Amberscript is a speech-to-text and subtitling service that converts your audio and video recordings into editable text. You can use it to generate lecture transcripts, subtitles, and research data transcripts, helping you make your teaching more accessible and giving students and staff a faster way to work with recorded material. The platform offers both automatic AI-based transcription and human-checked services, so you can choose the level of accuracy you need for a particular task.
- Functions
- Video / audio
- Via Canvas
- Standalone
- Difficulty of use
- Moderate
Examples of use in your education
Use Amberscript to turn lecture recordings into readable transcripts that students can use alongside slides or recordings.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Full lecture transcript - After the lecture, upload the recording to Amberscript and generate a transcript that you share alongside the video in Canvas. This allows students to revisit key explanations, search for important terms, and use the transcript as an accessible alternative to audio if they find it difficult to follow fast speech or take detailed notes during class.
Selected sessions - In courses where you prefer not to share the full recording, provide a transcript of selected sessions (for example a guest lecture or a very dense explanation) so students can still review the content in a focused, text-based format.
Edited study resource - Export transcripts to Word or another editor so you can highlight key passages, add headings or guiding questions, and turn them into a more structured study resource before sharing it with students.
Tip 1
For long lecture series, start with a few key sessions (for example complex topics or guest lectures) and share those transcripts first, so students immediately see the added value without overloading your own workload.
Tip 2
Before recording, tell students that you intend to create a transcript and explain how it will be stored and used. This helps build trust and keeps you aligned with institutional privacy policies.
Use Amberscript as a concrete tool in qualitative methods or thesis training to help students understand what transcription involves and how the quality of transcripts influences later analysis.
You can apply this tool in your teaching in several concrete ways:
Transcript comparison - In a qualitative methods class, play a short anonymised audio fragment (for example part of an interview) and ask students to generate a transcript with Amberscript before the session. In class, let them compare the transcript with the original audio, highlight errors or missing nuances, and discuss the difference between “good enough” and “not acceptable” for research purposes.
Error tracking - Give students a small transcription exercise where they correct an automatically generated transcript in pairs. Ask them to keep track of the types of changes they make (for example names, numbers, technical terms, unclear sentences) and use this list to talk about common speech recognition limitations and how to address them in their own projects.
Transcription memo - When supervising theses, ask students to process one interview or focus group segment with Amberscript and to document their transcription decisions in a short memo (for example how they anonymised data, how they labelled speakers, and whether they chose verbatim or “cleaned” transcripts). Use this memo in supervision meetings to discuss the methodological implications of those choices.
Workflow demonstration - In advanced methods courses, show how transcripts created with Amberscript can be exported to a qualitative analysis tool such as ATLAS.ti. Use a small example dataset to walk students through the workflow from audio → transcript → coded text, emphasising how transcription quality affects the reliability of later coding and themes.
Tip 1
Provide a simple checklist or coding scheme for reviewing transcripts (for example “names”, “numbers”, “technical terms”, “unclear sentences”) and ask students to mark at least 10 corrections on one Amberscript transcript using these categories. Discuss their findings together to make typical error patterns visible.
Tip 2
When students use Amberscript for their own data, remind them to anonymise recordings before uploading where possible and to note in their methods section how transcripts were produced and checked. This helps them link practical transcription work to ethical and methodological transparency in their reports.
Use Amberscript to create subtitles and captions for recorded teaching materials, and apply them in different teaching situations.
You might, for example, use subtitles in the following ways:
Core lecture videos - Create subtitles for core lecture videos so all students can read along, pause when they need more time, and rewatch specific parts of the explanation more easily.
Technical terminology - Add subtitles to videos with specialised or technical terminology so students can see and hear key terms at the same time, which helps them recognise and remember the language of the discipline.
Second-language support - In programmes with many international students or students studying in a second language, provide English subtitles so they have an extra channel to follow the lecture and look up unfamiliar words.
Tip 1
When you create subtitles, keep line lengths short and avoid overloading the screen with text. This makes it easier for students to follow both the visuals and the spoken content.
Tip 2
Test your subtitles with at least one student who uses them regularly (for example a student with hearing difficulties or an international student) and ask what helps or distracts them most. Use that feedback to fine-tune your next videos.
How-to videos
How to get started with Amberscript
How to create automatic subtitles with Amberscript
How to export subtitles?
Getting started
- You can find all the relevant information on the official site of Amberscript.
Support
In case of educational questions, please contact your learning innovator or web team from your faculty.
In case of technical difficulty, please consult the Amberscript Help Centre.
