How to caption a YouTube video

Teachers can easily caption YouTube videos to benefit students, particularly those who are Deaf or hearing impaired, speak English as a second language, have learning disabilities or are struggling readers. Students who are creating videos as part of school projects or learning about captions can also add captions to videos.

To add captions to a video on YouTube you must be the video owner and be able to use an online editor such as CaptionTube to create a caption file. If the video is not yours you can caption and view it on the Overstream website.

YouTube allows you to upload either a caption or transcript file to produce captions for your video. A caption file is preferred as it contains both the text and timing information for the video and can be created using free online captioning services.

While YouTube allows ‘auto-captions’ to be generated using speech recognition software, this is not ideal as it often results in inaccuracies in wording and spelling.

You can caption your YouTube videos in three easy steps.

Firstly, you need to upload your video to YouTube, for which you need to have a free YouTube account.

Secondly, you need to create a ‘caption file’ for your video using an online editor such as CaptionTube, which was created by YouTube for captioning YouTube videos.

Visit the CaptionTube website for instructions on how to use CaptionTube to create a caption file. This web page provides instructions and video tutorials on how CaptionTube works and how to import videos, how to create and edit YouTube captions, and how to download, email and copy and paste captions as text.

Lastly, add the caption file to your YouTube video. When uploading the file, make sure you select ‘Caption file’ instead of ‘Transcript file’.

Overstream allows you to caption a YouTube video which you do not own. It can then be watched with captions by anyone on the Overstream website. View basic and advanced tutorials on video captioning, or watch the demo of using Overstream.

Find out how to turn on captions on YouTube videos for inclusive learning that can improve literacy for all students.