Minds On
What are captions?
In this learning activity, you are going to be learning about accessible writing and why it is important to write descriptively.
Check out this video entitled "We Choose Dance" about the ILL NANA DiverseCity Dance Company in Toronto. Before starting the video, press the CC icon to turn on captions. If you wish, you may also change certain caption settings such as font colour, size, and style.
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
Reflect on the following questions on your own for a few minutes. Write your answers or think about each one:
- What are captions?
- Why do videos provide captions?
- Do you think every video should provide captions?
- Have you ever used closed captioning? When? Why?
If possible, discuss your answers with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Bring the video back to the start. Open the described transcript of the video using the notebook icon at the bottom of the clip provided, and read it up to the first five minutes.
Student success
Think-Pair-Share
Think: Reflect on the following questions on your own for a few minutes. Write your answers, or think about each one:
- What is a described video transcript?
- Why would a video provide a described transcript option?
- Do you think every video should provide a descriptive transcript?
Pair: If possible, discuss your answers with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Action
Reflecting on described video
Some videos not only have closed captions and a described video transcript as options, but also have descriptive audio – where the transcript of the actions happening on screen is read aloud using a screen reader or incorporated directly into the video. This is called a “described video.”
Complete the Described Video Exercise Chart in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document to indicate whether a described video would be necessary in the examples provided. As you read the examples, imagine that you are watching a nature documentary.
| Example dialogue from the video | Would a description be necessary? | Explain why or why not |
|---|---|---|
| The narrator says, “Absolutely beautiful,” and then the scene changes. | ||
| The narrator says, “The young crocodile slowly leaves muddy water in search of a warm place to have a nap.” | ||
| The narrator says, “As you can see, it was settling in quite nicely.” | ||
| The narrator says, “It’s midnight. The owl flies above its territory, searching for its evening meal.” | ||
| The narrator says, “Cold, yet sunny, winter days like these are perfect hunting days for the white wolves of Alaska. They move in a pack through the woods, camouflaged by the snow hanging on the trees.” |
Press the Activity button to access Described Video Exercise Chart.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)Choice: Writing descriptive text
Choose from the following two options to write, or record using speech to text software, descriptive text for the audio (music), and/or the images.
For either option, you can record your ideas in an audio recording, on paper, or on a computer.
Option 1
The following video entitled "Flying Rivers" is a documentary about the Amazon rainforest. Help TVO by writing a described video transcript for this video. When writing, consider:
- If you are unsure if a scene needs descriptive text, ask yourself: if you could not see the video and only hear it, would you understand what was happening? If the answer is no, then write descriptive text.
Option 2
The following video entitled "The Space Symphony" is a series of videos from space that is set to classical music. There is no narration in this video, only music. Your task is to write descriptive text for the music playing. When writing, keep these suggestions in mind:
- Try to capture the mood that the music is conveying. Is it somber? Upbeat? Sad? Etc.
- Note when there is a major change in the music.
Creating a transcript
Complete these steps to write your transcript as you follow along with your chosen video option:
- When a scene/piece of music comes up for which you want to write descriptive text, pause the video.
- Complete the Described Video Transcript Graphic Organizer in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document to write the time code on the left of the table and your descriptive text on the right.
- Keep your text short, yet detailed. What does this mean in your writing?
Press the Activity button to access Described Video Transcript Graphic Organizer.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)Consolidation
Forming opinions
Student success
Think-Pair-Share
Four corners
Establish four parts of the room you are in. Each area will represent one of four possible options:
- strongly agree
- agree
- disagree
- strongly disagree
For each statement, move to the area of the room your views most align with.
Statements
- Video sharing websites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. should have the option to include a described video transcript in your video if you want.
- Video sharing websites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. should require that all videos uploaded have a described video transcript.
- The government should provide extra funding to make sure that all government-created videos have a described video transcript option.
- It is more important to have a captions option than it is to have a described video transcript option.
- Described video and captions should be turned on by default, with the option to turn them off if you want.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Reflection
As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.
I feel...
Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.
When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.
Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.
Discover MoreFind a video that you enjoy. Complete the Described Video Transcript Graphic Organizer in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document to write a script for the video you like. Share your script with the creator and explain to them the importance of including described video as an option.
Press the Activity button to access Described Video Transcript Graphic Organizer.
Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)