A recent Jisc community survey on live captioning in UK further and higher education shows that use is growing and interest in experimenting with different tools is high, but it also points to some clear practical challenges. Feedback on issues such as accuracy, infrastructure, staff awareness and policy gaps offers useful insights that will help to shape future guidance that is clear, practical and rooted in real experience.
Moving beyond recorded media
The UK Captioning in Education Working Group is a collaborative project supported by BATOD (British Association of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People) and Jisc.
This group is preparing guidance on the use of live captioning in education settings, i.e. live text displayed so students can read it in real time either on a large screen or a personal device. This is also sometimes called subtitling.
While provision of captions on recorded media is an expectation of the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations No.2 (2018), the requirement for live captions was not included.
However, the rapid advancement of speech recognition technology and increasingly widespread use of captioning has raised expectations in many settings that it is made available.
Add to this, the popularity of captioning among many people beyond the deaf and hard of hearing community. We know from data such as Jisc’s Digital Experience Insights survey reports that captions and transcription are used frequently by many studying in the UK, particularly international students.
To ensure that the guidance addresses real world concerns, the group wanted to find out:
- How live captioning is provided in further and higher education.
- What the barriers and facilitators are to providing live captioning.
- Whether the barriers and facilitators in tertiary education are different to those in schools (we’ll look at the school experience in a future blog post).
A mixed approach
The survey of 39 respondents provided a snapshot of how live captions are currently being used in tertiary education. The results suggest that live captioning is present in many institutions, and its use is often dependent on individual need or staff initiative. Most striking, was the diversity of captioning tools being used even in a relatively small sample.
Most respondents were from universities, with a smaller number from further education colleges, and the majority were based in England.
Current use of live captions
The most common use of live captions is in online learning environments, where students can switch on captions themselves in platforms such as Teams or Zoom. Use in lectures, large events, and seminars is less common, indicating that captioning is more established in digital settings than in face-to-face teaching.
The survey also shows that live captions are typically introduced in response to identified need, such as where a student or staff member requests them, rather than being provided automatically for all learners. This suggests that captioning is still widely viewed as an adjustment rather than a routine inclusive practice.
Tools and platforms
Respondents report using a range of tools, with the most common being PowerPoint 365, CaptionEd, and Windows 11 Live Captioning.
Verbit, Genio/Google Live Captions, Mac iOS Live Captions, AI Media and Microsoft Teams are also in use which, given the relatively small sample size, amounts to an incredibly diverse approach in the sector.
Around a third of respondents are using assistive listening technology (such as Phonak Roger devices) to enhance the quality of caption generation.
This mix suggests that institutions rely on existing mainstream tools alongside a smaller number of specialist products, rather than following a common sector-wide approach.
It also points to a sector keen to try new technology and a wealth of experience to draw upon to guide future decision-making.
Barriers to wider use
The survey highlights several significant barriers to wider adoption. The most common concern is the accuracy of live captions, especially in teaching contexts where specialist vocabulary, diverse accents, or poor audio quality can reduce reliability. Other common barriers include:
- limited staff awareness of when captions are needed
- the cost of paid-for services
- poor microphone or classroom audio provision
- lack of staff confidence or knowledge about how to use captioning tools
- concerns about privacy, particularly where students’ voices may be captured
In classroom settings, respondents also noted that some teaching formats, particularly interactive or discussion-based sessions, can be difficult to caption effectively.
Policy and governance
A notable finding is that is can be rare to have a clear institutional policy on captioning and data privacy. Around half of respondents said their organisation does not have guidance on live captions, and others were unsure whether guidance exists.
This indicates that, even where captioning tools are being used, they are not always supported by clear organisational frameworks.
Responses on privacy notices and data protection measures were unclear, however some respondents did report having these in place and we aim to include examples in the guidance.
What educators say they need
The free-text responses pointed to a strong demand for practical support. Respondents most commonly asked for:
- clearer guidance and policy
- staff training and awareness raising
- case studies and examples of effective practice
- better classroom audio infrastructure
- more accurate tools
- clearer advice on privacy, consent, and data use
These comments suggest that institutions do not only need better technology, but also clearer processes and shared understanding.
Conclusion
Overall, the survey suggests that live captions are valued and already used by some tertiary education providers, particularly in online settings, but provision remains patchy and uneven.
Adoption is often driven by local initiative or individual need, while wider implementation is held back by concerns about accuracy, infrastructure, staff capability, and governance.
The sector is mostly still at an exploratory stage – understandable given that live captioning presents greater complexity than adding corrected captions to recorded media.
To move from ad hoc use to more consistent and inclusive practice, tertiary education providers say they need clearer policy, better staff support, improved audio environments, and stronger guidance on privacy and data protection.
Next steps
The UK captioning working group will address these concerns in forthcoming guidance, to be launched later this year.
Promisingly, some respondents have offered to share case studies outlining their experiences with different tools, which will be incredibly valuable.
The group hugely appreciates the time that members of our lively accessibility and assistive technology communities gave to complete the surveys. Please join these community platforms and events to add your experiences and keep the conversation going.
Next, we’ll look at what our BATOD colleagues found when they investigated provision of live captions in schools.