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Canvas Accessibility

Captions for Videos

Closed Captions

Embedded or linked videos must be closed captioned. Audio recordings should have a transcript available. Ensure media does not automatically play. Use a video hosting platform such as Kaltura or Panopto instead of Canvas’ built-in video player for easier captioning, sharing, and versioning.

Captioning uploaded video files (not recommended)

To caption videos recorded via the Rich Content Editor or uploaded directly to Canvas:

  1. Select the video in the Rich Content Editor.
  2. Select Video Options.
  3. The Video Options sidebar will open. In the sidebar, add a brief, meaningful title for your video in theĀ Title field. This is used by screen readers to describe the video.
  4. In the sidebar, select the language spoken in the video.
  5. In the sidebar, select Choose caption file to upload a caption file from your device. Canvas supports SRT or WebVTT file formats. The caption file should be edited for accuracy before uploading.
  6. Once the caption file has been uploaded, close the sidebar by selecting Done.
  7. Save the Canvas item to finalize your changes.

For more information, consult the closed captioning chapters earlier in this handbook.

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License

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Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning Copyright © 2025 by Briana Fraser, Luke McKnight, Cheryl Colan, and Max O'Neil is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.