Enable Live Automatic Captions in Zoom

August 23, 2022 / Tech Notes & Training

In order to align with the college’s commitment to inclusive excellence, NOVA has enabled Zoom meeting hosts to activate live automatic captioning for Zoom meetings.  

Auto transcription utilizes software that turns spoken speech into text in real-time. Please be aware that this feature does not provide the same level of accuracy as a “live captioner.” Additionally, automatic captions may not fulfill some of the needs of our faculty, staff and students who have requested and received formal approval for live captioning as a reasonable accommodation.

It is important make every effort to ensure zoom meetings (including committee and workgroup meetings) have the appropriate captioning options available to users to align with the college’s commitment to inclusive excellence. To ensure Zoom meetings have captioning, please take the following steps:

Before You Create a Zoom Meeting

  1. Log into MyNOVA to access your Zoom profile
  2. Click on Settings in the toolbar on the left side of the screen
  3. Under the Meeting Tab, click on “In Meeting (Advanced)”
  4. Under “Automated Captions,” please ensure the blue button is enabled. 
  5. Under “Manual Captions,” please ensure both boxes are checked
    • Allow host to type or assign a participant to type
    • Allow use of caption API Token to integrate with a 3rd-party, Closed Captioning Services
  6. Create a Zoom Meeting

During Your Created Zoom Meeting

  1. Once in the Zoom Meeting, look for the “Live Transcript Button” at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Click on the Live Transcription Button
  3. In the pop-up box, click “Enable Auto-transcription” to turn on auto-transcription for the participants in your Zoom Room
  4. In the pop-up box, click “Assign a participant to type” to assign someone as a “live captioner” with access to live caption your meeting. 
  5. In the pop-up box, click “Copy the API token” to copy the API token and place it in a 3rd party, closed captioning tool. 

Participants will be alerted that transcription/captioning is available, and they can click the small up arrow under the Live Transcription button to identify the options they wish to use to view the captioning.

If you have any questions about transcription services or other questions related to the college’s policies and expectations regarding accessibility and accommodations please check in with your supervisor, review important information on NOVA Accommodations and Accessibility website or contact NOVA’s Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer (Dr. Nathan Carter) or NOVA’s Director of Accommodations and Accessibility Services (Krystal Edmead).

https://www.nvcc.edu/accommodations/index.html

Submitted by:
Dr. Nathan Carter, CDEIO, NACarter@nvcc.edu