University of Mary Washington logo

Teaching & Learning Resources

Transcribing Audio with Word and Using Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker

Written by

Shannon Hauser

Published on

Updates 

In support of Title II digital accessibility compliance, we are continuing to assess tools that help reduce barriers in commonly used instructional materials. Current areas of focus include:

  • Accessible math content
  • Additional PDF remediation tools for better workflows

If there are areas of accessibility that need to be addressed with additional support please feel free to reach out to the Title II Team at t2access@umw.edu.

Using Microsoft Word for Audio Accessibility 

Microsoft Word lets you upload an audio file and automatically generate a transcript. This video shows how the feature works.  

A few key reminders to help you turn the auto‑generated text into an accessible, usable transcript.  

When creating a transcript keep these things in mind: 

  • Review and edit for accuracy 
    • Fix names, acronyms, and discipline‑specific terms 
    • Add punctuation and paragraph breaks so the text is readable 
    • Prioritize intent over verbatim. In most transcript cases it is If excessive use of “um” would be distracting and does not contribute to the meaning of the transcript you can choose to omit.
  • Identify speakers
    • Word makes this easy by creating transcripts that are speaker‑separated. For example, (Speaker 1), (Speaker 2). You should edit these automatically generated titles to the actual names of the speakers. 
  • Note meaningful non‑speech audio when it adds context. For example: (laughter)

A few technical things to know about Microsoft’s transcription service:

  • Our Microsoft license includes 300 minutes of transcription for pre-recorded audio per month 
  • Audio must be .wav, .mp4, .m4a, or .mp3
  • Files cannot exceed 200 MB in size. 
  • Audio is processed in the cloud and saved to your OneDrive 

For information on where to find this functionality see the Microsoft guide on How to Improve Accessibility with the Accessibility Checker.  

Frequently Asked Question 

“Are there ways I can improve accessibility even before I upload my documents into Panorama?” 

While much of the recent focus has been on remediating digital content for accessibility, it is just as important to think about building accessibly from the start. 

One simple habit to adopt is using the Accessibility Checker built into Microsoft Office. This feature can be found inside tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Although this checker is not as comprehensive as Panorama, it is a useful first step. It highlights common issues and reminds you to address key accessibility considerations as you create content, such as adding alternative text to images or checking color contrast. 

Using these tools early can help make your documents more accessible before uploading and reduce the need for later remediation. 

For information on where to find this functionality see the Microsoft guide on How to Improve Accessibility with the Accessibility Checker. 

Guides for specific tools and creating accessibly in them are also available:

Related Guides 

Much of the above comes from the guides on this site. Feel free to check them out as they can provide further context and link to further resources:

Get Support 

If you have questions or need further support you can: 

More posts