Separate Audio & Video upload options in the "Upload Media" tool (accessibility concerns)

[tmalone2]

Faculty are legally required to make electronic course material accessible via captioning (Section 508). 

Video uploaded into Canvas (when the campus does NOT have Studio) is NOT captioned - NOT accessible. Video uploaded into Canvas can NOT be captioned. Canvas is NOT accessible allowing users to upload un-captioned video. Faculty must use outside systems that caption and embed video. 

Audio uploaded into Canvas CAN have transcripts uploaded to make it accessible. The ability to upload Audio in Canvas can still be accessible with the users transcript addition. 

Since it is the LAW - accessible media...we have turned OFF the Upload Media tool. Which is NOT far to the faculty who want to upload transcribed Audio. 

1) If you separate the "Upload Media" to allow Administrators to allow uploaded Audio only...then we can still allow our users to create accessible content.

2) Also, if you allow for Administrators to enable Voice messages only (disabling video messages)...then we can allow our users to create accessible voice messages. 

It is sad that it is an ALL or nothing option. Turning off the Upload Media prevents many users from creating accessible effective teaching tools. Not everyone can afford Instructure Studio. And Canvas alone for Video is NOT Accessible without captions. 

[Stef_retired]

@tmalone2  Thanks for sharing this idea. Instructors can add captions to videos they upload to Canvas, even when they don't have Studio. Are your instructors using the instructions in How do I add captions to new or uploaded videos in... - Canvas Community to add captions to their uploaded videos?

[tmalone2]

Greetings Stefanie,

Thank you for the info to ADD the .vtt file. 

This issue is that MOST faculty will not have a .vtt file. In YouTube...it will create the captions for the faculty. In Zoom and Screencast-o-Matic creates captions. I know they can export the .vtt...but WHY when it JUST works in those tools. 

Can Canvas partner with a tool (maybe the ones that YouTube, Zoom or SOM users) to "create" captions in the video FOR the faculty without having the create or use an OUTSIDE tool to create a .vtt file?

ALSO: Can you provide a tool option that will NOT allow faculty to upload a video file WITHOUT the .vtt file so WE KNOW it is accessible?????????

Tonia

[dlyons]

@tmalone2,

I appreciate that creating a VTT may seem daunting, but the good news is VTT is really just a text file anyone can create with Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (macOS).

Tools like YouTube, Zoom, SoM, etc. and Canvas Studio include automatic captioning as part of their focused service offering and all of these already have integrations with Canvas LMS, so you can still benefit from an integrated workflow. Admins can even disable the media uploader in the RCE if a school wants to enforce use of a specific tool like the ones you mentioned, or our own Canvas Studio.

We can't require captions on videos as captions are only one way to provide accommodations to folks (for example text transcripts would also be appropriate, and even preferable in some cases.)

[tmalone2]

dlyons, 

Faculty are legally required to make electronic course material accessible via captioning (Section 508).

Yes, faculty can create a txt file .vtt separately on their own - but that takes a LONG time and easier to use tools like YouTube to create one. 

ALSO: Can you provide a tool option that will NOT allow faculty to upload a video file WITHOUT the .vtt file so WE KNOW it is accessible?????????

Tonia

[tmalone2]

Stefanie,

What does "archived" mean?

Tonia

[dlyons]

@tmalone2,

I'm not familiar with any part of Section 508 that specifically requires captioning. The language I'm referencing from the Section 508 document you linked to is:

individuals with disabilities...  ...have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by such members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

which is why Canvas does not require a caption file. There may be tools that allow administrators to require caption files but I do not know of any, as captions are not the only type of accommodation that provide "comparable access to the information". 

Automatic captioning is certainly easier and faster for faculty in many cases! However, it requires specialized software to be developed and maintained, which is why Canvas Studio, like Zoom/Youtube/Screencast-o-Matic/etc. include it as part of their paid service offerings.

[Stef_retired]

@tmalone2 David has beautifully articulated why Canvas wouldn't develop a setting that prohibits the uploading of videos without VTT files. Captioned videos are not a requirement under Section 508. Captions on videos are one possible accommodation, but there are other solutions that are readily available to instructors who do not caption their videos.

If your institution requires that all videos have captions, this would be a specialized request specific to your school, and your CSM can assist you with this: they can help you explore a ProServ solution that would create a custom setting for your school, or can work with you to conduct a trial of Canvas Studio, which is the specialized software that accommodates this.

We've archived the idea for those reasons.