Supporting staff productivity and student equity with Caption.Ed

As a Disability Adviser at the University of Roehampton, Elspeth Mackie spends much of her time in meetings, webinars, and staff training sessions—many of which stretch over several hours. For someone new in role and taking in a lot of information at once, staying fully focused while note-taking became a real productivity challenge.

Elspeth first came across Caption.Ed when her Head of Department shared a trial link and encouraged her to explore what it could offer. “I was curious about Caption.Ed because I’d never seen this type of assistive tech in practice before,” Elspeth shared with us.

Keen to see how it could support her in the workplace, she decided to give it a go.

Recording and reviewing, without the overwhelm

Elspeth quickly found that the recording tab and transcription features in Caption.Ed helped her work more efficiently.

Sitting through lengthy training sessions and webinars while trying to capture every detail was no longer necessary. Caption.Ed’s live transcription gave her peace of mind; instead of multitasking between listening and note-taking, she could focus on the session itself and revisit the full transcript later to catch anything she missed.

This small shift led to big improvements in concentration and productivity.

Extending the benefits to students

While Elspeth uses Caption.Ed to support her own productivity, she also plays a key role in rolling it out to students at Roehampton, particularly those who don’t qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

The university holds a group subscription to Caption.Ed, which allows the Student Support and Success team to offer the tool more widely, including international learners who may need help capturing content from lectures and seminars.

By giving these students access to reliable recording and transcription tools, the team can offer practical, scalable support that helps bridge the gap for those who may otherwise go without. Caption.Ed has become a valuable part of the university’s inclusive approach, both for the students they serve and for the staff who support them.