National Captioning Institute Launches Lightning Captions

The National Captioning Institute (NCI) has introduced Lightning Captions, a web-based, on-demand real-time transcription and translation service for use in the classroom.

Lightning is a scalable alternative to traditional Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services. With it, the student is in charge. It replaces the need for an on-site or remote human captioner, eliminates scheduling barriers, and removes dependency on third-party platforms.

By using automatic speech recognition (ASR), Lightning Captions delivers live transcription and translation for classes, meetings, or campus events,

"As someone who relies on captions every day, I know how frustrating it can be when access isn't easy or immediate," said Bianca Grant, product marketing manager at National Captioning Institute, in a statement. "With Lightning Captions, our goal is simple: We want to make real-time access to spoken content something that is available to everyone without hassle or high cost. This tool was built with people like me in mind. I'm proud to help bring that kind of everyday accessibility to more campuses and classrooms."

Key features of Lightning Captions include the following:

• User control: Students launch and manage captioning sessions on demand in the classroom, using their own computers, tablets, or phones.
• Real-Time captioning and transcription powered by advanced speech recognition.
• Browser-based access.
• Downloadable transcripts, giving instant access to saved text.
• Multilingual support, enabling students to switch between languages during live sessions.
• Student access and billing managed by campus administrators.