MidCamp will have live captioning available in all session rooms on Thursday and Friday. Each room at MidCamp will have a dedicated, separate monitor in addition to the projection screen that will display captions for the audience. Also, a transcript of sessions will be created and added to MidCamp.org at a later date.
Information on this page explains live captioning and how it works. If you have any questions or concerns about live captioning, please let us know.
What Is Live Captioning?
Live captioning uses speech to text technology to display spoken words to the audience on a separate monitor. The monitor with the live captioned text is placed next to the presentation screen to allow the audience to easily view both the content of the presentation and the captions. A transcript of the audio is also created using live captioning and will be available after the session.
There will be two live captioning tools used during MidCamp.
- Room 314B will use Thisten for live captioning.
- All other session rooms will use a community version of live captioning.
What We'll Provide
A MidCamp volunteer will start and stop the captions during the sessions using a live captioning tool. The volunteer will use a separate laptop that is connected to an external monitor visible to the audience. Speech to text technology displays the text to the audience as the presenter in the room speaks.
Room 314B will use the Thisten live captioning tool
Learn more about Thisten.
Watch this 3 minute video to learn more about the platform on a high level.
All other session rooms will use a community version of live captioning.
Learn more about volunteering at MidCamp!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the captions display on the presentation slides?
No. Live captioning will display on a monitor separate from the presentation screen. The monitor will be placed near the presentation screen, but not on the same screen as session slides.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Live captioning is on a separate computer and displays on a dedicated monitor. Presentation slides will not be impacted by live captioning.
However, if you are in room 314B, you have the option to download the Thisten app to view transcripts in real time on your device.
If you have any questions about Thisten, please let us know.
What is the difference between Thisten and the "community version" of Live Captioning?
Thisten is an audio-to-text transcription platform, that makes voice content searchable. Thisten is an in-kind sponsor allowing MidCamp to use live captioning in room 314B. Learn more about Thisten by watching this video. Thisten will be used to live caption sessions in 314B.
The community version of live captioning is a free tool that was developed to caption MidCamp in 2019 when a hearing impaired individual asked about accessibility. Learn more about the Live Captioning Initiative.
Do session speakers need to alter presentations for live captioning?
No. Live captioning uses audio and speech to text technology to display words to the audience. Speakers will need to speak clearly and at a conversational pace.
We encourage presenters to try out the community version of live captioning prior to presenting. Presentation slides will not be impacted by live captioning.
Do I, as an attendee, need to start or stop live captioning?
No. A volunteer provided by MidCamp will be in the room handling live captioning. Attendees are not responsible for live captioning. Learn more about volunteering at MidCamp!
What happens to the captioning after the presentation?
The text is used as a written transcript of the session and is available to be shared alongside the rest of the content from the session. Similar to how the screen share videos are distributed after the event, we will provide the transcript and use it to promote sessions.
What if there are errors? Can they be corrected?
No, not in real-time as presenters are speaking in the session. However, after the session, the volunteer will post the raw transcript to a location that will allow the Drupal community to improve the transcript for accuracy. Coordinating with Drupal community volunteers, we plan to have community contribution hours available for additional volunteers to assist and make the transcript as accurate as possible. More details will be coming soon. Ideally, we will be able to link to issues on Drupal.org for Live Captioning sessions. Remember, there is more to contribute to the Drupal project than just code!
How will live captioning look in the session room?
Visit this link to see a diagram of how live captioning is set up in an event room. Below is a photo of how live captioning may look in a session room.
