Captions show a text based interpretation of what is being said in a video or audio stream. They allow those who are d/Deaf, or have hearing loss to better understand what is being said.
Captions can either be generated by creating a caption file to go with the video (closed captions), burning captions into the video so they are always there (open captions) or by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically generate the captions on the fly (live captions).
Pre-made captions are more accurate, they are well aligned to the video, but they require people to make them, and let’s face it people are busy, and captioning takes time. Live captions are less accurate, subject to errors with accents and unusual words, but they are available everywhere, and allow us to caption events that would otherwise go uncaptioned. Some software also has inbuilt tools which allow you to combine auto transcription with caption editing for faster results.
Finding content which is captioned well can be hard for teachers of students with hearing loss, and often the content that we want to use (because it’s either really good, or specifically made for our curriculum) turns out not to be captioned. That’s where some of the following tools and services can help out!
1. Chrome Live Captions
Live captioning is built into Google Chrome (download it here) and it’s super easy to use. As soon as a video or audio stream begins to play, you can click on the media menu in the toolbar and choose Live Captions (Be aware that live captions are only available in English at the moment). Live captions are a great stopgap solution in the classroom when closed or open captions are not available, or using video which is provided from a service which doesn’t support captioning (such as resources provided from Government departments). Live captions don’t replace well made closed or open captions, and these should always be prioritised whenever possible.
I’ve used this in a pinch with videos which aren’t captioned and are not on YouTube (as YouTube auto generates captions itself). It can be a lifesaver! As someone who also has their own auditory struggles I find that turning on the captions also increases my own understanding of what’s happening in a video, or allows me to watch a video in a loud location.
2. Slides & PowerPoint Live Captions
Both Google Slides and PowerPoint Online support live captions when presenting your slide deck. This allows your audience to see what you’re saying as text at the top or the bottom of the screen. These are really easy to get going with, and you can find the instructions for Google Slides and Powerpoint (desktop / online) by clicking on the links. This is a great way to allow students who don’t want to disclose their hearing loss, don’t want to use (or don’t have access to) an FM System, or students who are foreign language learners to follow along.
I’ve used this where I only have one screen, but have a large room of people who I want to talk to, and they’re not making use of either assistive listening devices or they don’t want to ask for them to be used. In a session earlier this year, the live captions in Slides were complimented a number of times!
3. Live Event Captioning
One place where captioning is hard is during live events. There aren’t very many options here to have affordable and easily managed captions on the fly. Professional events might make use of a service such as CART Captioning where a stenographer captions the event, but the reality is that this is expensive and requires a lot of advanced planning. This is where tools like the Chrome extension Slides Captions, or the site WebCaptioner come in handy. These allow you to put captions full screen and live caption you event, whether that be a presentation, a speech, keynote, or even a school play or performance.
We have started using these at school for all of our live events in our Auditorium. They are widely liked, but they do have some issues, including (as we’re in Quebec) people talking in two languages, or with a strong accent in their second language.
Conclusion
While live captions are not ideal, and not always accurate, they are beneficial over the alternative. They allow far more people to be included, and to take part in these large events.
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