1) The study examined how the use of closed captions and interactive transcripts impacted learning in online courses at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
2) It found that students who used the captions and transcripts more frequently had better recall, comprehension, and application of the material compared to those who used them less. The majority of students also found the tools to be helpful.
3) The results suggest captions and transcripts can improve learning when incorporated as part of universal design and instructors should encourage their use as study aids. Making both tools available maximizes accessibility and benefits for students.
Do Captions & Transcripts Improve Student Learning?
1. DO CAPTIONS &
TRANSCRIPTS IMPROVE
STUDENT LEARNING?
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Karla Morris, M.Ed.
Manager of
Instructional Design
Services
University of South
Florida, St. Petersburg
Lyman Dukes lll, Ph.D.
Professor of Special
Education
University of South
Florida, St. Petersburg
Casey Frechette, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of South
Florida, St. Petersburg
3. Session Objectives
2
▰ Introduce the study details
▰ Share how students use captions and
transcripts to support their learning
▰ Discuss the learning differences between
students who use captions and
transcripts at a higher level and those
who use the tools at a lower level
▰ Share recommendations and future
directions
5. About Us
Lyman Dukes III
Professor, Special Education
Casey Frechette
Assistant Professor, Journalism &
Digital Communication
Karla Morris
Manager, Online Learning
6. About USFSP
5
▰ USFSP, part of the USF System, with about
6,500 students
▰ An urban campus in downtown St.
Petersburg
▰ In fall & spring, online courses generate
about 30% of SCHs
▰ In summer, online courses generate
about 60% of SCHs
7. USFSP Accessibility
Committee
6
▰ Established to advise, create awareness,
and explore accessibility initiatives for
online learning
▰ Comprised of faculty and staff with
expertise and interest in accessibility
8. Institutional Policy
7
▰ All online and face to face course media
must be captioned or transcribed
▰ Instructor created and third-party
videos
▰ Compliance by 2021
9. Universal Design for
Instruction
▰ Design instruction to maximize
accessibility.
▰ Multiple ways of interacting with content
are provided.
▰ UDL has great promise for increasing
access and understanding in online
courses.
8
10. Previous Research
9
▰ Original pilot study to examine the cost
and benefit of captioning all online course
video content
▰ Next, a pilot study on the benefits of
interactive transcript use including a
comparison to closed captioning
11. USFSP: Our Challenge
▰ IT group in previous study achieved
higher
▰ But IT requires more work to
implement
▰ Wanted to examine benefits with a more
significant sample to determine how to
proceed at USFSP
10
13. Partnership with 3Play
Media
▰ Bridge between education and
industry
▰ Expand opportunity to:
▰ Research impact to learners
▰ Spread awareness
▰ Share ideas and strategies
12
14. Study Goals
Examine content retention,
comprehension, and application by
monitoring student achievement,
attitudes, and course behaviors.
13
15. Study Method
14
▰ 7 courses from COE, CAS, COB
▰ Students Opt-In
▰ Two groups (CC, CC & IT)
▰ Orientation video
▰ Study on Module 1 video
▰ CC for all videos after
▰ Pre-test, 3 checkpoints, post-test/survey
▰ Observe student behavior while viewing
videos
19. How do students use
captions and transcripts
to support their learning?
20. How often did you use it?
CC Group
▰ “Sometimes,”
“Often,” or
“Always” : 55%
▰ “Often” or
“Always”: 29%
19
IT Group
▰ “Sometimes,”
“Often,” or
“Always” : 47%
▰ “Often” or
“Always”: 27%
21. Was it helpful?
CC Group
▰ “Moderately
Helpful” or
“Extremely
Helpful” : 45%
▰ At least “Slightly
Helpful” : 60%
20
IT Group
▰ “Moderately
Helpful” or
“Extremely
Helpful” : 53%
▰ At least “Slightly
Helpful” : 59%
22. Why do you use them?
CC Group
▰ “They help me focus” (42%)
▰ “They help with information
retention” (37%)
▰ “They help when audio quality is
poor” (28%)
21
23. Why do you use them?
IT Group
▰ “They help with information
retention” (38%)
▰ “I use them as a study guide” (29%)
▰ “They help me find information”
(29%)
22
24. How helpful was it to have
video lectures?
CC Group
▰ “Very” or
“Extremely”
helpful: 62%
▰ At least
“Moderately”
helpful: 80%
IT Group
▰ “Very” or
“Extremely”
helpful: 56%
▰ At least
“Moderately”
helpful: 77%
23
25. Open - Ended Response
▰ I can focus better when I read what is being said.
▰ I’m not exactly sure how to explain how it helps, but I know
for certain that it does … I felt as though I was retaining
information a lot more readily than just following a
PowerPoint.
▰ Useful in noisy households where it can be a struggle to
hear the videos, and quiet environments where I didn't want
to disturb others.
▰ Because the class uses technical law terms, the transcripts
help grasp what the professor was talking about.
24
26. Do students who use tools
at a higher level learn
more than those who use
the tools at a lower level?
27. Low, Medium, High Usage
Low Usage
▰ Reported use as “Never” or “Seldom”: 46
Medium Usage
▰ Reported use as “Sometimes”: 21
High Usage
▰ Reported use as “Often” or “Always”: 31
26
34. Implications for Students
33
▰ Students rarely turn off the tools.
▰ Student performance improved under
both conditions.
▰ Generally, the higher the usage, the
greater the learning outcomes.
35. Implications for
Instructional Design
34
▰ When possible, should make both tools
available to users.
▰ Share benefits and how to employ such
tools as study aids.
▰ Employ this as part of Universal Design.
▰ Involve Instructional Designers.
36. Institutional Commitment
& Opportunities
35
▰ Incorporate with vision for innovative
teaching
▰ Support committees, task forces, and
cross-functional collaboration
▰ Articulate and support guidelines for
quality online learning
37. Future Opportunities
▰ Explore connection between
success and length of video
watched.
▰ Examine success and tool use by
demographic profile.
36
39. Learn More
38
▰ 3Play Media Website
▰ Webinar recording from June 2019
▰ Resources > Recorded Webinars
▰ Full research report
▰ https://go.3playmedia.com/usfsp
-captions-transcripts-study
