# Captioning and Accessibility in Kaltura

Ensuring your instructional media is accessible is essential for supporting all learners. Kaltura provides built-in tools for captioning and integrates well with Canvas’s accessibility features. This page outlines how to manage captions and apply best practices for inclusive media.

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### Why Captioning Matters

Captions benefit:

- Students with hearing impairments
- English language learners
- Students in noisy or quiet environments
- Anyone reviewing content for key concepts

Captions also support **Universal Design for Learning (UDL)** and help meet **ADA compliance** standards.

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### Captioning Standards and Policy

- **Accuracy Requirement**  
    Captions should be at least **99% accurate** to meet WCAG 2.1 standards. Review and correct auto-captions to ensure completeness and clarity.
- **University Policy**  
    See the **[Key Provisions of Captioning & Accessibility Operating Procedure ](https://kb.astate.edu/books/captioning-transcription/page/key-provisions)**for official guidance.
- **Requesting Captioning Services**  
    If you have **60+ minutes of content**, **[Submit a Captioning Request ](https://astate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3ZPz5lsnHEhj8KW)**to Access & Accommodations Services.
    
    
    - Content may be processed in-house or sent to a third-party captioning company for processing depending on length, language, volume of requests, etc. To ensure quality content is received on time, AAS requires all captioning requests to be submitted two (**2**) weeks before the date it will be used.
    - **If your content does not meet the criteria above, you are responsible for making sure your content gets captioned.**
- If you have any questions, concerns, or issues, please contact:  
    
    - Victoria Shann (she/her)  
        **Assistive Technology &amp; Access Coordinator <vforster@AState.edu>** | 870-972-3964  
        Reng Student Union, Room 2181

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### Captioning Workflow in Kaltura

1. **Recording/uploading** Upload your video to Kaltura using any supported method—Media Upload, Express Capture, Kaltura Capture, or YouTube integration.
2. **Automatic Captions**  
    Videos uploaded to Kaltura are automatically captioned using machine-generated speech recognition.
    
    > Accuracy may vary depending on audio quality and speaker clarity.
3. **Editing Captions**You can edit captions directly in Kaltura to correct spelling errors and timing.
    
    > To correct the captions for the videos you upload to Kaltura, follow the instructions below:
    > 
    > 
    > - **[Upload and manage captions](https://knowledge.kaltura.com/help/upload-and-manage-captions)**
    > - **[Create captions manually](https://knowledge.kaltura.com/help/create-captions-manually)**
    > - **[Edit captions](https://knowledge.kaltura.com/help/editing-captions-reach-v2)**
4. **Publishing** Once captions are reviewed and finalized, publish the video to your course Media Gallery or embed it in Canvas content.
5. **Student access** Students can view captioned videos in Canvas with improved accessibility and playback performance.


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### Best Practices for Accessible Media

- **Review and edit auto-captions**  
    Especially for technical terms, names, or acronyms.
- **Use clear audio**  
    Minimize background noise and speak clearly to improve caption accuracy.
- **Add captions before publishing**  
    Ensure students have access to captions from the start.
- **Use scripts when possible**  
    Helps with clarity and consistency, especially for longer or complex videos.   
    Makes correcting issues in the captions as simple as copying and pasting from the script.

> A*ll of these best practices—clear audio, scripting, caption review, and timely publishing—are easily supported in the **Lightboard Recording Studio**. The studio setup minimizes background noise, supports teleprompter scripting, and saves recordings locally. Faculty can then upload the video to Kaltura using the **Media Upload** option and assign an appropriate title for captioning and sharing.*

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### Related Tools and Resources

- **[Course Accessibility Support in Canvas](https://kb.astate.edu/books/learning-technology/page/course-accessibility-tools-and-support)**
- **[Lightboard Recording Studio](https://kb.astate.edu/books/about-the-center/page/lightboard-recording-studio)**