At my corporate education institution, many students are using video submissions, either by choice or by instructor prompt.

These video posts are not accessible — to students with a variety of disabilities such as auditory processing disorder or a seizure disorder, and also to students with temporary impairments such as, “It’s two in the morning and my baby won’t stop crying so I’ll do some coursework — but QUIETLY!“.

We are currently working on updating facilitator training and course language to require students to post a transcript using their choice of free transcription software. But this is an imperfect solution, because it asks the students to do extra work and places the burden of explanation on facilitators.

This is where Canvas has an opportunity to grow. Student video submissions should have an auto-transcript feature. (Either that, or Canvas should have an integration with transcription software.)