Captions in Zoom

Zoom has some built-in functionality to provide captioning for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Captions can also be useful to English language learners or any viewer who may learn better with captions or prefer watching videos with captions on.

There are two different types of captions that can be turned on in your Zoom meetings: automatic captions or professional captions.

Automatic Captions
While automatic captions can be useful, they do not provide an accessible alternative for students who require captions as an accommodation. However, turning on automatic captions can still be very beneficial. Instructions on turning on automatic captions can be found below.

Professional Captions
When you have a student in your course who requires captions as an accommodation, the Disability Resource Center will reach out to work with you to make sure your videos are professionally and accurately captioned.
  

Turning on Automatic Captions

The automated captions feature is easy to turn on and will be available for all of your future meetings once enabled. To turn on automatic captions:

1

Sign into your USU Zoom account external link icon .

 
2

Go to your Account Settings external link icon .

 
3

Scroll down to the In Meeting (Advanced) section and toggle on the Automated captions.

 
4

While in a meeting, click on the Live Transcript tool, then click on Enable.

Live Transcript highlighted with arrow pointing at Enable button

 
5

Participants can now click the Live Transcript tool in the meeting to view the automatic captions.

Note: Currently, the live transcription feature is off by default when using Zoom on a desktop, but on by default on mobile devices.

Recording Transcripts

If you would like your recordings to have automated captions, open your Settings on the Zoom website and toggle on Full Transcript. Viewers will be able to see the transcript when watching in a web browser from the recording's shared link. You can also download the transcript afterwards to post on Canvas or share with others.

Instructions on how to download a Zoom recording's transcript.

Additional Considerations

When using automatic captions, be aware that the quality of the captions depends on another of factors including: 

  • Background noise
  • Volume and clarity of the speaker’s voice
  • Speaker's proficiency with the English language
  • Lexicons and dialects specific to a geography or community

You can read more about this feature from the Zoom Closed captioning and live transcription Documentation external link icon .

If you have questions about using this feature, please contact captions@usu.edu or sarah.kohler@usu.edu.