NATIONAL RESEARCH STUDY:

Student Uses and Perceptions of Closed Captions & Transcripts

Video in higher education has become commonplace. According to the students surveyed, almost 100% of courses included some video content in both online and face-to-face environments. Closed captioning and transcription are also becoming a lot more common, but questions abound. Why do students use captions/transcripts and how do they support learning? Why and how often do students who are not deaf or hard of hearing use captions/transcripts? Which subgroups of students use captions/transcripts and how much do they rely on them? Are there common hindrances that can be mitigated?

This study was conducted by the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit under research director Dr. Katie Linder.

The study was conducted in collaboration with 3Play Media.

COLLABORATORS

ABOUT THE STUDY

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98.6% of students

find captions helpful

71% of students

without hearing difficulties use captions at least some of the time

Graph shows the following results: Always (14.9%), Often (16.5%), Sometimes (18.4%), Seldom (21%), Never (29.2%)

66% of ESL students

find captions "very" or "extremely" helpful

Graph shows the following: Hearing difficulty (71.38%), ESL (65.95%), Registered with ODS (65.82%), Pell-eligible (65.39%), Vision disability (63.99%), Learning disability (60.58%)

Groups That Find Captions Helpful

Reasons for Using Captions

Graph showing the following: Learning aid 75.5%, Poor audio/video 22.4%, Instructor's accent 8.3%, Sound-sensitive environment 6.7%, Disability accommodation 6%, Convenience 5.1%

How often do students without hearing difficulties use captions?

75% of students

that use captions said they use captions as a learning aid

How do captions help as a learning aid?

Graph showing the following: Comprehension 51.92%, Accuracy 33.41%, Retention 14.57%, Engagement 20.26%

52% of students

that use captions said captions help as a learning aid by improving comprehension

Graph showing the following: Yes 55.9%, Sometimes know 29.4%, No 14.7%

Do students know how to tell if a video has captions?

15% of students

don't know how to tell if a video has captions

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Conducted by Oregon State University's Ecampus Research Unit

Download this free 52-page report to get results from the largest IRB-approved study on student usage and perceptions of closed captions and transcripts. Using data collected from 2,124 student participants from across 15 public and private colleges and universities, the results are carefully analyzed and broken down by different student subgroups. This report sheds light on many critical issues surrounding accessibility and the rapidly growing usage of video in higher education.

Download the Full Report >>

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The most common reason students use captions is to help them

focus.

Why do students use closed captions?

Why do students use transcripts?

The most common reason students use transcripts is as

study guides.

Focus (65.42%), Retain information (62.94%), Poor audio (62.61%), Sound-sensitive environment (42.48%), Difficult vocabulary (27.32%), Hearing difficulty (18.82%), Professor's accent (18.63%), ESL (7.32%)
As study guides (47.30%), Retain information (46.32%), Find information (46.26%), Focus (34.05%), Poor audio (29.68%), Difficult vocabulary (19.97%), Hearing difficulty (9.43%), Professor's accent (12.34%), ESL (5.20%)

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