Ensuring that video content is accessible to all students is a crucial aspect of online education. One of the significant challenges faculty members face is captioning self-recorded video content, which is essential for deaf or hard of hearing students, as well as for those whose first language is not English. Canvas Studio offers tools to assist in captioning videos, streamlining the process to make your content accessible.

Captioning a Video Within Canvas Studio

Step 1: Select or Upload Your Video

Opening a Canvas Studio video

Navigate to your Canvas Studio library
If the video you want to caption is already in your library, select it
If the video is not in your library, select the "Upload" button and drag and drop your video file into the designated upload area
Access the video for captioning by clicking its title

Step 2: Generate Captions

Accessing Canvas Studio Captions

Once your video is selected, look for the "Captions" option in the video's menu
Click on "Request Captions" to access Canvas Studio's automatic caption generation feature

Captions Request Language

Select the language spoken in the video to start the captioning process

Step 3: Review Auto-Generated Captions

After the captions have been generated, it's essential to review them thoroughly
While auto-generated captions can save a significant amount of time, they should not be trusted outright
Be on the lookout for inaccuracies, especially with technical terminology, names, or idiomatic expressions, as these are common in auto-generated captions

Editing Auto-Generated Captions

Step 1: Access Caption Editor

Manage caption screen in Canvas Studio

Within the video's "Captions" menu, locate the generated captions.
Select the language of the captions to enter the editing mode.

Step 2: Edit Captions

Canvas Studio caption editor

Once in the editing mode, Canvas Studio will display the captions alongside the video timeline.
Use the timeline to navigate to specific sections of the video where corrections are needed.
Play the video and pause it at the segments you want to edit.
Select the caption text to make your changes and corrections.
Once you have completed your corrections, select the green "Publish" button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

For more in-depth instructions, we recommend that you review the following Canvas Community Guides:

Manually adding captions to a YouTube video within Canvas Studio

As highlighted in "4.1 Uploading and Integrating Videos in Canvas Studio (Read)", Canvas Studio doesn't support YouTube's captioned videos due to legal and Terms of Service constraints. This necessitates the manual addition of captions.

This section guides you on how to manually add captions to a YouTube video. For ease of practice, we suggest choosing a relatively short video.

Step 1: Obtaining the YouTube Transcript

Within a selected YouTube video click on "Show transcript" which you can find in the video descriptions

Transcript of a YouTube Video

Copy and paste the entire transcript into a text document

Step 2: Create From Scratch

Transcript on the left, Canvas Studio on the right

Have a copy of the YouTube transcript open
Open up a YouTube video that you've added to Canvas Studio. Make sure you are on the "Captions" tab
Select "create from scratch" then in the next window, select the language you wish to use for your captions

Canvas Studio Caption Window

Select "Add your first caption line"

Step 3: Adding Your First Caption Line

Canvas Studio Caption Editor on the right. Transcript on the left.

Copy and paste the first line from the transcript to the clipboard
Paste the first line from the transcript into the "Caption Text" box
Enter "Appears At" and "Until" times
Select "Add Line"

Step 4: Inserting New Lines

Canvas Studio Captions editor

To insert a new line, chose 'Insert line'. Continue this step until all of the captions from the transcript have been added
Select 'Publish' when you have finished adding all of the captions

Key Takeaways

Importance of Accessibility: Captioning videos is not just about compliance with accessibility laws; it's about inclusivity and ensuring all students have equal access to learning materials.
Review is Crucial: Auto-generated captions are a starting point, not the finish line. Reviewing and editing captions is essential to ensure accuracy and clarity, thus enhancing the learning experience for all students.
Engagement and Comprehension: Accurate captions can significantly improve engagement and comprehension for all students, not just those who rely on them out of necessity. They support various learning styles and can be especially helpful in noisy or quiet environments.