Media Captioning

Media Captioning Accommodation Information for Students

New Portal Announcement May 2025

This page has been recently updated to include information about the DRC’s new accommodation management system, AIM, which will launch at the end of May. 

If you requested Captioned Media after May 27 in your AIM Student Portal, your instructor will receive information in the accommodation letter about how to ensure their videos are properly captioned. Please reach out to [email protected] any time if you have questions or if you notice that your course materials are not accurately captioned.

Media Captioning Accommodation Information For Instructors 

If there is a student currently registered in your course with a disability-related media captioning accommodation, assistance is available to help you meet accessibility requirements.

Below are some recommended options for locating or creating captioned media: 

  1. If you are creating recorded content on Kaltura in Canvas for your course, the auto-generated captions can be reviewed and edited. Instructions on editing captions in Kaltura are available on OIT’s website.
    1. The caption label for auto-generated captions now reads “English (auto generated)”. After editing the captions for accuracy, the caption label can be changed to “English”.
    2. If you need assistance editing captions, please submit a request through our media captioning request form.
  2. If you are showing third-party media during class, such as movies or YouTube clips, ensure that the videos are properly captioned.
    1. Note that YouTube and other video platforms often display automatically generated captions - while they can be helpful, these captions do not meet accessibility requirements. Automatically generated captions must be edited or replaced in order to make a video accessible.
    2. We strongly recommend choosing captioned media whenever possible, and suggest using these tips:
      1. YouTube’s search engine includes a filter to search for videos with “Subtitle/CC”, which will filter out any captions that are automatically generated.
      2. Videos on any platform can be reviewed first to ensure the captions are accurate and easy to read.
      3. The UMN Libraries are a great resource for documentaries and other titles that you may want to use in class - they often have captioned materials available for use.
  3. Submit a request to caption your media to the DRC, for media captioning accommodations. If you must use a video that isn't properly captioned, our office can assist you in locating or creating a captioned version of the video. Please submit a request through our media captioning request form. 

 

Things to know:

  • Videos that are in Kaltura/Mediaspace will most likely be updated directly by our office once the professional caption track is completed. Please watch for an email confirming completion from [email protected].
  • Videos that are on YouTube, Vimeo, or Google Drive will require an extra coordinating step to ensure the captioned video is successfully shared back with you. Please watch for an email requesting additional information from [email protected].
  • The video length and the number of requests are factors that may impact turnaround time. Please submit your requests with as much notice as possible.
  • Our office uses due dates to prioritize media captioning projects. If you have submitted media captioning requests in advance and are expecting a follow up email, please note that these emails will be sent once work on your project begins. This may be closer to the due date than the submission date - thank you for your understanding!