applicants submit a vendor quote alongside the project, and DECT will pay 3Play Media directly:

Step One

Ensure you have filled out the DECT agreement and are an approved school.

Step Two

Generate a quote for your project. Work with your 3Play Media rep to receive a quote. Get started and create an account here.

Step Three

Fill out the DECT application. Select 3Play Media under Payment Method A and attach your quote. 

Step Four

Submit your application via email/fax. DECT will notify 3Play Media once the request has been approved.

 Get started with the DECT grant and 3Play Media:  

Why California Community Colleges Love 3Play

3Play Media has been a DECT partner since 2018 and is the leading choice for CCCs’ captioning, transcription, and audio description needs. Here’s some of the top reasons CCCs love using 3Play for their inclusive learning needs:

99% Accuracy Guaranteed

We employ thousands of transcriptionists who can easily handle difficult STEM and educational content. Because of our brainy transcript editors and innovative process, we can guarantee captions and transcripts that are 99%+ accurate.

Ease of Use

Our intuitive in-app user experience makes ordering, downloading, and organizing your files easy. Automated workflows, integrations, and innovative 3Play tools simplify your workflow while increasing student engagement. From interactive transcripts to flexible APIs, our product features enable custom experiences and push-button simplicity so that you can truly “set it and forget it.”

Support

Our 5-star support team is here for you. Questions, unexpected challenges, quick changes–reach out to us anytime, and we’ll resolve it together. We provide you with a dedicated account manager, technical video accessibility support with real humans, and thorough support documentation.

Flexible & Fast Turnarounds

We have multiple turnaround options backed by service level agreements (SLA) to help ensure you don’t miss critical deadlines for your students. These SLAs were designed to hold ourselves accountable for deadline compliance. In the unfortunate case that we miss your selected deadline (even by one second), you will be charged for the service level achieved, and we will automatically apply the discount to your invoice.

Learn more about Distance Education Captioning and Transcription grant (DECT) and its requirements on the DECT website.

This blog was originally published Elisa Lewis on July 17, 2018, as “3Play Media Is an Approved Vendor for the DECT Grant for Participating CCC Schools” and has since been updated for comprehensiveness, clarity, and accuracy.

About the author

3Play Media

The post Everything to Know About the Distance Education Captioning and Transcription (DECT) Grant appeared first on 3Play Media.

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• Legislation & Compliance

Understanding WCAG Guidelines

3Play Media

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September 22, 2023

WCAG 2.0 & Beyond: Modernizing Web Accessibility [Free eBook]

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) remain among the most comprehensive and relevant accessibility standards since their inception over two decades ago. These guidelines offer a structured approach to creating digital content that is both accessible to all web users and compliant with worldwide legal requirements.

You may have recently heard about WCAG during an audit of your organization’s website. Or you may be well-acquainted with WCAG 2.0, but need further information about newer versions. Regardless of your WCAG knowledge, it’s important to have all of the information you need in your pursuit of web accessibility. In this blog, we aim to provide just that: a high-level overview of WCAG guidelines.

Understanding WCAG guidelines will not only allow you and your organization comply with many worldwide web accessibility laws, but will also help you gain a nuanced perspective of how all people–including those with disabilities–use the web. Read on to discover what WCAG is, why its guidelines are important, where it is referenced in the law, and how to learn more using 3Play’s free WCAG resources.

What is WCAG?

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, is a set of guidelines for making digital content accessible for all users, including those with disabilities. WCAG was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) nearly 30 years ago. 

WCAG has been continuously developed and updated, and has a few different versions. The two most relevant WCAG standards are WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1. These versions and guidelines are most frequently referenced in laws and legal settlements across the world as the baseline for web accessibility.

In October 2023, W3C published WCAG 2.2. This version is now W3C’s recommendation and is expected to be referenced in future legal cases and legislation.

Overview of WCAG Versions & History

WCAG 1.0

WCAG 1.0 was released in 1999 and uses a set of guidelines. Each guideline has a checkpoint, which are priority 1, 2, or 3.

WCAG 2.0

WCAG 2.0 was released in 2008 and uses four design principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Each principle has a guideline, and each guideline has success criteria, which are further categorized into levels A, AA, or AAA. Discover how WCAG 2.0 and its subsequent updates have modernized web accessibility.

WCAG 2.1

WCAG 2.1 was released in 2018 and is backwards compatible with WCAG 2.0. The 2.0 success criteria are the same as in 2.1, but 2.1 has additional guidelines. Learn more about the differences between versions 2.0 and 2.1.

WCAG 2.2

WCAG 2.2 was published in October of 2023. This version is backwards compatible with versions 2.0 and 2.1, with 9 additional guidelines as well as the removal of 4.1.1 Parsing. WCAG 2.2 is W3C’s current recommendation. Keep up with the latest WCAG 2.2 updates, and learn about the changes.

WCAG 3.0

WCAG 3.0 is considered a draft as of September 2023, with no current timeline for publishing. The current draft updates conformance levels to Bronze, Silver, and Gold. This draft also replaces Success Criteria with Outcomes, which is defined by W3C as “verifiable statements that allow testers to reliably determine if the content being evaluated satisfies the user needs identified in the Guideline.” Outcomes are expected to be assigned ratings, which will inform whether or not the website meets Bronze, Silver, or Gold conformance levels. Stay updated on the latest WCAG 3.0 draft, and learn what to expect as further updates are made.

Current WCAG Guidelines, Explained

POUR Principles

WCAG versions 2.0 and later follow four essential principles of accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. These are also referred to as the POUR Principles.

• Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
• Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable.
• Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
• Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Success Criteria

Under each guideline, success criteria are provided to allow WCAG to be used where requirements and conformance testing are needed. Success criteria have associated levels of conformance (A, AA, or AAA) to help you understand the most critical web accessibility needs. Learn more about Success Criteria conformance for WCAG.

For each guideline and success criteria, WCAG additionally contains techniques for meeting them. Sufficient techniques are considered to be reliable ways to meet success criteria. Advisory techniques are suggested ways to meet success criteria. Advisory techniques may not be sufficient to meet the full requirements of a given success criteria, but can often be helpful to some users who would not be able to access web content otherwise. Learn more about Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria.

Conformance Levels

Each guideline under WCAG 2.0 and beyond has a level of conformance assigned to each success criteria associated with it – Level A, AA, or AAA:

• Level A: The highest priority and usually easiest to achieve.
• Level AA: More comprehensive and often cited as the standard to meet.
• Level AAA: The strictest, most comprehensive accessible design standard, and therefore, the least common level to meet.

As you incorporate WCAG guidelines into your website’s design, use our free checklist to ensure compliance with the necessary success criteria and conformance levels you’re aiming to meet.

WCAG Video Accessibility Guidelines

Video accessibility guidelines are the same in both WCAG versions 2.0 and 2.1.

• Level A: (1.2.2) Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such. (1.2.3) An alternative for time-based media or audio description of the prerecorded video content is provided for synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such.
• Level AA: In addition to Level A compliance: (1.2.4) Captions are provided for all live audio content in synchronized media. (1.2.5) Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.
• Level AAA: In addition to Level A and AA compliance: (1.2.6) Sign language interpretation is provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media. (1.2.7) Where pauses in foreground audio are insufficient to allow audio descriptions to convey the sense of the video, extended audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.

WCAG’s video accessibility guidelines are among the easiest to implement for a compliant and inclusive web experience. Discover everything you need to know about WCAG in the context of video accessibility.

How WCAG is modernizing the web

WCAG & the Law

In the United States, WCAG 2.0 AA or WCAG 2.1 AA is often referenced in legislative updates and documents like “Dear Colleague” letters. These legal callouts have set a precedent in many ADA-based cases, establishing WCAG as the standard for organizations to follow, as it provides the most comprehensive web accessibility guidelines available today.

United States

ADA

WCAG has been increasingly referenced in ADA-based lawsuits and settlements over the past decade. While it is not directly part of ADA legislation yet, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) often points to WCAG guidelines as an example of what standards organizations need to meet for optimal captioning and audio description compliance. 

The DOJ recently announced its intent to strengthen web and mobile accessibility under Title II of the ADA. Details of the proposed rule were made available on August 3, 2023. Read the full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) or review the ADA’s Fact Sheet on the NPRM.

The NPRM references WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard state and local governments would need to follow, but it is important to remember that this proposed rule is just that… for now. The DOJ is soliciting feedback about the proposal through October 3, 2023, and encourages folks to submit their thoughts via regulations.gov or directly mailing comments to the DOJ.

Section 508

Enacted in 1973, the Rehabilitation Act originally addressed disability discrimination for federal entities or organizations receiving federal funding. Two amendments, Sections 504 and 508, broadened the act’s application to online video content.

Section 508 mandates accessibility for electronic media or IT in federal programs or services. While this section doesn’t explicitly extend beyond federal agencies, many states passed laws known as “little 508 laws” that extend the section’s reach to organizations that receive federal funding.

Section 508 requires compliance with WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA. Get a detailed overview and analysis of Section 508 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Canada

AODA

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, otherwise known as the AODA, is an accessibility law based in Ontario, Canada, and it regulates standards across government, public, and private sectors. It was enacted in 2005 to create a barrier-free Ontario by 2025.

Under the AODA, all large private and non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees and all public sector organizations are required to make their websites accessible. 

The AODA mandates that web content and online video must conform to WCAG 2.0 AA success criteria with two exceptions: criteria 1.2.4 (live captions) and criteria 1.2.5 (audio descriptions). 

Learn more about how the AODA impacts web accessibility.

Worldwide

Around the world, a number of countries have adopted some form of WCAG in their respective accessibility laws. Some, such as Canada and Israel, require conformance with WCAG 2.0 and beyond. Others, like Japan, do not require WCAG, but reference it in legislation or have implemented similar/equivalent guidelines.

Discover how WCAG is being implemented worldwide.

Why You Should Implement WCAG Guidelines

WCAG was created to make the digital world more accessible to all. With over 1 billion people in the world with some form of a recognized disability, it’s imperative for organizations to prioritize accessible digital experiences.

By implementing WCAG 2.0, 2.1, or 2.2 Level AA-compliant website features, businesses, public entities, and individuals alike can ensure: 

• Accessibility is never an afterthought
• Equal access is provided to all
• Legal risks are minimized
• Market reach expands to billions of users

Committing to web accessibility can help your digital presence thrive. It is not only a social responsibility, but a strategic decision that allows everyone to succeed in the digital age. 

This blog post is written for educational and general information purposes only, and does not constitute specific legal advice. This blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

About the author

3Play Media

The post Understanding WCAG Guidelines appeared first on 3Play Media.

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• Live Captioning

Real-Time Captioning in the College Classroom 101

3Play Media

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September 14, 2023

The 3Play Way: Real-Time Captioning in Higher Education [Free Webinar]

As a new school year kicks off, students are stocking up on the traditional academic tools: course books, notebooks, pens, laptops, etc. These items are unquestionably essential to the learning experience for nearly all students. Yet there is another critical learning tool for a significant portion of the student population that often goes overlooked: real-time captions.

Real-time captioning in the college classroom can be equally as important as those course books, notebooks, and laptops–especially for D/deaf and hard of hearing students. That’s because captions help remove access barriers, providing an equitable and inclusive way for students to fully experience lectures and participate in class discussions. 

So how does real-time captioning in the college classroom work? In this blog, we’re covering all of the most frequently asked questions about classroom captioning: workflows, captioner qualifications and assignments, how captions are ordered, and more. Get out your writing tools and prepare to take notes, because Real-Time Captioning in the College Classroom 101 is now in session.

How does captioning work in a college classroom?

Real-time captions in a live classroom setting can be delivered to a student through different mechanisms. If the student is present in person, they are usually receiving captions on a second screen, such as a tablet or laptop, using a solution known as Communication Access Realtime Translation, or CART.

For on-demand or remote classes that are not live, closed captions are usually provided in a sidecar file alongside the video recording, which can be toggled on or off by the user.

Who is captioning college classes?

For student accommodations in a live classroom, real-time captions are usually transcribed by a live professional captioner. Traditionally, CART utilized a stenographer or in-person captioner and displayed captions on a large screen. 

Nowadays, remote CART captioning options and alternatives have become very common, with a remote captioner connecting to the classroom’s audio source, such as a clip-on microphone worn by a professor. The captioner then transcribes the lecture or discussion word-for-word, with live captions populating on a second screen or streaming link to the text.

How do the captioners connect to a class?

We touched on CART solutions and how in the past, a live captioner would sit in a room, transcribing, as captions populate on a larger screen. While this method does still happen for larger events, it’s becoming less common due to advances in technology that allow for greater flexibility with real-time captioning.

Remote CART or similar captioning experiences allow remote live professional captioners to connect to a class’s audio via sources such as phone, RTMP, iCap, Zoom meetings, and more. The lecture is then live captioned, with captions displayed via a second screen or streaming link.

What kinds of qualifications do live professional captioners have?

Real-time captions for college classrooms require a high degree of accuracy to provide an equivalent experience for students requesting accommodations. Live professional captioners should be experienced in providing high-quality, accurate captions and following best practices for real-time captioning.

At 3Play, live professional captioners undergo a rigorous certification process and use 3Play’s innovative proprietary voice writing technology to produce accurate and comprehensive real-time captions. 

How accurate are real-time captions for college classrooms?

Live captioning accuracy can be tricky to determine because of a couple of factors at play: Word Error Rate (WER) and Formatted Error Rate (FER). WER is used as the standard measure of transcription accuracy in captions. FER accounts for errors in formatting, sound effects, grammar, and punctuation and is a better representation of the experienced accuracy of captions. 

Both of these measurements are crucial to accuracy, yet WER is the most often used by live captioning vendors providing accuracy measurements. Unfortunately, WER on its own is usually not enough to support an accurate and equitable learning experience for students, and that’s where FER comes in. FER accuracy can impact a student’s understanding of the lecture and discussion if punctuation, formatting, and other complexities aren’t captioned correctly.

It’s important for live captions to boast a high accuracy rate that takes into account both WER and FER. 3Play’s innovative combination of humans and technology allows us to consistently obtain high levels of accuracy and quality for college classroom captions.

The 3Play Way: Real-Time Captioning in Higher Education

How do schools coordinate real-time accommodations for students?

Colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions may handle and coordinate real-time accommodations differently, depending on workflows, budget, and other student needs.

Usually, schools dedicate a position or even a department to handling the accommodation and/or captioning process. These can include CART Supervisors, Real-Time Captioning Coordinators, Student or Disability Services professionals, Access or Disability Resource Center professionals, and more. Student accommodation requests are submitted to these professionals or departments, who then coordinate fulfillment of the accommodation, such as real-time classroom captions.

How do real-time accommodation professionals order and pay for captions?

Higher education professionals usually have a wide range of needs for live accommodations: lectures, meetings, conferences, webinars, and more. These events may be hosted by different departments, campuses, and even individuals. Some universities and colleges have a centralized location and clear policy for student accommodations. Some may be only beginning the process of centralizing, but have some ways to go. Others may use accommodation platforms, like AIM.

This range of needs and policies means ordering and paying for captions can become complex for higher education professionals. They may be the ones doing the actual ordering for all captions, or departments and professors could be tasked with directly carrying out the accommodations with a university’s captioning vendor.

Ordering and billing needs are going to be different at every institution, so vendor agility is very important here. 3Play takes a flexible approach to these aspects by giving professionals exactly what they need to track spending and budget, whether it’s full visibility into how the institution is spending on accessibility services like real-time captioning, or small-scale, single projects with specific purchase orders (P.O.s) attached.

How do real-time accommodation professionals overcome issues with getting captions?

No matter who is directly coordinating real-time accommodations, common issues in the classroom captioning process revolve around captioner coverage, staffing shortages, lack of vendor support, tech issues, and cumbersome workflows. These can make for a poor captioning experience for not only the students, but also the professors, administrators, and other staff trying to create an inclusive learning environment.

Fortunately, there are some key traits to seek in a captioning vendor that will help mitigate inefficient methods for providing real-time accommodations for students. 

How 3Play Supports Students

3Play Media is a trusted provider of accessibility services for colleges and universities. We offer future-proof solutions to transform your university’s accessibility and operational efficiency with a wide range of services, including real-time captioning, closed captioning, audio description, and translation.

Our real-time classroom captioning services are designed for your budget and peace of mind. Here’s how:

We Eliminate Hours of Manual Work for Your Staff

With our user-friendly platform and flexible workflows, your staff can easily manage recurring events, canceled classes, and captioner assignments at the push of a button.

We Are a Reliable Partner with Limitless Scalability

Our marketplace structure ensures your courses will be matched with a qualified professional, regardless of whether you need to support one class or a dozen.

We Offer Compliant Real-Time Captions with 98%+ Accuracy

We offer compliant live solutions that meet all applicable accessibility regulations and provide word-for-word transcription and up to 98%+ measured accuracy.

We Provide Rapid and Attentive Support

Our on-call tech support team will assist you with any issues before and during each scheduled course.

We Have Flexible Billing Options 

Our flexible billing options allow you to easily track spending with university or department-based billing.

Learn more about real-time captioning in higher education

Watch the Webinar On Demand

About the author

3Play Media

The post Real-Time Captioning in the College Classroom 101 appeared first on 3Play Media.

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• Captioning

Using Subtitles to Learn a Language: Captions for ESL Students

3Play Media

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August 24, 2023

Discover the Benefits of Captioning and Transcription [Free Ebook]

What are the benefits of captions for ESL learners (English as a second or foreign language) and English language learners (ELLs)?

More than one in 10 of the nation’s approximately 50 million public school students speak a native language other than English, according to federal data.

These numbers grow steadily every year, meaning there are vast opportunities to help English language learners and ESL students succeed.

Traditional ESL classes provide a great foundation for basic vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and other linguistic features of a language. However, watching videos with captions or subtitles over the audio of native speakers is a great way for ESL students to improve vocabulary, pronunciation, and inflection and pick up on more nuanced features of English, such as slang terms, phrases, and colloquialisms.

Terminology 101 of Captions for ESL Learners and ELLs

First, let’s quickly clarify some key terminology:

• Subtitles: time-synchronized text on a video that translates the spoken audio to another language
• Dubbing: a voice-over or time-synchronized spoken audio translated into another language from that of the video, replacing the original speaker’s voice
• Captions: time-synchronized text on a video in the same language as the spoken audio. Captions provide a textual transcript of a video’s dialogue, sound effects, and music.
• Closed captions: captions that can be turned on and off
• Open captions: captions that are “burned” into the video and cannot be turned off

English Captions Improve Language Retention

New ELLs listening to a native English speaker talk often find it difficult to identify which words are being spoken, how they are spelled, and in what order they are arranged (syntax). That’s why, for anyone learning a new language, it is extremely helpful to read the words one is hearing at the same time.

Even if the viewer cannot fully understand what they are reading on screen, captions can provide some helpful context, encouraging the viewer to stay engaged with the video. Time-synchronized captions focus the ELL’s attention on the words being spoken in real-time, which helps with the retention of vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and other valuable linguistic qualities one must understand to speak a language properly.

In 2009, a study conducted with Dutch ELLs concluded that watching English-language video content with English captions led to high scores after testing for aural word recognition, while watching English videos with Dutch subtitles led to lower scores on those tests. This suggests that reinforcing English speech with English text helps ELLs memorize spoken and written words in the language, leading to stronger vocabulary skills.

In 2016, a study conducted with a group of intermediate Spanish students of English as a foreign language watched an episode of a television show in its original English version with English, Spanish, or no subtitles overlaid. Before and after the viewing, participants took a listening and vocabulary test to evaluate their speech perception and vocabulary acquisition in English, plus a final plot comprehension test. The results of the listening skills tests revealed that after watching the English subtitled version, participants improved these skills significantly more than after watching the Spanish subtitled or no-subtitle versions.

 Learn more about the benefits of captioning and transcription  

English Captions Help Students Decipher Accents and Dialects

Accents and dialects are another reason why captions for ESL students and ELLs can be beneficial.

Many Americans have difficulty understanding certain accents and dialects from places like the UK, Ireland, Australia, and other places where English is spoken. So, imagine what ESL learners have to go through in the same scenario.

Accents tend to go hand in hand with dialects—regionally-exclusive ways of speaking. Captions can help ELLs learn words and phrases from different dialects by helping them process the audio in the videos they watch.

In the previously mentioned study with Dutch ESL students, it was found that adding closed captions to videos with Scottish and Australian actors speaking in native accents and dialects helped the students identify the words spoken. Interestingly, it was also found that watching those same videos with Dutch subtitles diminished students’ success in word recognition:

In 2008, an academic study involving 20 Chinese ESL students found that video content with captions helped students learn new words and expressions better than students who watched the same content without captions. Specifically, the study revealed that “the use of video plus captions can help students learn colloquial language [including] how and when native speakers use it.”

This means that by adding captions to their videos, English-speaking online video providers on YouTube and elsewhere can attract viewers anywhere in the world who want to improve their language skills and understand as much regionally-varied English as a native speaker.

‘Subbing’ vs. ‘Dubbing’

If you’ve ever seen a foreign film in which the actors talk in a different language, it is either ‘dubbed’ or ‘subbed’ (subtitled) so that viewers can understand what is being said. Everyone has their preference, but for students of a second language, subbing tends to be much more helpful.

Subbing is better for ELLs because the translated text reinforces the speech, helping the viewer learn by encouraging them to match the foreign speech with words from their own language.

Hearing English speakers talk normally on video helps the viewer tune their ear to the unique sounds of spoken English, which is critical for learning a new language.

Other Benefits of Captions for ESL Learners and ELLs

• Control: You can pause and rewind whenever necessary, so you can go to “ESL class” whenever you want!
• Subject-specific vocabulary: Captions broaden vocabulary about specific subjects (e.g., YouTube videos about science, cooking, politics, business, pop culture, etc.)
• Mouth movement: In most cases, you can watch the mouths of the person speaking, which helps with lip-reading and pronunciation of difficult sounds unique to a language
• Situational context: Watching foreign films and TV shows with subtitles is great for understanding when to use formal or casual language and knowing when and when not to use certain words

This blog was originally published by Patrick Loftus in 2016 and has since been updated for accuracy, clarity, and comprehensiveness.

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• Legislation & Compliance

What Does the Latest DOE & DOJ Dear Colleague Letter Mean for Online Accessibility in Higher Education?

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June 8, 2023

How the ADA Impacts Online Video Accessibility [Free eBook]

In a “Dear Colleague” letter released on May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) highlight the ongoing efforts to address barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in online services, programs, and activities offered by colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions. 

The letter is particularly notable for being published jointly by both the DOE and DOJ, confirming the U.S. government’s alignment of priorities around online accessibility. In the letter, they reaffirm the responsibility of ensuring online accessibility and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

This joint DOE and DOJ “Dear Colleague” letter provides one of the most direct and comprehensive assessments to date on how the ADA and Section 504 apply to online content produced by higher education institutions.

But what does the latest “Dear Colleague” letter really mean for colleges and universities?

In this blog, we’ll explore the key takeaways from the joint DOE and DOJ “Dear Colleague” letter, where UC Berkeley’s Consent Decree with the DOJ fits in, and how higher education institutions may be impacted.

The May 2023 DOJ/DOE Dear Colleague Letter

In May 2023, the DOJ and DOE published a “Dear Colleague” letter on the topic of online accessibility at higher education institutions. The letter was broken down into four parts and covers:

• Barriers faced by people with disabilities when it comes to participation in online learning services, programs, and activities.
• How online accessibility is covered under the ADA and Section 504
• How the DOJ and DOE have addressed and enforced compliance to ensure online accessibility in higher education
• Guidance and resources for online accessibility

The decision by the DOJ and DOE to publish the “Dear Colleague” letter together sends a powerful message to the higher education industry at large: online accessibility must be prioritized for services, programs, and activities used by both students and the general public.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key takeaways from the letter.

The DOJ and DOE Stress the Importance of Accessible Online Education

The DOJ and DOE note that in recent years, colleges, universities, and postsecondary institutions have increasingly relied on websites and third-party web platforms to provide services, programs, and activities for both students and the general public. 

However, the DOJ and DOE maintain that much of the online content produced by higher education remains inaccessible to disabled individuals who may use captions, screen readers, voice recognition software, and more.

The letter goes on to identify examples of specific digital content types and platforms that are used to distribute educational services, programs, and activities: 

• Learning platforms such as edX, Coursera, and Kadenze
• Podcasts and videos
• Social media and third-party media platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts
• Other websites and platforms where higher education content (including lectures, sporting events, graduation ceremonies, and more) is distributed

The DOJ and DOE state that both students and the general public have a right to accessible content posted online by universities, in accordance with the ADA and Section 504:

What Does the ADA and Section 504 Say About Online Accessibility at Higher Education Institutions?

The DOJ and DOE reference two Federal U.S. laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, throughout the latest “Dear Colleague” Letter. These laws provide the legal framework for how the government entities approach online accessibility.

The ADA and Section 504 require higher education institutions, both public and private, to provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities in all operations, including online. And by calling each of these regulations out, the DOJ and DOE are stating in no uncertain terms that the ADA and Section 504 apply to online content produced by higher education institutions.

The ADA

Title II of the ADA prohibits public institutions from denying qualified individuals with disabilities the opportunity to participate in or benefit from services, including online-based programming.

Title III of the ADA extends this protection for disabled individuals to private institutions.

The DOJ and DOE specify that public and private institutions “must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others.” This means that the DOJ and DOE expect higher education institutions to provide auxiliary aids and services, such as interpreters, captioning, accessible technology, and more.

Section 504

Section 504 requires that any institution receiving federal financial assistance provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to ensure equal access for students with disabilities.

In the letter, the DOJ and DOE stress that because most public and private colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions receive financial assistance from the Department of Education, “all of their operations, including all their online programs and activities, are covered by Section 504.”

Dive into the ADA’s impact on online accessibility

Higher Ed Will Be Held Accountable for Inaccessible Content

The joint DOE and DOJ “Dear Colleague” letter dedicates its second half to discussing enforcement actions and guidance for navigating the creation of accessible online content. It also provides a review of recent compliance efforts and enforcement initiatives around digital and online accessibility, with a particular focus on the 2022 Consent Decree between UC Berkeley and the DOJ.

Both the DOE and DOJ share responsibility when it comes to enforcing compliance and addressing inaccessible higher education content. In addition to Berkeley’s Consent Decree, the letter notes that the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has “resolved and monitored more than 1,000 cases in recent years related to digital access that were triggered by complaints of discrimination by members of the public.”

The letter adds that the OCR additionally launched 100 compliance reviews around digital accessibility in May of 2022, The reviews included a look at both public- and student-facing websites as well as educational platforms maintained by higher education institutions. In less than a year, the DOJ and DOE note that OCR has resolved over 50 of the compliance reviews.

What the Consent Decree Between UC Berkeley and DOJ Means for Higher Ed and Accessible Online Content

The DOJ conducted an eight-year investigation into the accessibility of the University of California at Berkeley’s (UC Berkeley) online content following a 2014 complaint submitted by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). The original complaint alleged that many of the school’s online courses, lectures, and other content posted on UC Berkeley’s MOOC, UC BerkeleyX, were inaccessible to people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing due to a lack of captions.

In December 2022, a Consent Decree between UC Berkeley and the DOJ was approved. The Consent Decree requires UC Berkeley to make all online content accessible. While the initial investigation mainly applied to UC BerkeleyX, the Consent Decree broadened the scope of affected online content to additionally include all publicly accessible websites on berkeley.edu and subdomains, as well as content published by UC Berkeley on third-party platforms like YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

The Consent Decree also requires UC Berkeley to “revise its policies, train relevant personnel, designate a web accessibility coordinator, conduct accessibility testing of its online content, and hire an independent auditor to evaluate the accessibility of its content.”

The “Dear Colleague” letter’s focus on the UC Berkeley’s Consent Decree cements the DOE’s and DOJ’s shared initiative of making all higher education online content accessible. Furthermore, it offers a glimpse into where the DOJ and DOE may be heading when it comes to holding educational institutions accountable for inaccessible content.

Read the full DOJ and UC Berkeley Consent Decree.

How Higher Ed Institutions Should Proceed

With the DOE’s and DOJ’s holistic focus on digital accessibility in higher education and emphasis on compliance, many content producers and stakeholders at colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions may be wondering how to proceed. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to work towards optimal accessibility and stay ahead of the curve:

Learn from UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley’s Consent Decree with the DOJ set a new precedent for online accessibility in higher education. We have a helpful write-up of the takeaways and implications aimed at helping you determine next steps for your institution’s accessibility plan.

Caption Everything & Caption Well

The “Dear Colleague” letter references captioning multiple times throughout. It also references the idea of “meaningful video captions,” which implies that caption quality and accuracy may become a higher priority for the DOJ and DOE when reviewing compliance issues. This aspect is expanded upon in the UC Berkeley Consent Decree, when UC Berkeley’s YouTube channel was deemed inaccessible due to sole reliance on YouTube’s auto-generated captions without remediation.

Accessibility is More Than Video Captions

The letter touches on a broad range of accessibility issues and services that can remediate them. While captions remain a huge focus, the DOJ and DOE make it clear that other “auxiliary aids and services” are necessary for accessibility compliance. This includes screen reader compatibility, audio description, WCAG 2.0 compliance, podcast transcription, and more.

The joint DOE & DOJ “Dear Colleague” letter published in May 2023 provides some of the strongest guidance yet for web accessibility in higher education, but many of the themes are ones that have been hinted at in previous guidances and Consent Decrees over the past several years. 

The letter itself is a critical reminder about the necessity of online accessibility, but also functions as a strong statement to those in higher education that the DOJ and DOE expect all online content to be accessible going forward.

Read the full Dear Colleague Letter on Online Accessibility at Postsecondary Institutions.

This blog post is written for educational and general information purposes only, and does not constitute specific legal advice. This blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.

About the author

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• Legislation & Compliance

Legal Requirements for Stadium Captioning

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April 19, 2023

Baking Accessibility into Your Event Strategy [FREE webinar]

Whether it’s a concert, sporting event, or theatrical performance, attending live events is a source of joy and excitement for many people. The energy of the crowd, the spectacle of the performance or game, and the sense of being part of something special all contribute to the magic of live entertainment.

However, for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, this experience is incomplete without access to live captions. In-stadium captioning ensures that everyone has the opportunity to fully experience the event. This blog will cover legal requirements for accessible in-stadium viewing.

The Americans with Disabilities Act

Signed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the most far-reaching piece of accessibility legislation in the U.S.

The act and its amendments guarantee equal opportunity for disabled people in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. The ADA affects both public and private entities.

The ADA mandates that it’s the responsibility of public and private organizations to provide equal access through appropriate accommodations. The act includes 5 sections or “Titles;” Titles II and III impact web accessibility and closed captioning.

Stadium Captioning Accessibility Laws Under the ADA

Under Title III of the ADA, stadiums and arenas must provide auxiliary aids and services, including captioning, to ensure effective communication for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Specifically, the ADA’s regulations on “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities” (28 CFR Part 36) provide guidance on the requirements for effective communication for D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals. This requirement applies to both new and existing facilities.

The specific requirements for in-stadium captioning under the ADA include the following:

• Captioning for public address announcements: Stadiums must provide captioning for all public address announcements made during events, such as game scores, player names, and other important information.
• Captioning for videos: If stadiums display videos on scoreboards or other screens, they must provide closed captioning for those videos.
• Captioning for emergency announcements: In the event of an emergency, stadiums must provide captioning for any announcements made over the public address system.
• Captioning for other communications: Stadiums must also provide captioning for any other communications that are necessary to ensure effective communication for individuals who are D/deaf or hard of hearing.

There is no minimum seating capacity under the ADA that would exempt a stadium or arena from providing accessibility for disabled individuals. The ADA applies to all public accommodations, regardless of their size or capacity.

While captions are legally required for any type of event, specifications may vary based on factors like venue size or the type of event. For example, a sports event may require captioning that can keep up with fast-paced commentary, whereas a concert may require captioning that can be synced to the music.

It’s also important to consider that live captions are not enough to be fully accessible. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters should be considered for in-stadium events in addition to live captioning. As professional sports sign language interpreter Brice Christianson explained in an episode of 3Play Media’s Allied podcast, English is a second language for many in the Deaf community:

 Learn how to bake accessibility into your event strategy 

Past Legal Settlements for Stadium Accessibility

Let’s review some settlements between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and various universities and venues.

Ohio State University
In 2009, a group of deaf students at Ohio State University filed a complaint alleging that Ohio State’s athletic department discriminated against D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals by failing to provide auxiliary aids and services at Ohio Stadium and Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

An agreement was reached between Ohio State University and the DOJ that requires the university to provide open captioning on the scoreboard and closed captioning through individual devices at all home games.

The settlement also requires the university to provide open captioning for all public announcements and emergency alerts made through its public address system. Captions must be visible from all areas of the stadium and remain on the scoreboard until the corresponding announcement is complete.

Under the agreement, Ohio State University must also provide training to its staff about how to ensure that the captioning is functioning properly and provide assistive listening devices to D/deaf and hard of hearing attendees.

Ohio State is part of the Big Ten Conference of universities, the oldest Division 1 collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The NAD used the Ohio State settlement as a model to other Big Ten universities, sending them a letter outlining the settlement agreement with Ohio State and requesting that these universities adopt similar policies and practices to ensure their stadiums provide equal access to deaf and hard of hearing fans.

The Denver Pepsi Center

In 2018, a deaf individual filed a complaint against the Denver Pepsi Center, alleging that the arena violated the ADA by failing to provide captioning during games.

The owner of the Denver Pepsi Center settled the lawsuit with a consent decree that requires open captions on ribbon boards that can be seen from every seat in the stadium.

The captions cover all public announcements, and an independent monitor was appointed to check the accuracy of the captions.

The University of Maryland

In 2013, the NAD filed a lawsuit against the University of Maryland on behalf of two deaf individuals who regularly attended athletic events at the university. The events were not captioned and violated the ADA.

The agreement between the University of Maryland and the DOJ requires the university to provide accessible captioning services, including closed captioning on screens and assistive listening devices, for all home football and basketball games.

The University of Maryland must provide captions that are “accurate, complete, and synchronized with the spoken words,” and provide training to staff on the use of captioning equipment and services.

In-Stadium Captioning: A Necessity for Accessibility and Legal Compliance

In-stadium captioning is a legal requirement that must be fulfilled by stadiums and event organizers. Failure to comply with in-stadium accessibility requirements can result in legal action and penalties. Therefore, it is essential for stadiums to prioritize fulfilling these legal requirements to avoid legal consequences and to promote equal access for all fans.

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Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools: A Win for the Disability Community

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April 12, 2023

How To Tell Whether Universal Design for Learning is Working [FREE webinar]

On March 21, 2023, The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously voted to allow Miguel Luna Perez, a deaf student in Michigan, to sue his school district for failing to provide an adequate education.

The government’s decision shows support for students with disabilities; students should feel confident about advocating for themselves and taking legal action to address educational barriers.

Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools

Petitioner Miguel Luna Perez was a student in Michigan’s Sturgis Public School District from ages 9 through 20. Throughout his time at Sturgis schools, Perez was assigned ASL interpreters who didn’t know sign language or were not present in the classroom. Perez and his family were also misled about his educational progress—the initial claim stated that Perez had been on the honor roll for years even though he couldn’t read or write by the age of 20.

Despite his apparent honor roll status, Perez and his family were informed only months before graduation that he didn’t qualify for a high school diploma. This prompted them to file a complaint with the Michigan Department of Education, alleging that Sturgis violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by failing to provide Perez with a free and appropriate public education.

The parties reached a settlement in which Sturgis agreed to provide the relief Perez sought, including additional schooling at the Michigan School for the Deaf. After settling the complaint, Perez sought compensatory damages by filing his lawsuit in federal court under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Sturgis moved to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that an IDEA provision barred Perez from bringing an ADA claim without first exhausting all of the IDEA’s administrative dispute-resolution procedures.

The district court agreed with Sturgis and dismissed the suit. The Supreme Court, however, sided with Perez and unanimously ruled that Perez can sue for alleged disability discrimination under the ADA.

Learn how to implement Universal Design for Learning at your university [FREE webinar]

The Ruling’s Implications

In the words of Justice Neil Gorsuch, this ruling “holds consequences not just for Perez but for a great many children with disabilities and their parents.”

There is certainly no shortage of ADA lawsuits in the U.S.—2022 alone saw 8,694 ADA Title III lawsuits in federal courts. This case, however, stands out.

A Message to Students with Disabilities

Accessibility laws and guidelines are notoriously vague and difficult to navigate. The Perez ruling provides some clarity by sending a clear message: students can sue a school for damages under the ADA when they haven’t exhausted the administrative process required by the IDEA.

Following the Court’s ruling, students or families seeking monetary relief based on legislation other than the IDEA can go to court without going through the administrative process of the IDEA. This makes taking legal action related to accessible education much easier. The Supreme Court has signaled that students with disabilities should feel empowered to fight for complete relief when they face discrimination.

Unanimous Support for Students with Disabilities

The accessibility legal landscape is impacted by the country’s political climate. Former President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget included multiple initiatives that posed a potential threat to members of the disability community, including making cuts to funding for disability-focused programs. A Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee approved a 2017 bill called the ADA Education and Reform Act that makes it more difficult for disabled people to sue for discrimination. This legislation has been introduced in different iterations before, but President Obama was prepared to veto it.

The attitude towards accessibility has dramatically shifted during President Biden’s time in the White House; the Biden Administration has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to equal access for all Americans. Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools is a reinforcement of this trend, and the unanimous decision shows that liberal and conservative Justices can come to a resounding agreement on matters of textual language, in this case regarding the terms of the IDEA.

Looking Ahead

The Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools case reinforces the legal requirement for educational institutions to ensure that their content is accessible to individuals with disabilities, including those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. This means that institutions must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, such as closed captions or transcripts for video content and ASL interpreters, to ensure effective communication and access for individuals with disabilities.

The ruling represents disabled students’ ability to take action when they’re not getting the educational experience to which they’re entitled.

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Takeaways from UC Berkeley’s Consent Decree with the DOJ

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December 15, 2022

How the ADA Impacts Online Video Accessibility [Free eBook]

After an eight-year investigation into the accessibility of UC Berkeley’s online content, the university and the Department of Justice (DOJ) finally came to an agreement: UC Berkeley will ensure its free online content is accessible to learners with a range of disabilities. A consent decree was approved on December 2, 2022, effective immediately. 

While the DOJ’s investigation began with a complaint about a lack of closed captions, it expanded to address media and web accessibility for all learners. Read on to learn more about the background of the investigation and the far-reaching impact of the consent decree.

Catch Up Quick

The DOJ agreement is the outcome of a 2014 complaint submitted by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) alleging that many of the school’s online courses, lectures, and other content were inaccessible to people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing due to a lack of closed captions. At the time, massive open online courses (MOOCs) were gaining in popularity at universities across the country; however, many universities were not considering accessibility in their online content.

The NAD argued that UC Berkeley violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities. The government determined that the complaint was valid and notified UC Berkeley that it needed to address and eliminate its ADA violations. 

In response to the government’s Letter of Findings on August 30, 2016, UC Berkeley disagreed with the verdict and maintained that the school had “invested substantially in improving the accessibility of its online content.” Rather than complying with the accessibility order, UC Berkeley began removing more than 20,000 video and audio lectures from public view in 2017. By 2021, the DOJ said that UC Berkeley had still not addressed many of its accessibility barriers.

UC Berkeley’s poor web accessibility may surprise those who are aware of its revolutionary history. The Rolling Quads, a community of quadriplegic students in the 1960s, transformed UC Berkeley into one of the most physically accessible college campuses in the country at the time. The Rolling Quads also established the independent living movement, which expanded into a national effort that included the Section 504 sit-in and resulted in improved rights for the American disability community. 

However, as many other lawsuits have shown, compliance with the ADA or other disability rights laws for physical structures does not prevent an organization from being sued for an inaccessible digital presence.

Multiple other universities have been sued under remarkably similar circumstances for inaccessible online content. Cases such as NAD v. MIT and NAD v. Harvard were triggered by the universities’ inaccurate auto captioning on their free online programming and platforms, such as YouTube, iTunesU, Harvard@Home, and MIT OpenCourseWare. MIT and Harvard eventually reached settlements with the NAD that strengthened digital accessibility policies and required accurate captions.

The Consent Decree

What began as an investigation into closed captions for UC Berkeley’s online content now has a much wider scope, going beyond captions and addressing accessibility measures that account for people with all types of disabilities. 

While the initial investigation was only concerned with UC Berkeley’s MOOC, the resulting consent decree expands beyond UC BerkeleyX to all other entities at the university. The consent decree impacts both backlog and new content, establishing different timelines for both categories of content.

The DOJ agreement applies to UC Berkeley-controlled online content that falls into these three categories:

• Publicly accessible websites on berkeley.edu and subdomains
• UC Berkeley’s MOOC, UC BerkeleyX 
• Content published by UC Berkeley on third-party platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts

Impact on Backlog Content

Backlog content is content published before the consent decree went into effect. It includes all of the content that UC Berkeley refused to caption and describe after the initial investigation and all existing content published by other entities at UC Berkeley. 

Within 9 months of the consent decree’s approval (by September 2023), all of UC BerkeleyX’s content, including audio and video, must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. 

To comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA and ensure equal access for individuals with a range of disabilities, UC Berkeley must implement closed captions, audio description, alternative text, and other accessibility best practices. 

Content on UC Berkeley’s website and its subdomains must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA within 18 months of approval (by June 2024); however, audio and video content made publicly available on the website prior to court approval must conform within 36 months (by December 2025).

All audio and video content that UC Berkeley published on public podcast platforms prior to December 22, 2022, must also conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA within 36 months (by December 2025).

Other audio and video content hosted on a third-party platform that was either made publicly available within the 2 years preceding the consent decree’s approval or had at least 750 views as of December 22, 2022, must conform to WCAG 2.0, Level AA within 36 months (by December 2025).

Impact on New Content

New content is any content that has been made publicly available after the Court approved the consent decree in 2022. A university of this size regularly creates and publishes new educational material. Therefore, ensuring that all new content is accessible is also a big undertaking.

Within 9 months of the consent decree’s approval (by September 2023), video and audio content on UC Berkeley’s website and subdomains, as well as third-party platforms, must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. This includes providing closed and live captions, audio description, alternative text, resizable text, and more. 

UC Berkeley will also be required to implement updated accessibility procedures, designate a web accessibility coordinator, conduct annual internal accessibility testing and training to those who handle online content on UC Berkeley’s behalf, provide an effective method of receiving and responding to feedback and requests from users, and hire an external auditor to review the accessibility of its content. 

UC Berkeley must report to the DOJ every 6 months on the state of its compliance during the 42 months the consent decree is in effect.

Learn How the ADA Impacts Online Video Accessibility

Implications for Educational Institutions

1. The consent decree provides a framework for how organizations and universities should approach making backlog and new content accessible.

Through the consent decree, the DOJ has made known its opinion about how organizations should handle web accessibility. The consent decree answers many questions about how to prioritize different types of content, providing clear guidelines on handling backlogs and new content. It additionally offers detailed timelines for each guideline based on specific content and platform type.

By referencing WCAG as the accessibility standard, the DOJ ensures that UC Berkeley in its entirety has clearly defined criteria to meet for captions, alternative text, audio description, and more. The consent decree can help organizations that are implementing media accessibility measures determine how to take action. For organizations trying to prioritize accessibility, this consent decree suggests taking these steps:

• If any part of your org has been a part of litigation, start by making all media associated with that entity fully accessible.
• Next, prioritize new content across all entities and platforms, including third-party platforms.
• Build a work-back plan to achieve WCAG 2.0 level AA compliance across all backlog content, with a target date by which you aim to have the backlog completely accessible.

2. YouTube’s auto captions alone are not accurate enough for accessibility.

UC Berkeley’s YouTube channel, which houses thousands of videos spanning a range of topics, was deemed inaccessible because they either lacked captions or relied solely on YouTube’s auto-generated captions. “Although UC Berkeley can remediate inaccurate or incomplete automatic captioning rendered by YouTube,” said the DOJ, “UC fails to do so.” The consent decree reinforces the importance of accurate captions and the problems that arise when auto captions aren’t remediated.

YouTube’s auto captions are notoriously inaccurate, which makes them inaccessible and detrimental to educational content. While inaccurate captions can prevent a student who is d/Deaf or hard of hearing from comprehending content, they can also impact hearing students: 80% of people who use captions aren’t d/Deaf or hard of hearing. Students use captions to improve learning comprehension and retention and stay engaged with lessons. Students with and without hearing loss rely on accurate captions as they learn material; reading inaccurate information makes learning difficult and sometimes impossible.

3. The DOJ will continue to conduct investigations and push WCAG as the national standard for web accessibility.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed much of our lives online, including education. Though WCAG and other accessibility standards have been around for years or sometimes decades, their enforcement has increased exponentially in recent years. The pandemic has cemented online learning material as a significant part of the educational landscape and led to increased awareness of accessible online content, with WCAG as the standard.

The Biden administration has also demonstrated a growing focus on web accessibility and contributed to its enforcement. The administration released a statement declaring its dedication to web accessibility:

Our ongoing accessibility effort works towards conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA criteria. These guidelines not only help make web content accessible to users with sensory, cognitive and mobility disabilities, but ultimately to all users, regardless of ability.

While the consent decree only directly impacts UC Berkeley, it sends a message that the DOJ will continue to monitor whether other educational institutions are providing accessible content. The structure of the consent decree gives a sense of how the DOJ might react if it encounters an educational institution that’s publishing inaccessible content and suggests that the DOJ’s future recommendations will include WCAG.

4. Compliance with one accessibility requirement doesn’t protect organizations from other disability rights litigation.

The original investigation into UC Berkeley was concerned with a lack of captions on UC BerkeleyX for people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. The agreement expanded to include digital accessibility for people with physical disabilities or who are blind or low vision, in addition to those with hearing loss, at the entire organization of UC Berkeley.

While much of UC Berkeley’s online content is currently inaccessible to folks with a range of disabilities, any organization that captions its content is not protected from, for example, litigation requiring audio description, or vice versa. Accessibility measures must consider the needs of all users, including those with different disabilities.

5. The ADA includes podcast accessibility.

The consent decree specifically mentions that UC Berkeley’s podcasts must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA, meaning audio-only content must be transcribed. Litigation around podcast accessibility has been steadily growing, and the consent decree includes podcast transcription under the ADA as required by WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Any other educational institution creating podcasts should take note and ensure episodes are accurately transcribed.

6. The sooner you begin your accessibility journey, the easier and less litigious it will be.

Because UC Berkeley failed to implement accessibility measures before the government got involved, the school has a substantial backlog of inaccessible content. UC Berkeley’s now sizable accessibility project provides a tale of caution to organizations that are prolonging or avoiding accessibility. The failure to add captions also resulted in a significant expansion of the consent decree’s covered entities, encompassing the entirety of UC Berkeley.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, there are resources for you. Certain media accessibility providers, such as 3Play Media, are well suited to handle extensive archives of content. An effective captioning and audio description vendor will help you get up to speed by providing you with a navigable platform, great support, and a high-quality output.

The DOJ’s expansive agreement with UC Berkeley is a big step forward for digital accessibility in higher education. Online learning materials are constantly evolving and growing, and it’s imperative that everyone has equal access. 

This blog post is written for educational and general information purposes only, and does not constitute specific legal advice. This blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.

About the author

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The post Takeaways from UC Berkeley’s Consent Decree with the DOJ appeared first on 3Play Media.

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• Accessibility

How to Make Orientation Virtual and Accessible

Elisa Lewis

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August 5, 2020

The beginning of the school semester is an exciting time for both new and returning students. It’s a chance to meet friends, explore clubs and organizations, and take new and interesting courses. 

For students this year, many of these traditionally in-person activities will be held online remotely for the upcoming semester in hopes to limit the spread of Covid-19 on college and university campuses. 

As nerve-racking as it may be to start a new school year online, it’s important that administrators make students feel welcomed and comfortable, even in a virtual environment. 

The good news is that we are living in a digital era and we can use many of the resources currently available to make the orientation process an engaging and accessible experience for all students. 

Discover How to Make Remote Learning Inclusive

Shifting Gears to a Virtual Orientation 

Moving to a virtual environment is easier said than done, however, with the right tools and techniques, faculty can help students feel supported during these challenging times.  

It begs the question, how can we foster the same orientation experience that we would’ve had in person, online? 

In this section, we’ll give you 6 tips on how to make your orientation not only virtual but accessible too. 

Plan Early

First things first, it’s incredibly important to start planning your virtual orientation as early as possible. What you do now will have a great impact later on. The sooner you get started with the planning process, the better off you’ll be. 

Ask yourself some important questions: what tools do students need to be successful? How will you maintain the campus culture online? How will students connect with faculty and other students? How do you make all students feel included? How will you know when students are successfully oriented? These are just some questions to ponder before student orientation.  

It may seem like a daunting process, but you aren’t alone. So many other colleges and universities are in the same boat and there are a plethora of resources available to make the orientation process impactful for all students. 

Additionally, students have higher expectations this time around as opposed to when the pandemic first started. Earlier in the year, it was unexpected and faculty members didn’t have much time to transition to an online environment. This upcoming semester, however, students expect faculty to be prepared to provide an engaging and accessible school experience. 

Invest in Technology

Technology has the ability to bridge connections between people, including students and faculty. That’s why it’s crucial to invest in technology that will keep students engaged and that is accessible. 

Not only do administrators need to figure out what learning management software will be used, but they also need to know what technology will be used for communication. 

We recommend investing in an accessible and interactive video conferencing platform. For example, Zoom is a great tool for virtual environments because it has a lot of engaging features like a chat window, poll questions, screen sharing, Q&A, and remote annotating. 

Not to mention, it’s accessible! It offers automatic transcripts, screen reader support, and keyboard accessibility. It even allows you to add captions (check out 3Play’s integration with Zoom) and record live sessions and post them for viewing at a later date. 

Allow Students to Ask Question and Provide Feedback 

The virtual orientation process is new for all of us so be prepared to listen and adjust down the road. 

Colleges and universities want to create the best possible experience for all of their students and students need to be able to share what’s working well and what needs to be improved. 

Administrators and faculty should be receptive to any feedback students may have about their virtual experience and be open to ways in which they can make it better. 

Additionally, keep the line of communication open for students so that they can always ask questions for clarification. Orientation is a time for students to learn the ins-and-outs of the school, and with everything online now, expect questions! Use software that allows students to ask questions and provide feedback and most importantly, ensure that it’s being followed up. 

Provide Students with Support Services 

A big part of campus life is being involved in all of the social gatherings and support groups that are offered. 

During orientation, let students know all of the services available to them like student life, advising, tutoring, etc. 

Even in a remote environment, these services are still needed. In fact, it can be argued that students need them now more than ever. 

Not only do students need to keep in touch with faculty, but they need to be able to connect with other students. Ensure that students know how to get involved with different clubs and organizations and that each group has the proper tools and resources to successfully and safely engage in a virtual environment.  

Make All Presentations Accessible

Another tip to consider is ensuring that all presentations are accessible – this goes for both the design of the presentation and the presentation itself.

For the design aspect, you’ll want to make sure the images are high contrast (4:5:1), use clear structure with headers, and avoid excessive animation.

On the presentation side, you should use live captions, describe visual elements, give the audience time to read the slides, and repeat audience questions.

Once the presentation is over, be sure to distribute accessible slides and caption and describe the recording.

Prepare Students for Online Learning 

Lastly, students need to be prepared for their online learning experience. Start communicating early on about updates that could affect the upcoming semester. That way, when they get to orientation they’ll already be familiar with the tools they’ll need to adjust. 

Orientation is also a great opportunity for students to learn about navigating learning management systems and other software required for their educational success. New students in particular will need special attention on how to make the best experience possible in a remote environment. 

We all want students to feel well-equipped to excel during the school year so make sure that students have all of the tools and resources they need to feel prepared for online learning. 

 Bringing Equity and Inclusion to Remote Learning with UDL 

How to Make Orientation Accessible 

Now that you’ve learned how to make your orientation virtual, it’s time to focus on ensuring that it’s accessible to all students – including those with disabilities. 

There are over a billion people worldwide with some form of disability. In the online space specifically, technology tends to be inaccessible to people with hearing, vision, or motor loss. When online content isn’t accessible to these groups, it leaves them feeling excluded and unable to fully participate in the orientation experience. 

Not only is making the orientation process accessible the right thing to do, but it’s also the legal thing to do. There are a number of laws in place in the U.S. that protect people with disabilities from discrimination like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

The ADA is a broad anti-discrimination law that was enacted in order to guarantee equal opportunity for people with disabilities in different sectors of society, including in education. Title III of the ADA protects people in places of public accommodations, like a private college or university. Colleges and universities must provide an equal experience for all students including providing auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication. 

The Rehabilitation Act protects people from discrimination in programs conducted by federal agencies, programs that receive federal funding, and more. This includes educational institutions receiving federal funding. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that electronic communications and information technologies be accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, many states have adopted Section 508 federal regulations into their own laws called “mini-508s”, and it requires state governments to comply with federal accessibility standards. 

In simple terms, this means providing accessibility tools like captions, audio description, and transcripts to students. Let’s dive into each tool and how they benefit various learners. 

Captions

Closed captions are time-synchronized text of the audio within a video. They assume the viewer cannot hear, therefore they’re a great accommodation for deaf and hard of hearing students. 

With captions, your orientation will be accessible to students with hearing loss, however, captions benefit more people than just those with disabilities. 

A joint study by Oregon State University and 3Play Media found that 71% of students without hearing loss use captions at least some of the time. It goes to show that students, regardless of ability, find captions useful. 

Captions even aid in comprehension, focus, and retention of course material. According to a study conducted by the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg (USFSP), 42% of students use captions to help maintain focus. 

Closed captions are great for pre-recorded content, but what about events happening in real-time? That’s where live captions come in! Live captions are similar to closed captions, except they’re used for live events. 

Whether your orientation is viewed live or pre-recorded make sure you make it accessible by providing closed and/or live captions. 

Audio Description

Audio description is an audio track that narrates the relevant visual information in a video. It assumes the viewer cannot see, therefore, it’s a beneficial accommodation for blind and low vision students. 

Although it’s helpful for students with vision loss, it also helps learners with different learning styles. For example, audio description is great for auditory learners, who retain information best when listening to reinforce what was seen visually. This is especially useful for charts, graphs, and diagrams. 

With audio description, learners are using two senses: visual and auditory to process information. This allows the brain to accommodate more information. That’s why audio description also helps with language development, new media literacy, writing and speaking, and students on the autism spectrum. 

Last, but not least, audio description is great for the student who multitasks. When their eyes are on another device, they’re still able to understand the pertinent visual information. 

Transcripts 

A transcript is a plain text document that narrates the words spoken in a video, however, it’s not time coded. Transcripts are very useful for audio-only content, but interactive transcripts are great for video content. 

An interactive transcript is a time-synchronized transcript that highlights the words as they’re being spoken in a video. It works in tandem with the video to deliver a truly interactive viewing experience. 

Students can type a term in the search bar and see every location where the keyword is spoken within the transcript. By clicking on the keywords, students can jump directly to that point in the video, directing them to the most pertinent part. According to a study by MIT OpenCourseWare, 95% of students were able to find the desired content in a video.  

Similar to captions, interactive transcripts have a slew of benefits like better comprehension and accessibility. USFSP found that 38% of students used interactive transcripts to help with information retention in their survey. 

Are you starting the upcoming semester remotely at your institution? Learn how to make it inclusive for all students in this webinar

About the author

Elisa Lewis

Elisa Lewis is a Senior Marketing Manager at 3Play Media, where she leads content and brand strategy. She is passionate about accessibility, storytelling, and building connections through communication.

The post How to Make Orientation Virtual and Accessible appeared first on 3Play Media.

Blog

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• Captioning

Does Closed Captioning Improve Reading and Literacy in Children?

Elisa Lewis

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August 28, 2017

Literacy development is a keystone to a child’s overall development. Finding tools that help improve literacy can be significantly helpful for children developing their reading skills. So, does closed captioning improve reading skills, and can it be used as a tool to support literacy in children?

Literacy is critical as it is the foundation that will set students up for success in school, and in the future. Literacy helps with socializing, achieving goals, and eventually participating fully in society. According to some studies, captions help improve reading speed and fluency, vocabulary, and word recognition, all of which are crucial aspects of literacy.

What Is Literacy?

Commonly, literacy is simply thought of as the ability to read and write. While this is certainly an aspect of literacy, literacy encompasses much more than this. Literacy includes the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, and communicate using printed and written materials, as well as the ability to express thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Does Closed Captioning Improve Reading and Literacy?

Several research studies have found that closed captioning does improve reading and literacy. The largest study about same language subtitling (commonly known as captioning) comes from India’s Bollywood films. The purpose of the study was to see if captions had any impact on India’s large illiterate population. Through the study it was then discovered that children were learning to read from following the subtitles.

Another study that focused on secondary students in Hawaii was cited by the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse. This study tested to see if karaoke-style subtitling improved reading comprehension using Broadway’s “Les Misérables” and “Cats”.

The test subjects answered questions while viewing and listening to videos. Students who had the same-language-subtitling scored significantly higher on follow-up tests of reading comprehension than students in the control group.

Where and How Can We Implement the Use of Captions for Improving Literacy?

As literacy is such an integral part of learning and development, improving literacy shouldn’t be limited to the classroom or school hours. Literacy can be learned, practiced, and developed in many ways at home and during play. One simple way to improve literacy is by utilizing closed captions. Captions have considerable benefits for boosting the literacy skills of all students, especially those with print disabilities or who are English Language Learners (ELLs). Several studies report that captioning and subtitles help strengthen the following reading skills:

• Reading speed and fluency
• Word knowledge
• Decoding
• Vocabulary acquisition
• Word recognition
• Reading comprehension
• Oral reading rates

Likewise, a wonderful and simple tool such as captioning can and should be used both in and out of the classroom. Video is such a popular mode of entertainment, as well as widely used in education. Choosing to turn captions on is a very simple – yet effective – way to help your child learn.

Students can increase vocabulary, comprehension, and reading skills by watching even entertainment programs with the captions turned on. Closed captions help children learn sight words and reinforce reading skills. Although captions are in no way an alternative to traditional reading, captions can be a fun and engaging way to present reading in an alternative form. This is especially useful for students who may become either bored or discouraged from reading books.

How Captions Affect Our Media Experience

Some people might assume captions will be distracting, or on the contrary, simply ignored. Captions are actually intuitive, however. This means that they will not be ignored, and additionally there is no training or instruction needed to get students to use them. Even beginning or struggling readers tend to try to read the text on captioned media. This is another reason captioning is important – in other reading situations lower-level readers avoid reading activities. Avoiding reading and decreasing exposure to print only makes students’ development continue to fall further behind their peers.

In addition to the technical aspect of literacy, captioning can also help with the emotional and psychological component of literacy. The multimedia component that captions provide help foreign language learners to feel motivated, and alleviate some of the anxiety for children who are learning a new language, or having trouble with understanding a language.

It’s also important to know that captions are shown to increase engagement and enjoyment relative to uncaptioned or print content. So not only does captioning increase literacy, but they also make content more enjoyable – that sounds like a win-win!

Watch the webinar, Do Captions and Transcripts Improve Student Learning?

About the author

Elisa Lewis

Elisa Lewis is a Senior Marketing Manager at 3Play Media, where she leads content and brand strategy. She is passionate about accessibility, storytelling, and building connections through communication.

The post Does Closed Captioning Improve Reading and Literacy in Children? appeared first on 3Play Media.