Captioning and Canvas Studio

Captioning is an important aspect of accessibility, and captioning in Canvas studio can be a breeze. If you are using Canvas and are posting videos; they need to be captioned. This post is not going to explain why captioning is important, but rather; how do you do it in Canvas Studio.

Canvas Studio offers a unique approach to captioning videos for content that you might own or do not own. It is also a premium feature – so be sure to check with your Canvas Admin to see if it is available.

Video Overview

This video will walk you through the steps needed to host a captioned video in Canvas Studio. The watch time is 2 minutes and 5 seconds.

Steps needed to host a captioned video in Canvas Studio

The basic premise is to get an SRT file, and then upload it into Canvas studio. Once you have the video captioned, it can easily be placed on the page. This section will cover the following steps:

1. Get an SRT file for the video you want to caption
   • Use otter.ai
   • Use YouTube for auto sync
2. Add the video to your Canvas Studio library
3. Upload the SRT file to the captions section within Canvas Studio
4. Insert the Video into the Canvas page

Step 1 – You have the SRT file right?

There are many tools to get an SRT file for a video that you are trying to caption. Here is one method using Otter.ai to create an SRT file. Make sure to edit it for accuracy!

Step 2 – Get the video into Canvas Studio Library

In order to properly display a video using Canvas Studio – it must be added to your library. Here are the steps:

1. After logging into Canvas – select the Studio button on the left column.
   
2. Select Add in the top right corner
   
3. Upload a raw video file or use a YouTube link
   

Step 3: Upload the SRT (caption file) to the video itself

1. In Canvas studio, ensure you are in My Library
2. Select the video you want to add a caption too
   
3. Select the caption tab
4. Upload English captions
   

Step 4: Place the video into a canvas page

Get into edit mode on the canvas page that you want to add your newly captioned video

1. Select the apps button in the Rich Content Editor
2. Select Studio
   
3. Select the video to place onto the page
   

That’s it!

Are you working with documents like PowerPoint, PDFs, or Microsoft Word files? Check out some of my other posts.

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