Two years ago, a fully subtitled YouTube video clip featured in a seminar I attended, to explain some youth issues that featured in the presentation.
YouTube videos are increasingly being used as a teaching tool, as digital tools, the Internet and whiteboards infiltrate educational practices.
The recent release of CaptionTube, a new YouTube captioning tool, will now increase the number of captioned video clips being made and played.
Teachers, lecturers, trainers and presenters can caption video clips used in their work, with just a Google account and a bit of time.
CaptionTube enables users to create captions for their own videos, or for any other clips they find on YouTube. A time-line in CaptionTube’s editing tools allows users to accurately match the captions created to the video’s images.
Another video captioning tool, DotSub, allows other users to contribute to the captioning process – possibly better for shared or collaborative projects.
Key point: Captions give deaf, hard of hearing people and ESL learners access to video content, no matter how the subjects are communicating.
An example is these YouTube videos – posted by TCD’s DS3 project to support their students’ different communication needs. Students can choose the language they’re most comfortable with – for some, this would be captions.
In due time, captioned videos will be the norm (not an exception) in learning environments to accommodate a wider cross-section of attendees.
