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National Research Results: How & Why Do Students Use Closed Captioning?

Dr. Katie LinderResearch DirectorOregon State University EcampusKathryn.Linder@oregonstate.edu

www.3playmedia.comtwitter: @3playmedialive tweet: #a11y

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Lily Bond (Moderator)3Play MediaDirector of Marketinglily@3playmedia.com

National Research Results: How & Why Do Students Use Closed Captioning?

Presented by:

Dr. Katie Linder, Research DirectorOregon State University Ecampuskathryn.linder@oregonstate.edu

Tweet using: @ecresearchunit @Katie__Linder@3playmedia

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Presentation Objectives

• An outline of the study recruitment and procedures• Data & results from the study including:

• Information about the students who responded• Student awareness of the availability of captioning• Student use of captioning and transcription• How & why students use captions and transcripts• The perceived learning benefits of captioning & transcription• Common captioning hindrances identified by students• Takeaways from the study

• Q&A

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Study Origins

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Study Research Questions• To what extent are students aware of the availability of video closed

captions and transcripts in their courses?

• To what extent do various student populations use video closed captions and transcripts?

• Why do students use video closed captions and transcripts?

• How do students use video closed captions and transcripts to support their learning?

• To what extent do various student populations perceive the use of video closed captions as potentially valuable to their learning?

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Recruitment

• 3,742 institutional representatives received an email announcing the study

• A series of webinars describing the study were held

• For institutions that chose to participate in the study, recruitment materials for the student survey were shared for distribution

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Instrument and Procedures• When consented for the survey, students were told that their

institution was partnering with Oregon State University and 3Play Media

• Student participants were asked to complete a 46-item online survey

• Students had the option at the end of the survey to provide their email to be entered into a raffle for one of fifty $25 Amazon gift cards

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Participants• Participants who were under the age of 18 were excluded from

the study

• A total of 15 institutions agreed to assist with recruitment of student survey participants

• From those 15 institutions, 2,839 students responded

• 2,124 student participant responses were included in the analysis of the outcomes after data cleaning procedures were completed

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An Important Note

• Many institutions are only thinking about closed captions in relation to student accommodation

• Thus, some institutions only sent out the survey to the students who were receiving captions for accommodation

• This is reflected in the response rates of students with registered disabilities and students who receive closed captions as an accommodation

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Participating SchoolsSchool Respondents Institutional Profile

A 1 Private 4-year, nonprofit, NortheastB 8 Public 2-year, nonprofit, MidwestC 32 Public 4-year, nonprofit, SoutheastD 4 Public 4-year, nonprofit, SoutheastE 32 Public 2-year, nonprofit, SouthwestF 7 Public 4-year, nonprofit, MidwestG 64 Public 2-year, nonprofit, MidwestH 24 Private 4-year, nonprofit, SouthwestI 60 Public 4-year, nonprofit, MidwestJ 4 Public 4-year, nonprofit, MidwestK 1130 Public 4-year, nonprofit, WestL 300 Public 4-year, nonprofit, WestM 100 Private 4-year, nonprofit, NortheastN 123 Public 4-year, nonprofit, WestO 235 Public 4-year, nonprofit, West

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frequency percentage

freshman 357 18.1%

sophomore 323 16.4%

junior 436 22.1%

senior 514 26.1%

graduate student 272 13.8%

other 71 3.6%

total 1973 100%

Student Respondents

freshman; 18.10%

sophomore; 16.40%

junior; 22.10%

senior; 26.10%

graduate student; 13.80%

other; 3.60%

Year in School

freshmansophomorejuniorseniorgraduate studentother

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Student Respondents (cont.)

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Student Respondents (cont.)

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Student Respondents (cont.)

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Student Respondents (cont.)

face-to-face; 35.20%

primarily face to face with occa-sional online;

3.60%

equally face-to-face and online;

5.10%

primarily online with occasional

face-to-face; 51.90%

only online; 4.10%

Course Modality

face-to-face

primarily face to face with occasional online

equally face-to-face and online

primarily online with occasional face-to-face

only online

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Student Respondents (cont.)

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Availability of Closed Captions

• Approximately how many videos in your courses had closed captioning as an option?

• How often did you use closed captions when they were available?

frequency percentage

all 125 6.0%most 269 12.8%many 209 10.0%some 370 17.7%just a few 318 15.2%none 240 11.5%I am not sure 565 27.0%

total 2096 100%

frequency percentage

never 541 26.0%seldom 418 20.1%sometimes 394 19.0%often 356 17.1%always 370 17.8%total 2079 100%

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• Do you know how to tell if a video has closed captioning as a feature?

• Do you know how to turn on closed captioning?

Use and Perceptions of Closed Captions

frequency percentage

yes 1174 55.9%sometimes 617 29.4%

no 308 14.7%

total 2099 100%

frequency percentage

yes 1251 59.6%sometimes 536 25.5%

no 312 14.9%total 2099 100%

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• Approximately how many videos in your courses have transcripts as an option?

• How often did you use transcripts when they were available?

Use and Perceptions of Transcripts

frequency percentageall 62 3.1%most 82 4.1%many 81 4.0%some 193 9.6%just a few 364 18.0%none 864 42.8%I am not sure 371 18.4%

total 2017 100%

frequency percentagenever 1087 55.5%seldom 248 12.7%sometimes 258 13.2%often 171 8.7%always 196 10.0%total 1960 100%

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• How often did you use closed captions when they were available?

• How often did you use transcripts when they were available?

Comparing CC and Transcript Use

frequency percentagenever 1087 55.5%seldom 248 12.7%sometimes 258 13.2%often 171 8.7%always 196 10.0%total 1960 100%

frequency percentage

never 541 26.0%seldom 418 20.1%sometimes 394 19.0%often 356 17.1%always 370 17.8%total 2079 100%

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• Approximately how many videos in your courses had closed captioning as an option?

• Approximately how many videos in your courses have transcripts as an option?

Comparing CC and Transcript Availability

frequency percentageall 62 3.1%most 82 4.1%many 81 4.0%some 193 9.6%just a few 364 18.0%none 864 42.8%I am not sure 371 18.4%

total 2017 100%

frequency percentageall 125 6.0%most 269 12.8%many 209 10.0%some 370 17.7%just a few 318 15.2%none 240 11.5%I am not sure 565 27.0%

total 2096 100%

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Helpfulness of Closed Captions vs. Transcripts

Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

1.40%

10.50%

29.00%

35.70%

23.40%

31.10%

18.40%

22.50%

17.00%

11.00%

Helpfulness of Captions & Transcripts (by percentage of whole)

Captions Transcripts

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Why do students use closed captions?

  frequency

Helps me focus 1001Helps me retain the information 963Helps overcome poor audio quality 958I watch videos in sound sensitive environments (e.g. a library) 650

Helps me with difficult vocabulary 418I have difficulty with hearing 288My professor has an accent 285Other (please describe) 155English is my second language 112

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Five main themes emerged:

1) Environmental (quiet environments)

2) Video/audio quality (poor quality, too quiet) and/or instructor difficult to understand (accents, speaks too fast)

3) Convenience (faster, saves time)

4) Accommodation (disability accommodation)

5) Learning aid (accuracy, comprehension, retention, engagement)

Perceived Benefits of Closed Captions

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Sample Comments of Perceived Benefits of Closed Captions

• Environmental: “I don’t like playing videos with sound when I’m in an environment where doing so would be disruptive.”

• Video/audio quality: “Helps when a video has poor sound quality.”

• Instructor difficult to understand: “My professor has a slight accent that makes her words fast and jumbled.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Benefits of Closed Captions

• Convenience: “I find it easier to read along with the videos rather than just sit there and listen to the professor talk.”

• Accommodation: “I’m dyslexic so it helps me to know that the notes I’m writing down are both spelled correctly and in the right syntax.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Learning Benefits of Closed Captions

• Accuracy: “If I need to write down notes, I know exactly how to quote a video.”

• Comprehension: “It can help me deeply understand the lecture.”

• Retention: “By simultaneously reading and listening to the content, I am able to retain the information better.”

• Engagement: “They help me to focus on the video instead of just tuning out the noise.”

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Perceived Hindrances of Closed Captions

 Frequency Percent

Not at all 965 63.32%

Slightly 401 26.31%

Moderately 135 8.9%

Very 16 1.05%

Extremely 7 .05%

Total 1524 100%

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Perceived Hindrances of Closed Captions400 qualitative comments included in analysis

• 41.5% (166) said that closed captions were distracting or required too much cognitive load

• 34.8% (139) said that closed captions included incorrect information such as typos or were incorrectly synced with the video

• 32% (128) said that closed captions blocked important information

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Distracting or required too much cognitive load

• “I do not focus on the video, I focus on the reading.”

• “If the video is simple with simple vocabulary then closed captioning can be annoying and seem repetitive causing the feeling of boredom.”

• “They are distracting from the actual video.”

Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Closed Captions

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Included incorrect information such as typos or were incorrectly synced with the video

• “Most of the time the videos in class have used automatic captions which never match up with what is really being said which often makes them inaccurate and not helpful.”

• “When the captioning is wrong, it is frustrating because in a PhD program details matter. Additionally, when they are wrong, it takes that much longer to process and contribute to a conversation.”

Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Closed Captions

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Closed captions blocked important information

• “Some instances it covered up the equations needed to see for the math classes.”

• “It can block important images/pictures.”

• “When they are in the way of the video (specifically words, such as names or positions of people talking in video).”

Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Closed Captions

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Why do students use transcripts?

  frequency

I use transcripts as study guides 682Helps me retain the information 668Helps me find what I'm looking for 667Helps me focus 491Helps overcome poor audio quality 428Helps with difficult vocabulary 288Other (please describe) 273I watch videos in sound sensitive environments (e.g. the library) 261

My professor has an accent 178I have difficulty with hearing 136English is my second language 75

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Perceived Benefits of Transcripts

Five main themes emerged:

1) Environmental (quiet environments)

2) Video/audio quality (poor quality, too quiet) and/or instructor difficult to understand (accents, speaks too fast)

3) Accommodation (for specified disability)

4) Convenience (search for information, easier, faster, use for citations and quoting)

5) Learning aid (comprehension, note-taking, study aid, review materials later)

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Sample Comments of Perceived Benefits of Transcripts

• Environmental: “They helped me understand what was being said if I was in a noisy environment, or when I was in a quiet environment. I found it easier to follow along as well.”

• Video/audio quality: “They allow you to read what is said without having to understand the speaker clearly.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Benefits of Transcripts

• Instructor difficult to understand: “It is not always easy to understand professors who have a foreign dialect or who speak too quickly.”

• Convenience: “It’s much easier to locate the key ideas and terms.”

• Accommodation: “It helps with my learning disability, being able to read the information while watching the video.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Learning Benefits of Transcripts

• Accuracy: “If I missed anything, I could have it right in front of me.”

• Comprehension: “It is harder to take notes from a video. Transcripts allow easier identification of key points.”

• Retention: “I am a visual learner so being able to read the material at my own pace and take notes helped me retain the information better.”

• Engagement: “It helps me not have to take notes, which allows me to focus on the video.”

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Perceived Hindrances of Transcripts

 Frequency Percent

Not at all 1482 81.03%

Slightly 193 10.55%

Moderately 114 6.23%

Very 20 1.1%

Extremely 20 1.1%

Total 1829 100.0

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Perceived Hindrances of Transcripts153 qualitative comments included in analysis

• 43.79% (67) said that transcripts were distracting from the video or visual cues or required too much attention or cognitive load

• 20.26% (31) said that transcripts included incorrect information such as typos, were not well-written, or were not formatted well

• 14.38% (22) said that transcripts were too long, were too much to read, or required too much time

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Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Transcripts

Transcripts were distracting from the video or visual cues or required too much attention or cognitive load

• “Transcripts are meant to be read without the video playing, so you cannot see an object if the person is pointing to it in the video.”

• “Hard to read and listen and watch at the same time.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Transcripts

Transcripts included incorrect information such as typos, were not well-written, or were not formatted well

• “Contained info that was irrelevant.”

• “Not all correctly transcribed and often have weird line breaks.”

• “Hard to sift through big blocks of text sometimes.”

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Sample Comments of Perceived Hindrances of Transcripts

Transcripts were too long, were too much to read, or required too much time

• “It can make studying take longer than it should.”

• “It is time consuming when you have to request for transcripts.”

• “I would have to read it and not be able to watch the video and might fall behind with the other classmate.”

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Takeaways

• Almost 100% of courses include some video content• Generally, students find closed captions to be more helpful

than transcripts• Closed captions or transcripts are not being provided for all

videos and multimedia items or students are not aware when closed captions or transcripts have been made available

• Closed captions and transcripts are being used in a range of ways to aid student learning

• Many of the common hindrances can be mitigated by instituting a quality assurance process that involves the creator of the content

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Study Report

• A full study report for the student survey will be available later this fall

• The report will include:• Additional results from the study including more specific qualitative

analyses• The survey instrument• Data tables for all questions

Everyone who registered for this webinar will be emailed when the report is available.

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Upcoming Webinar: October 12

How Colleges Nationwide Are Handling Captioning

This presentation will cover:• Whether institutions are prioritizing captioning• How institutions are budgeting for closed captioning• Whether captioning efforts are being centralized• The people and departments involved in captioning decisions• How much captioning is currently being done• A comparison of captioning practices for face-to-face, online, and

institutional purposes• Awareness of captioning across campus• Whether colleges & universities are meeting legal requirements for

captioning

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An Additional Resource

A weekly podcast about topics and issues related to research in higher education.

Full transcripts are provided with each episode.

National Research Results: How & Why Do Students Use Closed Captioning?

For additional questions contact:

Dr. Katie Linder, Research DirectorOregon State University Ecampuskathryn.linder@oregonstate.edu@ecresearchunit & @Katie__Linder

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Dr. Katie LinderResearch DirectorExtended Campus, Oregon State UniversityKathryn.Linder@oregonstate.edu

Lily Bond (Moderator)Director of Marketing3Play Medialily@3playmedia.com

Q&AUpcoming Webinars:

Sept 20: Captioning the 3Play Way

Sept 29: 2016 Legal Update on Digital Accessibility Cases (with Lainey Feingold)

Oct 6: Developing an Accessibility Policy

Oct 12: Research Results: How Campuses Nationwide Are Handling Captioning

Oct 20: An Architect of the ADA on Its Application to Modern Technology

Register for upcoming webinars at:

http://www.3playmedia.com/webinars/