Zoom offers live, computer-generated transcription services that convert spoken words into text. Automatic transcription can provide more inclusive options for subtitle and full transcript services for our campus community. Zoom's live transcription service is created by automatic speech recognition software (they are not human-generated). It does not provide transcription services that are accurate enough to meet the needs of those who require live transcription as an accommodation. Human-created captions are the only method that meets accommodation standards.
The live transcription service is available for all Ithaca College Zoom accounts for meetings and webinars. To prevent any disclosure of protected health information in the Zoom environment, the service is not available for Ithaca College HIPAA-protected Zoom accounts.
Viewing Subtitles and Transcript
When automatic live transcription is enabled, meeting participants can decide whether they want to display the words as subtitles, which appear at the bottom of the Zoom interface, or in a full transcript, which appears to the right of the Zoom interface.
- When in the Zoom meeting, click Live Transcript (CC) button in the meeting control bar.
- Click Show Subtitle to display subtitles on the screen.
- Click View Full Transcript to display the full transcript window.
If live transcription is not enabled, but you would like it to be, meeting participants can request that the host enable this for the meeting by clicking on the Live Transcript button. You will be prompted to confirm your request and can Ask Anonymously if desired. If the host approves the request, live transcription will begin.
For further details see Zoom's support article, Viewing closed captioning and live transcription.
Enabling / Managing Live Transcription
For Meeting Hosts
- When in the Zoom meeting as the host, click the Live Transcript (CC) button in the host control bar.
- Under Live Transcript, click Enable Auto-Transcription.
For further details see Zoom's support article, Enabling and managing closed captioning and live transcription.
Options
Changing the Font Size of Subtitles
- Click the user menu (shown as your initials) in the top-right of the Zoom application.
- Click Settings.
- Click Accessibility.
- Drag the text size slider to adjust the text size.
Tips for Meetings with Automatic Live Transcription Enabled
- Use an external microphone for better audio quality and more accurate transcriptions.
- Speak slowly to make it easier for others to follow the transcript and subttitles.
- Take turns to make it clear who is speaking. Active speaker tracking is used to mark who said what in the transcript.
Further Reading
To learn more about live captioning and transcription, please visit Student Accessibility Services websites, Captioning 101, and Live Captioning/Transcription. For information about Zoom, please visit our IT Knowledge Base Articles.