Zoom webinar transcripts and accessibility: What our students think
97.8% of the students have watched at least one recorded
webinar session, demonstrating the importance of recorded webinars for our students.
Only 144 students (52.7%), however, had used the audio transcript, 14 students
(5.1%) were unaware of the availability of the transcript facility and 115
students (42.1%) indicated that they had not used the audio transcript
facility.
A follow-up question, ‘Did you find the transcript useful?
Why?’, was asked of the students who indicated that they had used transcripts.
Out of the 130 students who answered this free text question, 104 students (80%
of those who responded to this question) agreed that the transcripts were
useful while 14% indicated that the transcripts were not useful. Out of the 92
respondents from non-English speaking countries (excluding respondents from
majority English speaking countries), 40 responded to the free text question, ‘Did
you find the transcript useful? Why?’. Only two respondents said that the
transcripts were not useful. The large majority, 95% of students who have
English as a foreign language and responded to the question, found transcripts
a useful addition to understand what is being said in the webinars.
Many students who have used the automatic transcripts found
them to be useful.
One response stood out for me:
So useful! Amazing. The search
functionality is revolutionary. If I vaguely remember something being said in
the webinar but can't quite remember where or when I used to have to watch
almost the entire webinar again - and it took so long to load. Now, I just type
a word and everything comes up. It's amazing. Ok, the audio transcript is not
always spot on, but frankly it's amazing how much it does pick up especially
with different accents and pronunciation of words and acronyms. Really love it.
The study has some limitations which are
discussed in the paper, including the reliance on anonymous self-directed
surveys. This is UCEM’s first implementation of automatic transcription for
webinar recordings. There could be an element of ‘novelty factor’ affecting the
student responses too.
The study found that many students appreciated the
availability of automatic transcripts despite their less-than-perfect accuracy
level. Students used transcripts mainly as a tool for searching within a video.
This small study shows that students used transcripts in multiple ways:
- skipping to a specific location in the video
- as notes
- as an accessibility aid
- to overcome unfamiliar accents and words such as technical terms
- to follow the pace of a fast speaker
- to study ‘on the go’ – in quiet places, for example
- to catch up if distracted
- compensating for poor audio and/or connectivity
- as an alternative format for video
- as an aid for non-native English speakers.
Other key results
from the survey were:
·
despite 31.1% of students not using any Zoom
guidance provided by UCEM, 89.3% agreed with the statement: ‘I was able to join
the Zoom session with ease’
·
97.8% of the students have watched at least one
recorded webinar session. 89.4% students agreed with the statement: ‘Do you
agree that Zoom provides good quality audio and video?’
·
of the students who have previously used
Blackboard Collaborate, 72.9% preferred Zoom
·
81.5% of students prefer facilitated webinars.
Students identified three main functions performed by facilitators in webinars:
monitoring chat and supporting the smooth run of Q&A during a webinar;
helping with technology; and helping with non-subject specific information
·
many students watch recorded webinars and want
them to be available soon after a webinar
·
there were some instances where students in
certain localities (especially parts of the Middle East) could not access the
software due to local restrictions. For these students, the recorded webinars
were made available on a video-sharing platform.
To find out more about the study, take a look at the full
research paper.
