Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) in online courses: how to make your lessons accessible
According to Brazil's 2022 Census, around 2.6 million Brazilians have permanent difficulty hearing, even when using a hearing aid (IBGE, via CNN Brasil). Many of them communicate primarily in Libras, Brazilian Sign Language.
For course creators and training providers, this means there's an audience that can follow lessons more easily when they're also available in Libras. And making that happen is simpler than you might think.
A Libras sign language window is one way to do this. It adds an interpreter who signs everything being said in the video.
In this article, you'll learn why a Libras window matters and discover two ways to add one to your lessons, including an option that doesn't require any video re-editing.
What is a Libras sign language window?
A Libras window is an area of a video reserved for an interpreter who translates spoken content into Brazilian Sign Language. It appears in a corner of the screen, alongside the main content, so deaf viewers can follow the video more easily.
Its purpose is to make content accessible to people whose first language is Libras.
You've probably seen this feature in official broadcasts, such as election campaign broadcasts, or live coverage of major events in Brazil.
As distance learning has expanded in higher education, it has also become available in some online courses.
Who needs to provide a Libras window?
Brazil's Inclusion Law (Law No. 13,146/2015) only specifically requires a Libras interpreter window on television, such as during official addresses and mandatory election advertising. No law specifically requires online courses to include a Libras window.
In other contexts, the law requires accessibility or an interpreter without specifying how they must be provided:
Educational institutions, including distance learning providers. Public and private schools, colleges, and universities must provide Libras translators and interpreters for deaf students at no additional cost (Article 28). The requirement is to provide an interpreter; each institution decides how the service will be delivered.
Companies. Employees with disabilities have the right to accessibility in courses and training offered by their employer (Article 34). The law does not specify which accessibility feature must be used.
For non-degree courses, digital educational products, mentoring programs, and corporate videos, there is no specific requirement. In these cases, adding a Libras window is a choice, and a valuable one: it opens your content to an audience that's currently excluded from most online courses.
The good news is that providing Libras interpretation in your lessons is now much easier than it sounds.
Why use a Libras window instead of captions?
Many people assume that adding captions is enough to make videos accessible to deaf viewers.
But Libras isn't simply Portuguese expressed through hand movements.
It's a language with its own grammar, officially recognized under Law No. 10,436/2002. For many deaf people, Libras is their first language, while written Portuguese is a second language they learn later and may not use fluently.
In practice, offering only captions to a deaf student can be like offering an English-language lesson with English captions to someone who only learned English at school.
They might be able to follow some of it, but it takes effort. It's not the same experience other students have.
Libras also communicates things that captions can't fully convey. Facial expressions and body movements are part of its grammar, expressing emphasis, uncertainty, irony, and tone.
That doesn't mean captions should be left out. They're still important for deaf people who use spoken language, people with partial hearing loss, and even hearing viewers who watch videos without sound.
Ideally, you should offer both. But if you have students who communicate in Libras, the interpreter window is what allows them to truly follow the lesson.
Libras window requirements: size, placement, and ABNT standards
The main technical reference in Brazil is ABNT NBR 15290, a standard for accessibility in television communication.
The current version of the standard dates from 2016, and it sets out only a few requirements for Libras windows:
Clear visual contrast, whether in color or black and white
Contrast between the background and the interpreter
The standard also describes different ways to create the window. One option is to embed the interpreter directly into the video as a fixed element. Another is to provide the interpreter in a separate file alongside the main content, allowing viewers to control whether it's displayed.
Libras window size and placement
NBR 15290 does not specify a required window size. In practice, interpreters often occupy around one-quarter of the screen's width and less than half its height.
What's more important than the exact dimensions is whether viewers can clearly read the signs. Libras depends on details: finger positions, hand movements, and facial expressions are all part of its grammar. A window that's too small becomes little more than a decorative box that nobody can understand.
The standard doesn't specify a position either. The most common placement is in a bottom corner of the screen, usually on the right. What matters more than the side is keeping essential content unobstructed. In a video lesson, that means avoiding slides, code, charts, or the instructor's face when they're explaining something.
A few other things to keep in mind:
No captions, banners, or buttons should overlap the interpreter window
The window should remain visible throughout any section containing speech
The interpreter's hands, arms, torso, and face must be fully visible. If a hand moves outside the frame during a wider sign, part of the message is lost.
How to hire a Libras interpreter for your course
In most cases, schools and companies don't produce Libras interpretation themselves.
Instead, they hire a Libras translator and interpreter, a profession regulated in Brazil under Law No. 12,319/2010. This may be a freelancer or a company specializing in accessibility services.
Translating a lesson into Libras isn't just a matter of “signing along as the instructor speaks.” It's a translation process that involves studying the content, choosing appropriate signs, and reviewing the result.
How the service works
The process varies by provider, but it usually follows these steps:
Submit the materials. Send over your lessons and, if available, scripts, slides, and a list of technical terms used in the course.
Content review and translation. The interpreter studies the content before recording. Technical terms don't always have established signs in Libras, so this is when the interpreter decides how each term will be translated.
Studio recording. The interpreter records while watching the lesson, using a fixed camera, a solid-color background, and appropriate lighting.
Quality review. Reliable providers review the translation before delivery. Many work with deaf consultants who check whether the interpretation is clear to people who use Libras every day.
Delivery. The provider delivers the interpreter video, either embedded in the lesson or as a separate file.
Providers typically charge per minute of video, as shown in public-sector quotes for audiovisual content translation into Libras (TRE-AL).
That's why knowing the total runtime of your course makes it easier to request a quote.
What to request in a quote
Before hiring a provider, make sure you agree on the following:
Delivery format. Ask for the interpreter video as a separate file, not just a lesson with the interpreter already embedded. This makes a big difference in the next step.
Solid white, green, or blue background. This makes it easier to remove the background and overlay the interpreter on the lesson without showing the wall behind them.
Duration and synchronization. The interpreter video should stay in sync with the lesson and be no longer than the original video.
Review by a deaf person. Ask whether deaf consultants review the translation.
Course glossary. Agree on how technical terms will be signed so they're consistent across lessons.
Deadlines and revisions. Set a delivery timeline for each lesson or module and agree on how many revision rounds are included.
One tip for evaluating providers: ask for examples of previous projects and pay attention to framing, lighting, and the size of the interpreter window.
How to add a Libras window to your lessons
Once you have the interpreter video, there are two ways to proceed.
Option 1: Embed the interpreter window in the video
This is the traditional approach. The provider delivers a lesson with the interpreter window already embedded.
It works, but it comes with costs that add up over time:
Two versions of every lesson. You either maintain one version with Libras and another without it, or display the interpreter window to every student.
More work as your course grows. A 40-lesson course means 40 edits, 40 exports, and 40 uploads.
Fixed window position. Students can't move it if it covers something they want to see.
Replacing the interpreter means starting over. If an interpretation needs to be redone, you have to edit and upload the lesson again.
Option 2: Add the Libras window directly to the video player
The alternative is to leave the original lesson untouched and add the interpreter inside the player as an optional overlay that students can turn on when needed.
That's how Panda Video's Libras Translation feature works.
Here's how to set it up:
Go to Video Settings → Advanced → Sign Language.
Upload the interpreter video (MP4, MOV, or WEBM).
Choose when the window appears, its size and position, and whether it should be enabled when the video starts.
That's it. A Sign Language button appears in the player, allowing students to turn on the window, drag it anywhere they like, and resize it.
If the interpreter was recorded against a solid white, green, or blue background, Panda Video automatically removes it so the interpreter appears as a cutout over the lesson.
With other backgrounds, or if the background changes during the video, the interpreter appears exactly as recorded. That's why it's worth requesting a solid background when getting a quote.
You can also change these settings later, replace the interpreter video, or remove it entirely, all without changing the original lesson.
Accessible online education, without re-editing your lessons
A Libras interpreter window makes your course accessible to people who communicate in Brazilian Sign Language, a community that includes millions of people in Brazil.
To get it right, focus on the essentials: hire a qualified interpreter, request a separate interpreter video with a solid background, and make sure the window is large enough for viewers to read the signs without covering the lesson.
What's changed is the amount of work involved. Offering Libras interpretation no longer has to mean re-editing your entire course and maintaining two versions of every lesson.
With Panda Video's Libras Translation, you upload your original lesson and the interpreter video, configure the window once, and let each student choose whether to enable it.
Want to make your courses and training videos accessible in Libras without opening a video editor? Explore Panda Video's Libras Translation and try the platform for free.
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