Home » Teach Online » Online Course Accessibility Resources » Webcourses@UCF Page Accessibility » How to Make Your Videos Accessible in Webcourses@UCF How to Make Your Videos Accessible in Webcourses@UCF Making your videos accessible is crucial for maintaining quality and engaging students effectively. An accessible video includes captions, a transcript, audio description and is delivered in an accessible media player. If you have not created an accessible video prior to uploading to Webcourses@UCF , in this guide we will walk you through the steps to how to create or upload accessible video utilizing: 1. Media Comments and 2. Able Player, both of which can be found in the Rich Content Editor within Webcourses@UCF. Media Comments Media Comments, found in the Rich Content Editor (RCE), is the internal Webcourses@UCF tool for uploading and recording multimedia. This tool can be supported with both captions and, when placed on a Page or where the RCE is available, a transcript. We ask that you please download MP4 and MP3 files from this feature; then generate transcript files using Otter.ai or caption files using Clipchamp and upload those caption files back to Media Comments. Use this Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) support for quick Discussion instructor feedback and other RCE multimedia posts. File Capacity Limitations Please be mindful of your course’s file capacity when uploading video to Webcourses. Max file upload is limited to 500MB. Media Comments will count against your course’s 5GB file capacity. Additionally, individual file size can not exceed 500MB. Step 1: Download Your Video or Audio Files Below is a Webcourses@UCF page with a video uploaded using the Media Comments (MC) tool. It does not contain captions or a transcript. 1. To get support for Media Comments, it is best to work with them as an MP4 (video) or MP3 (audio). To obtain the download option, play the MC, and right click on it to select “Copy Video Address.” See photo below for reference. 2. Paste the link in a new window. Click the three vertical dots on the bottom right of the play bar to open the Download option. Click “Download.” The downloaded file will have a lengthy randomly generated name beginning with “t-.” It is recommended the file name be appropriately changed for identification. Step 2: Otter.ai for Transcripts For short video clips of a single speaker and audio only files, a transcript is the most efficient way to provide DHH support. There are several tools that can generate editable text from speech. One of these tools is Otter.ai. Transcripts can be generated at no charge on a limited basis. (Paid accounts offer more options including timed transcripts for captions.) 1. Using the “Start for Free” option in Otter.ai, and once an account has been established, click the Import button at the top right. 2. Drag and drop, or click “Browse files,” to select your desired MP4 (or MP3) file to begin the automatic transcription process. 3. Otter.ai will begin processing a machine generated editable transcription file. Once the transcript has finished processing, “Go to transcript,” will appear on the right of the processing status bar, saying “Done.” 4. Clicking “Go to transcript,” will open a new window. Use the editing tools to refine the transcript as needed. Once the editing is done, the text can be highlighted and copy/pasted to be saved into a document or on a Webcourses Page. 5. Paste the transcript content below the Media Comment. (Another option for lengthy transcripts is to paste content onto a page in Word, check the formatting, and save it as an accessible PDF or Word doc. Add a link to the transcript document below the Media Comment.) Step 3: Clipchamp.com for Captions Using the same Media Comments MP4 file that was downloaded, let’s look at how to get a timed transcript that can be edited for proper captioning created using a multimedia tool called, Clipchamp. (Training to use Clipchamp is offered to all faculty and staff at the Faculty Multimedia Center, or FMC) 1. After setting up a no charge Clipchamp account, drag and drop your selected MP4 to upload it. Once the editing tools appear, look for the “Turn on auto-captions” button at the top right. Wait a few moments for the captions to automatically process. 2. Review the transcription and edit as needed. Once satisfied, click the “Download captions (.srt)” button. Rename the .srt file to match the name of the video (or audio) file. Step 4: Uploading Caption Files in the Rich Content Editor Let’s upload the captions that have been created, edited, and saved in the .srt (or .vtt) file format into Webcourses@UCF using the Rich Content Editor. To access the Media Comment to work with it for DHH support, click the Edit button. The Rich Content Editor will open. Hovering over the video in the Edit field will allow the “Video Options” tab to show. Click the “Video Options” tab to view the menu. 1. In the Video Options menu, the Title can be modified, Display Options selected (Embed or Link), and Closed Captions/Subtitles. Note supported file types are listed as SRT or WebVTT (which are the same as .srt and .vtt, respectively). Once a timed caption file in one of these formats is generated, it can be uploaded here. (While either timed caption file type should work, WebVTT or .vtt works better on mobile devices and is recommended. There are free conversion tools available such as from 3Play Media to convert SRT to the WebVTT file format.) Uploading Caption Files in the Rich Content Editor 2. Click the arrow for “Select Language.” At the top, “English,” is listed. Click to select. (Note: The previous version of Media Comments may still exist in your Webcourses@UCF, and it has a different menu display. However, the process of uploading caption files is similar. If you would like assistance, contact Webcourses@UCF Support.) Uploading Caption Files in the Rich Content Editor 3. Next, click “Choose caption file.” Select the caption file (.srt or .vtt) for uploading. (Sometimes, you may get a message that something has gone wrong, but this may not always be true. Refreshing the page can help.) The indication the captions have successfully uploaded is marked by the blue circle with the white plus sign below the language indicator, “English.” If you need to update the caption file, click the trashcan icon and begin the process again. Click “Done,” when completed. 4. Let’s preview the captions to make sure they are working as expected. Either in the Rich Content Editor view or Regular view, click the Gear Icon. Select Captions. Then select, “English.” 5. Click the Play arrow to view the captions and verify the sound and text are properly synched. 6. If remediation is required, go back to where the suspected issue is and revisit the steps. Remember Webcourses@UCF Support is also available to assist you with getting captioning uploaded into Media Comments. Otherwise, you have done a great job making your multimedia content more accessible for all. Able Player Alternatively, within Webcourses@UCF in the Rich Content Editor, there is a tool called Able Player that allows you to activate captions and an interactive transcript for your course. It is an additional Deaf and Hard of Hearing support option for Youtube videos. Able Player works with .vtt caption files for personally owned and 3rd party YouTube videos providing both captions and interactive transcripts so if conversion from .srt is needed, this can be done with the 3Play Media Conversion Tool. First use of Able Player in the Plug in Menu (plug icon) may require a search in “View All” and activation. It should appear listed in the “Plug in Menu” from then on. Able Player is from the University of Washington and is currently supported at UCF to provide captioning and interactive transcripts for YouTube videos. DDH Support for Youtube Using Able Player 1. Once Able Player is selected, a frame will open requesting the desired YouTube URL. Paste the YouTube address in the field. Click “Search for captions.” 2a. Next, this will prompt a selection. (The example used here has had multiple caption files uploaded in the past. Caption files are uploaded in the cloud, so it is worthwhile to investigate via Able Player if proper captions are already available from a previous user of the same YouTube video before creating or uploading a new caption file.) 2b. Able Player will usually list, “YouTube: Asr (English)” because automatic machine-generated captions are available on the original YouTube link. However, it does not work with Able Player and should not be selected. If a proper caption file is not already selectable at the top, click the text in light gray at the bottom, “or upload your own.” You will then be directed to your computer files to select the appropriate caption file to upload. 3. Once the correct file is selected, and uploaded, the Able Player frame should display in the Rich Content Editor. Save the page. Play the video for a few seconds in different places to verify they are correct and running properly. The image shows both the CC and transcript icons activated. Viewers can toggle on or off the CC and transcript icons. If issues arise with use of Able Player, contact Webcourses@UCF Support for assistance.
