5 Measures of Quality

Adapted from DCMP Captioning Philosophy

Accurate

The goal of each production is to produce captions that are free of error. In YouTube, auto-generated closed-captions can be used to help create accurate captions. Make sure captions have proper punctuation and spelling. Help your students focus on learning the content, and less on trying to figure out where one sentence ends and another begins!
Consistent

Uniformity in style and presentation of all captioning features is crucial for viewer understanding. YouTube and Amara will automatically format the font, color, and size. There is no need to change the default settings.
Clear

A complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information provides clarity.
Readable

Captions are displayed with enough time to be read completely, are in synchronization with the audio, and are not obscured by (nor do they obscure) the visual content.
Equal

Equal access requires that the meaning and intention of the material is completely preserved. In order to retain the meaning and feel of a video, try to stay true to the slang and speech of each character. In addition to the dialogue, caption sounds as well.

Get Ready for an Upcoming Activity

I Use YouTube's Auto-Generated Captioning!

Using YouTube's auto-generated captioning is a great start. Sometimes it can even capture all of the dialogue accurately. While YouTube's auto-generated software is a lot better than it was years ago, it still needs a human touch!

Quality Closed Captioning VS. Auto-Generated Captioning

Watch CollegeHumor's YouTube Closed Captioning Experiment to see the difference between quality captions and auto-generated captions.

Before you watch, turn on the closed captioning option on the YouTube video player:

On the bottom right-hand corner of the YouTube video player, click on the "CC" icon to turn on closed captioning.

Closed caption option is off if the "CC" icon is not highlighted.

Hmm...You Call These Quality Captions?

Estimated Total Viewing Time
2 Minutes, 32 Seconds

For those familiar with quality closed captioning, you will notice that these captions could be written a little more effectively. Pay attention to captions that could describe scenes better. This will help you be successful in the following activity.

Keep in mind, if you muted this video and watched it, would you get the same experience as one who had difficulty hearing?