The Value of Captions and Transcripts for Audio/Visual Content
Closed captions were developed as an accommodation to provide an equal entertainment experience for deaf and hard of hearing persons. Captions are time-synchronized text that accompanies video content. Transcripts are the complete text version of all captions generated.
In combination, transcription and captioning provide a critical alternative to millions of people who experience hearing and/or visual disabilities. But many other audiences benefit as well.
- Students in online learning environments benefit from video transcription and captioning. Research has shown that transcription and captioning improve audience comprehension by providing cognitive reinforcement for multiple learning modalities. Students benefit from the flexibility of combining reading and listening, or switching from one to the other to combat concentration fatigue.
- Closed captions can greatly enhance the experience for viewers whose native language is not English.
- Captions help comprehend audio that may be difficult to discern or understand.
- Watching videos with captions can also help children improve their literacy.
- Transcripts make video content searchable.
- Transcripts also make it convenient to translate the content into foreign languages, and creating subtitles for videos in foreign languages.
4/6/2023 VJS