8 Things You Need to Know about Captioned

Materials

Dr. Susan EasterbrooksProfessor, GSU

Dr. Nanci ScheetzProfessor, VSU

I. Captioning is a great way to get your students access to

a wide array of audio and video materials.

• Open captioning is a tool that allows a transcript of the audio portion of a video, film or other presentation to scroll across the screen.

• Closed captioning (CC) does the same thing, however, not all viewers see the captions—only those who decode or activate them.

– The FCC requires all televisions sold to have a closed captioning feature built in.

– Today there is no reason why school children cannot access a large amount of captioned information both from routine programming and from the Described and Captioned Media Program.

• How can I see closed captions on my television?

– You can see closed captions on your TV (1) by using an external decoder, or (2) by using a television with a decoder built in. External decoders are available from several sources, and the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 mandated that, as of July 1993, all televisions manufactured for sale in the U.S. should contain a built-in caption decoder if the picture tube is 13" or larger.

– This occurs on Line 21 of the “vertical blanking interval” (http://www.robson.org/capfaq/technical.html Too much information!!!!).

– Now that everyone has gone digital and high definition, the technology is way out there!!!

II. There are 4 primary means by which you may

access Captioned materials.

• Acquire lists of CC shows on TV.

• Request CC materials from the DCMP

center.

• Purchase materials with captions.

• Make your own.

III. Many TV shows are captioned.

• You will often see an icon in the corner of the screen at the beginning of a captioned program, but not all shows use the same one due to trademark restrictions.

• Some older TV shows are available on http://video.google.com/videocaptioned

Nova: This Old Pyramid

• American Public Television has many of its shows recorded and

captioned.

– http://www.aptonline.org/aptweb.nsf/vStations/Index-Closed+Captioned

• WGBH TV Boston has captioned many TV shows for decades.

– http://main.wgby.org/wgbh/access/access.html

You can also go to:

http://shop.wgbh.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?

storeId=11051&catalogId=10051

IV. Most of your captioning needs can be met by going to

the Described and Captioned Media Program website.

http://www.dcmp.org/

• DCMP’s services include– A free-loan media program of over 4,000

open-captioned titles (videos, CD-ROM, and DVD).

– A clearinghouse of information and materials on the subject of captioning. The clearinghouse also maintains a database of captioned media available for purchase.

The DCMP Collection has…

– Educational titles include topics in school subject areas, preschool through college

– Lesson guides accompany educational videos and may be viewed online

– General-interest titles include classic movies and special interest topics such as travel, hobbies, recreation, and others.

To borrow materials free of chargefree of charge…

1. Complete an application form

• (http://www.dcmp.org/register.asp)

2. DCMP will mail a catalog and ordering instructions to you.

3. You may also browse/search the DCMP Catalog at this website, and you cam place orders place online.

 

Find titles

here

Register

here

Here is an example of a title you can get through DCMP. Since this is

available on the Internet, all you have to do is type in your ID and

password and you have immediate access to the product.

#9571    EXPLORING GEOMETRYUses a game show format to discuss the differences between two- and three-dimensional shapes, such as squares and cubes, triangles and pyramids, and circles and cylinders.Format:   Video      Internet   Length: 11Grade/Interest Level: 4 - 8Company: DISNEY EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTIONSProduction Year: 2000Subject Headings:GEOMETRY

Here is part of a page from one of the lesson plan manuals that go

along with the material.

V. Purchase captioned materials

• Put “purchase captioned materials” into your browser, and you will find a

large number of links that will take you to catalogs of captioned materials

you can purchase. For example….

• Biomedia Associates produces captioned science materials.

– http://www.scctv.net/biomedia/CatalogPage.aspx?SeriesID=4

Just about everything that National Geographic has done is available

with captions: http://shopngvideos.com/

• http://www.sivideo.com/captionb.htm

– Has an online catalog of classics such as

• Call of the Wild

• Les Miserable

• Snows of Kilamanjaro

• A Star is Born

• The Borrowers

• David Copperfield

The NOVA series is available with CC, and many titles are now available online and by podcast.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs/

VI. Make your own

• Hire it doneHire it done

– Here is a list of approved captioning vendors

• http://www.cfv.org/caai/nadh11.pdf

• Get equipment yourselfGet equipment yourself

– Many companies provide captioning software for both offline and live captioning. Some of the companies are:

• Cheetah International http://www.cheetahinternational.com/index.php

• CPC Computer Prompting & Captioning Co. http://www.cpcweb.com/Subtitling/sub_splash.htm

• CaptionMaker for Windows and MacCaptio

• Softel-USA http://www.softel-usa.com/l4_products_subtitling_swift_main.php3

Most captioning equipment is very expensive. It is more cost-efficient to

find a service vendor who will do the captioning for you.

VII. Seek funds for captioned materials from

service organizations

• Many service organizations will provide teachers with funds to support the education of children with hearing loss.

• Develop a presentation for the organization and ask for funds for these instructional materials. Get really brave and ask for funds for captioning services or for captioning software and equipment.

• Following are some organizations that have provided such support in the past.

– Sertoma Club Telephone Pioneers

– Kappa Kappa Gamma Alpha Phi Omega

– Lion’s Club Shriners

VIII. C-Print captioning is an alternative to the use

of an interpreter.

A trained C-Print captioner types directly onto a laptop computer.

Software developed by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf condenses information into clear and concise sentences. 

The student reads from the laptop computer in order to have real-time access.

The student then may receive either a printed or electronic copy of the class transcript .

–http://www.ntid.rit.edu/cprint/equipment_cprint.phphttp://www.ntid.rit.edu/cprint/equipment_cprint.php

• I. Captioning is a great way to get your students access to a wide array of audio and video materials.

• II. There are 4 primary means by which you may access Captioned materials.

• III. Many TV shows are captioned.

• IV. Most of your captioning needs can be met by going to the Described and Captioned Media Program website.

• V. Purchase captioned materials

• VI. Make your own.

• VII. Seek funds for captioned materials from service organizations

• VIII. C-Print captioning is an alternative to the use of an interpreter.