Captions and subtitles improve numbers for educational institutions

This article is an excerpt from the article Accessibility in education: why using captions and subtitles should be paramount. Check out the full article for more information!

1. Captions and subtitles enable search across video platforms

Educational institutions can use their video course platform as an online database. With uncaptioned videos, students have to sometimes scroll through the entire website to find what they need. Using captions helps your videos be discovered easier and faster. Potential students can search for keywords, lecturers, subjects, ideas, concepts, and so on. It also allows you to gather data on student access and interests.

2. Captions and subtitles improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Although search engines are working on interpreting and understanding dialogue in videos, they still heavily rely on text and metadata to analyze the information and content. Adding captions and subtitles helps you secure a better positioning on search engines. Google and other search engines index video captions and subtitles, and can increase your keyword depth, but it doesn’t index automatic closed captions, such as the ones you see on YouTube or Instagram. In short, adding captions and subtitles to your educational videos makes them searchable and readable.

3. Captions and subtitles boost recruitment

Educational institutions can use captioning videos to improve their recruitment efforts. Potential students can watch campus tours, look at sample lectures, check out admission resources, and upload interview videos. Captioning and subtitling all your recruitment and onboarding videos ensures that you reach potential students in a welcoming and inclusive way – whether they speak the language in the video, have a disability, or are neurodiverse.

4. Captions and subtitles provide quality E-learning experience

According to a?study from Oneclass.com, 3 out of 4 students were unhappy with the quality of E-learning (online courses, remote learning) experiences, mostly because the educational institutions did not utilize accessibility solutions like captions and subtitles. Captions and subtitles provide added value to your course materials by improving student experience ensuring accessibility and inclusion.

5. Captioned and subtitled videos perform better in the digital age

Captioned and subtitled videos outperform videos without.?

? 85% of videos are watched on mute.?

? 91% of captioned videos are watched till the end compared to just over 60% of uncaptioned videos.?

? 98.6% of students prefer videos with captions.?

There is no debate: captions and subtitles are the way to go.

6. Captioned and subtitled videos make students feel valued

When you have an educational video without captions or in one language only, you tend to exclude many potential students. By captioning and translating your videos, you make your potential students feel valued, heard and appreciated. Feeling valued and feeling like they belong helps potential students choose your educational institution over others that don’t put the same effort into this.

This article is an excerpt from the article Accessibility in education: why using captions and subtitles should be paramount. Check out the full article for more information!