Accessibility Feature: Uploading Transcripts to Accompany CC and Video/Audio

HI ​@RKBrodeur 

We also have a requirement for this.  For now, TI provided us with an account to login directly to Wistia where you can upload closed captions. 

However, from our point of view, this isn’t a good option based.  Due to the fact we are now directly logging into Wistia, that means we are providing PII to Wistia, it now needs to go through a full security review from our internal IT team.  This is also another place where we have to maintain admin accounts.  Our preference would be for TI to provide the ability to upload closed captions from their admin console.  Given the upcoming European Accessibility Act in June 2025 and the obligation to adhere to WCAG guidelines for other regions, this would be a really great enhancement to the platform.

Thanks,

Jeananne

Hi ​@jeananne 

Thanks for you input and added info here.

Can I please confirm that the PII you are referring to is the Username and password of the Administration team who you provide access to log into Wistia and not learner PII. I believe this is the case but i want to make sure.

​@RKBrodeur and ​@jeananne there is a way you can add a transcript file to a course via the Resources, Course files area. See link HERE to the support page.

I have also recorded a quickk video to show how you can add conbine the Course Files with a Text Block to make the transcript easily accessible

https://www.loom.com/share/bb4deecf1adf4d4aa6cb7bbf6687741b?sid=cfc03ea9-9897-44b2-8253-e3f2d59f8895

Please let me know if you have any quesions.

Jon

Hi ​@jonsynnott  

That’s correct, it’s the fact that we have user data (name and email) that is one concern.  I’m not sure if you remember but Wistia were just approved as a 3rd party vendor for us.  However, now that we are expected to have admins login directly, and also to maintain these admin accounts, our security team have a major concern with this.

Before Christmas they implemented a hard-block on all Wistia access for internal staff.  This meant our admins couldn’t upload any content and also all of our internal users were blocked from watching all Wistia content/videos.  We escalated and got the hard block changed to a soft block, meaning that we can continue to access for a limited time.  We are now trying to get Wistia approved for use however, given that we don’t have a direct relationship with them, this is proving to be a slow and tricky process.  If TI provided the ability to upload closed captions for videos it would be hugely beneficial.

If I understand your video correctly, this won’t work for video-based content types is that correct?  As you know, we have Event Replays that are mapped as a “video” and this is where we need to add the closed captions.

Thanks,

Jeananne

Hi ​@jonsynnott,

Thank you so much for taking the time to do a video walking through the process. Adding the link below the video that opens in a new tab for the downloadable transcript will work for us! 

​@jeananne - I’m so sorry for your Wistia access hassle. I feel your pain as we also are often restricted. 🤞🏻Fortunately for us, Wistia is not an issue. We have always accessed it directly to 1) upload transcripts for CC and 2) to set the thumbnail so it’s consistent across all instances of the video. I wish you speedy luck on getting your approvals.

💡Perhaps if would work for you to add a variant to your video content type and upload the transcript there as a downloadable file. Alternatively, add the transcript to the Asset Manager/CAM and link to the URL (maybe) in the External URL field OR in the Body field.

​@JulieC ​@mzoerb23 ​@jhaas please check out Jon’s video for a transcript deployment option for us to explore.

Hi ​@jeananne 

Thanks for the confirmation, this was my memory but I wanted to double confirm that no learner PII was being sent to Wistia, in case it was misread by any other customer reading the tread😀

This solution should half work for you. As you not using the usual course structure there will be no “Resources” section on the Right but you can upload the trascript as indicated by ​@RKBrodeur above.
Or you can add a hyperlink to an online file, see below an image with the two areas where you can add the Hyper link, or add a file.

 

 Let me know if there is anthing else I can help you with.

Kind regards

Jon

Hi ​@RKBrodeur 

Super, I am so glad that this option may work for you.

If you have any questions as you are going through the config please let me know.

​@jeananne I have answered your question in another message, I hope it helps

Warmest regards

Jon

Hi ​@jonsynnott 

Thanks for that pointer however we have a requirement to have closed captions appearing with the video and not in a separate pdf - does that make sense?  Also, we will need to provide translations in different languages as we are rolling out a new program where all content must be translated in multiple languages.

Thanks,

Jeananne

Thanks ​@jeananne 

Unfortunately the only way to do this is via Wistia, which is your Rock and Hard Place. What I am not sure of is how to take a recording of an English webinar and have it translated into other languages, you may need to work with Wistia to find out what support they have for that requirement.

Thanks a lot

Jon

Hi all! We’re also struggling to find the best way to add Transcripts next to videos -and how not to make it too manual for us when there are updates and such, as we have a ton of them.

If you’re using Wistia, we’ve found this documentation: seemingly using a script & html there’s a way to feed from the Wistia Transcript and have it appear automatically in your videos: https://docs.wistia.com/docs/transcript-embeds
Haven’t tested it yet, tbh, but looks promising. 

Re: languages, there’s an automation in Wistia that translates the transcripts (in the Transcript > three dots > Add language; not sure if it’s available for all plans), BUT it’s highly recommended a native have a look afterwards as some translations are better than others. 

​@jeananne  Coming back to this: we’ve tried the Transcript embed from Wistia and didn’t work out, but TI suggested opening an Idea in the Community as it can be put in the queue for their Production team :D
If you’re interested in upvoting: 

I got it to work.  

<!-- Add this to the transcript page using Custom Scripts -->
<script>
  // Only run this on the learner transcript page
  if (window.location.href.includes("/learn/transcript")) {
    setTimeout(() => {
      const mainContent = document.querySelector('div.container[role="main"]');
      const transcript = mainContent?.querySelector(".widget--transcript_standard"); // updated to match specific class

      if (transcript) {
        // Prevent duplicate button
        if (document.getElementById("tts-button")) return;

        const button = document.createElement("button");
        button.innerText = "🔊 Read Transcript";
        button.id = "tts-button";
        button.style = "margin:10px 0;padding:10px 16px;background:#007bff;color:white;border:none;border-radius:6px;cursor:pointer;";
        transcript.parentNode.insertBefore(button, transcript);

        button.addEventListener("click", () => {
          const text = transcript.innerText.trim();
          if (text.length === 0) {
            console.warn("Transcript is empty. Nothing to read.");
            return;
          }
          const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text);
          utterance.lang = "en-US";
          speechSynthesis.cancel();
          speechSynthesis.speak(utterance);
        });

        console.log("✅ TTS button added to learner transcript.");
      } else {
        console.warn("❌ Transcript text not found. Check your selector.");
      }
    }, 2000);
  }
</script>