When including video or audio content, an alternative method for deaf or blind users to access the content must be provided. Video and audio accessibility can be improved by providing transcripts and captions, and descriptions of video images.
Please contact the LUC Student Disability Center, Human Resources, and/or Information Technology Services for help with accessing or adapting course content for accessibility.
Audio accessibility: Provide a transcript.
Transcripts are required to provide basic accessibility. A transcript is a text version of video or audio content that can be read either visually or by a screen reader, searched by a web browser or other software, and scanned by a reader for important information.
A transcript should contain the words spoken in a video or audio clip, and additional descriptions, explanations, or comments that may be beneficial. For example, a transcript of a video that shows children playing ball in a school gymnasium might describe the room and indicate when the teacher blows a whistle to get the students' attention.
If a transcript of your video or audio content is not readily available, a transcript can be provisionally created. However, if you are not the author of the video or audio content, you may encounter copyright issues in creating a transcript. Please refer to the Loyola Copyright Policy for more information. For some video and audio content, an existing transcript may be available in the Loyola Library catalog or online.
Note: Minutes are not a sufficient transcript for audio or video of a meeting (unless done by a court reporter or someone who can capture every word).
Video accessibility: Use captioning.
Captions are transcripts synchronized with audiovisual content so that the audio information in text is conveyed at the same time as the corresponding image displays in the video. Captions for audio files can also help speakers of other languages to follow along and understand the content more easily.
Try to find videos that are already captioned. The Loyola Library may have video and media resources available, and may be able to assist with finding appropriate captioned videos.
The Student Accessibility Center may also provide captioning assistance for those with an immediate need.
Video accessibility: Include an audio description.
Audio descriptions are required for important visual elements of a video that are not already described in spoken text. For example, if a graph or chart is displayed in a lecture video, and the instructor does not describe it when speaking, an audio description would be needed to supplement the video.