Captioning translates the audio part of a video into captions which appear at the bottom of the screen. The ‘closed’ part means that the text is hidden until it is selected.
Captions for educational material used within a class can be requested through the Closed Caption Request Form.
Instructors of courses with students requiring captions as part of an accommodation should contact SAS for further direction.
Captions for educational material used within current and future classes can be requested through the Closed Caption Request Form.
Questions, help, guidance? Contact: captioning@mcmaster.ca
Not sure where to submit a request for captions?
Take a look at our Caption Resource List from McMaster Library Accessibility Services
Captioning makes auditory information available to those who do not have access to audio. Inclusive Media cites a number of reasons to caption your web videos in their resource Reasons to caption web videos.
In addition to this, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires that in order to meet legislative compliance:
Audio descriptions make visual information available to those who do not have access to the visual components of the video or animation.
If a video or animation is created with accessibility in mind, and important visual elements are described or referenced in the audio track, then audio descriptions are unnecessary. However, when describing the visual elements of the video is inappropriate for the content, a second version of the video that includes audio description can be created.
The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) group provides suggestions on how to meet the audio description guideline (1.2.3. Level A):
Meeting the audio description guideline
Using extended audio description (meaning that the audio track includes pauses to fully describe visual content rather than waiting for gaps in dialogue or narration):
Meeting the audio description guideline with extended audio