Captions+or+Full+Transcripts+Needed

__**Captions or Full Transcripts Needed**__ When we think of YouTube we think of a powerful resource that is available to all learners. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Deaf or hard of hearing students encounter difficulty when all the content is relayed in a video or a podcast that relies on audio. Students miss out on important content if this is the only method used to convey important information. In this day and age this issue can be addressed via two methods. The first method is to have subtitles/captioning included into the video or multimedia utilizing audio. The second option is to have a complete text transcript of the audio. As a practitioner this accessibility issue requires me to think in advance when students are going to be viewing or creating videos online or utilizing any digital media that uses audio. In my years as a teacher, I have only had one student with limited hearing. (In this particular instance I was required to utilize a microphone headset with a speaker that was located on the student’s desk//.)// Based on my experience all videos used in my classroom needed to have the subtitle/caption function in order for it to be an appropriate media to incorporate at the time. Taking time to consider the needs of all learners we can come away with greater academic results for all. Teaching students 21st century skills requires teachers to think of how we can make our students more understanding of our global society. In the coming weeks my class will begin to create podcasts of our book reviews to our class blog. Thinking about the current and future students to come into my classroom, students will be required to add their written review to accompany the podcast. Making media work for all is essential in our digital world. It is up to web/multimedia developers to begin to make this necessity a requirement. As teachers we can begin to instill the importance of accessibility for all with our students. Begin to take the first step in your small classroom oasis.

**Resource:** Learning with Captioning. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from, [] **-G. Lozano**