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Captioning and Transcription Services at Sacramento State

Sacramento State is now offering faculty and staff another option to caption and transcribe media such as video and audio through the Automatic Sync Technologies (AST) captioning service available through Video Services in the Information Resources and Technology Department. Sacramento State and other CSU campuses are taking advantage of an agreement between the CSU and Automatic Sync Technologies service company that offer participating campuses captioning and transcription services at a discounted price.

According to the Accessible Technology Initiative’s Instructional Materials Priority, starting Fall 2008 instructional materials (print and electronic formats) must be accessible for brand new courses and for courses with substantial changes. Likewise, course materials for a course in which a student with a disability is enrolled, must be accessible as needed.

Video and audio are forms of electronic instructional materials that are highly used and that enable the instructor to provide students with a more meaningful representation of concepts from a textbook or for other purposes. Because video and audio are highly used and impact the learning process for students, it is important for faculty to ensure access to the content of these media to all students. Using captioned videos and providing transcripts for audio files ensures that students with a disability can access these media.

Process to Request Captioning and Transcription Services through AST

  • Plan in advance. Identify video and audio materials you will use in class at least 8 weeks prior to the first day of the semester. We require that you submit captioning and/or transcription requests at least three weeks before the date you will need the media to be captioned. Turnover of the captioned files depend largely on your promptness in submitting the request and on the size and duration of the media files.
  • Submit the Request Automatic Sync Service (http://webapps2.csus.edu/atg/ATGautomaticsync.aspx) online form. A limited captioning fund from the ATI project will cover the cost for high priority projects such as those to caption/transcribe media files for a course in which a student with a disability is enrolled. Other captioning requests can be run through AST captioning service for the stipulated costs and charged to the department requesting the captioning.
  • Submit media files in person to Video Services located in AIRC 1012, or inform Video Services if the files are posted online or on a server. Once Video Services receives the request and media files, Video services will process your request.
  • Provide proof of copyright release for all applicable media files. Copyright release is required for all applicable media files before we can provide the final captioned and/or transcribed files to you.
  • Check your Saclink email for updates on your request. We will send all communications regarding your request to your Saclink email.

Video Services also offers other captioning and transcription services which are Free of cost but that must be requested at least three weeks in advance from the date the captioned and/or transcribed files are needed. These services include captioning and transcription via an audio-mining tool called DocSoft. The process requires more time since the captioning and transcription is done in-house. To inquire about AST service or DocSoft please call the Service Desk at 278-7337.

Copyright Information

CSU Campus Copyright Questions (Word Document) - http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/documents/CopyrightAnswerstoCampuses7-2-08.doc

Copyright Resources - http://www.csus.edu/atcs/tools/copyright/resources.stm. This webpage provides a top list of links to copyright websites covering information about TEACH Act, Fair Use, and Digital Millennium Act among other topics.

Copyright - http://www.csus.edu/atcs/tools/copyright/index.stm. Sac State webpage with an overview about copyright and links to resources.

United States Copyright Office - http://www.copyright.gov/

Free Captioning Tools and Resources

WebAIM's Software for Creating Captions webpage - http://www.webaim.org/techniques/captions/software.php

National Center for Accessible Media's Media Access Generator MAGpie Captioning tool - http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/magpie/index.html

Described and Captioned Media Program - http://www.dcmp.org/Catalog/Default.aspx. Browse and search the DCMP library for existing captioned media.

Caption it Yourself - http://www.dcmp.org/ciy/. A website by Described and Captioned Media Program that provides information on the most popular free captioning tools you can use.

Tube Caption - http://tubecaption.com/

To obtain more information about captioning and transcription services and for general Instructional Materials questions email cvera@csus.edu.

 

Contact us: ati@csus.edu