[Ucrfacultyandstaff] The UCR Digital Deep Clean Week 8 Challenge: Audio and Video
UCR Provost
provost at ucr.edu
Thu Apr 9 15:47:58 PDT 2026
[image: UC Riverside logo]
The UCR Digital Deep Clean
[image: A home media room with a large collection of media (DVDs, CDs,
etc.) on the shelves.]
Week Eight: The Media Room
Lights, camera, accessibility! In week 8 of the Digital Deep Clean
challenge we’re heading into the “Media Room" to audit our video and audio
content.
Whether it’s a recorded lecture, an event promotion, a podcast, or a quick
tutorial, our media must be accessible to every Highlander. This includes
those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing, as well as those who are simply in
a quiet study zone or a noisy gym.
In fact, 80% of people watch mobile videos with the sound off. By adding
captions, you ensure your message is received regardless of the volume
setting. Plus, transcripts make your video content searchable, helping
users easily find specific information within a recording.
The Weekly Guidance
Captions and Transcripts
Captions and transcripts provide a text-based version of spoken
information. Be sure to review UCR’s guidance and resources on audio and
video accessibility
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility/audio-and-video>.
Below we’ll cover some UCR-provided tools that help simplify media
accessibility.
-
Zoom for Video Auto-captions and Transcription: If you record meetings
or lectures to the cloud, Zoom automatically generates captions. Note that
auto-captions aren't always accurate, so it is important to review and edit
prior to sharing.
-
YouTube for Video Auto-captions: If you upload a video as "Unlisted,"
YouTube's speech-to-text engine will generate captions automatically. You
can then download the .vtt or .srt file to use elsewhere.
-
Microsoft Word Online for Audio Transcription: In the browser-based
version of Word, go to Home > Dictate > Transcribe. You can upload an .mp3
or .mp4 file, and Word will identify different speakers and create a
time-stamped transcript that you can save directly in your document.
-
Google Docs for Live Dictation: In Google Docs, you can go to Tools >
Voice Typing to create a live transcript during a meeting or while playing
a recording aloud.
-
Free Resources: Alternatively, you can create your own captions using a
free online tool like amara.org. You can save your .srt captioning file
and upload it onto your video.
-
Audio Description Guidelines: The UCR Digital Accessibility website
provides guidance on how to provide information about the visual aspects
of a video
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility/audio-and-video#audio-description-guidelines>
to someone who is blind or who has low vision.
Pro Tip: Providing a transcript alongside a video is an "altruistic" win;
it allows users to read and highlight text at their own pace.
The Weekly Challenge
[image: A college student watching a video-recorded lecture with closed
captions.]
Learn: Review the UC guidelines from transcripts and captions
<https://www.ucop.edu/electronic-accessibility/web-developers/transcripts-and-captions/index.html>,
as well as the audio and video guidance on the UCR Digital Accessibility
website
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility/audio-and-video>.
Audit: Review your most-viewed or most-shared media to determine which may
need captions or transcripts added.
Explore the Tools: Carve out some time this week to explore the
transcription settings in Zoom, YouTube, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and
Amara.
Faculty Focus
YuJa is UCR's academic video management platform. It provides high-quality
auto-captioning and allows you to easily embed accessible videos directly
into Canvas.
How to Add Auto-captions Using YuJa
<https://support.yuja.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043421473-Adding-Auto-Captions-to-Media>
Connecting YuJa, Zoom, and Google Drive
<https://ucrsupport.service-now.com/ucr_portal?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0011575>
Enabling Auto-captions in Zoom
<https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0058810>
Using Audio Transcription in Zoom
<https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0064927>
Website Wranglers
Accessibility for Multimedia Course
<https://learninghub.siteimprove.com/customer-training-accessibility-for-multimedia>
Add Subtitles and Captions in YouTube
<https://support.google.com/youtube/topic/9257536?hl=en&ref_topic=9257610&sjid=6583481083384142939-NC>
Add Subtitles and Captions in Vimeo
<https://help.vimeo.com/hc/en-us/articles/21956884955537-How-to-add-captions-or-subtitles-to-my-video>
Resources for social and embedded media include:
-
YouTube/Vimeo: If you embed videos from external sites, ensure the "CC"
(Closed Captions) button is active and that the captions have been manually
corrected. "Auto-generated" captions from YouTube often contain errors that
can change the meaning of your message.
-
Siteimprove: Use Siteimprove to identify pages with embedded videos that
may be missing an accessible alternative.
-
Social Media: Most platforms (Instagram, Facebook, X) now offer
auto-captioning stickers or settings. Always toggle these on before you
post!
Did You Miss Previous Weeks or Want to Get Ahead?
You can find all of the accessibility guidance and resources provided as
part of the Digital Deep Clean challenge on the Digital Accessibility
webpage!
Visit the Digital Accessibility Webpage to Learn More
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility>
Access barrier? Report digital accessibility issues or request remediation
<https://ucrsupport.service-now.com/ucr_portal?id=ucr_accessibility_form_login>
of inaccessible digital content.
University of California, Riverside
900 University Ave.
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-1012 | ucr.edu <https://www.ucr.edu/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20260409/7d928322/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image
Type: image/png
Size: 38168 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20260409/7d928322/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image
Type: image/png
Size: 2320863 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20260409/7d928322/attachment-0004.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image
Type: image/png
Size: 2210538 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://scotmail.ucr.edu/pipermail/ucrfacultyandstaff/attachments/20260409/7d928322/attachment-0005.png>
More information about the Ucrfacultyandstaff
mailing list