Campaigns promote captions in schools in 2012

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Monday, 27 February 2012 09:24am

As the use of audiovisual resources in mainstream classrooms increases, so does the need for captions to be used as a learning tool for all students. A number of school-based campaigns encouraging teachers to turn on captions have been successfully launched around the world and continue in 2012.

One such program, Read Captions Across America (RCAA), is celebrating its annual ‘Read Captions Across America Day’ on 2 March.

Run through a partnership between the Described and Captioned Media Program and the National Education Association, RCAA raises awareness of the effectiveness of videos with captions in encouraging and fostering reading skills in children.

Bill Stark of the Described and Captioned Media Program notes that there are still barriers, though. “New laws around accessibility may have been enacted in recent years but there is not one that directly dictates that captioned educational media must be used in a classroom,” he said.

Across the Atlantic in the UK, the National Schools Film Week for 2012 has been set for 16-26 October in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for 1-9 November in Scotland. Run by Film Education, a not-for-profit group supported by the UK film industry, the event promotes the use of film within the curriculum and includes captioned and described movies at all sites.

On Australian shores, our annual CAP THAT! campaign is in the final planning stages for 2012. After a successful first year, CAP THAT! will continue to promote the benefits of captions to educators around the country in 2012. Stay up-to-date with CAP THAT! by signing up for our monthly newsletter under the heading ‘Get Involved’, or you can follow CAP THAT! on Twitter.


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