Students’ Experiences When Using Real-Time Automated Captions and Subtitles in Live Online Presentations: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

According to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, as a text-based alternative to auditory information in videos or presentations, captions can make the content equally accessible, and multilingual subtitles can promote a cross-linguistic understanding of the content. We conducted a phenomenological study to understand the common meaning of the participants’ experiences when using real-time automated captions/subtitles during live online class presentations. Twenty-four remote student participants were placed in three study groups. All participants were fluent in spoken and written English, eight could read in one or more additional languages, and none had a hearing disability. We used Microsoft PowerPoint Present Live via Zoom to deliver the online presentation to each group with real-time automated captions/subtitles, and then we conducted a focus group session with each group. Ten themes emerged and were clustered into three overarching themes: challenges, benefits, and interactions with subtitles. Overall, participants described a positive experience, perceiving the captions/subtitles as useful and accurate. Participants found the tool easy to use and highlighted the benefits of using captions/subtitles, such as providing access to live instruction for a wide audience and reinforcing learning for diverse student types. While they were able to troubleshoot connectivity and technological issues encountered, they experienced an apparent split-attention effect and noted limitations in the tool's inability to recognize different dialects. Findings contribute to educational research related to accessible live instruction in multilingual settings and could aid educators in selecting and integrating tools with real-time captioning/subtitling, in line with the UDL guidelines.