Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, learning and working remotely has become the 'norm' for many of us. Moving forward past the pandemic, virtual meeting technology will become further integrated in our daily lives as students use more online learning opportunities and employees collaborate, meet and conference using virtual meeting platforms.
As always, we must ensure the technology we use and the strategies we employ are accessible and inclusive for all participants. This technology is evolving and changing rapidly.
Accessibility for All During Virtual Meetings
Advice for All Users
- Test your headphones and microphone beforehand to ensure they are functioning properly.
- Reduce background noise.
- Be in a well-lit space or use good lighting.
- Do not sit with an outside door or window behind you. This makes it difficult for participants to see you on screen.
- Wear headphones and a mic (ideally, a headset). This allows you to hear and be heard more easily.
- Enter the meeting with your microphone shut off and mute when not speaking.
- Turn on your camera/webcam when speaking so anyone who is hard of hearing or deaf may be better able to read your lips (use a virtual background for privacy if you would like).
- Update your name/profile to share your pronoun(s) if you are comfortable.
- State your name before you speak.
- Avoid distracting activities, such as conversing with people in the background, where possible.
- Raise your virtual hand if you would like to speak.
Advice for Specific Users
Meeting Facilitators
(i.e., Instructor/TA/Manager/person responsible for the meeting)
- Use real-time automatic captioning for synchronous meetings or lectures. Be prepared for using ASL interpreters and/or out-sourced real-time captioning when required for an accommodation request.
- Allow enough time for activities and plan for technical difficulties and breaks during long meetings.
- Minimize the number of digital tools used and select them mindfully (screen sharing, polling, and whiteboarding tools are not fully accessible).
- Create, use, and share accessible materials.
- Consider letting participants know, in advance, if you are asking for specific input so that those who need time to process can meaningfully contribute.
- Start the session early to ensure everything is working correctly.
- Clearly state the meeting agenda up-front, including which features of the virtual meeting software will be used.
- Providing time estimates for each portion of the meeting is especially helpful for neurodivergent participants.
- Ask for consent to record the meeting and record it if possible.
- Discuss accessible online etiquette in your first meeting/class and revisit as needed, establishing norms for participants (listed above under “Advice for All Users”), as well as:
- How and when to ask questions.
- Other ways to contribute to the discussion.
- Recruit someone to monitor the chat.
- Share agenda with participants and let them know how long it will last.
- How to prepare participants for breakout rooms:
- Let them know how long it will last and what is expected of them.
- Decide who will facilitate.
- Explain how to ask for help or ask questions.
- Ensure that participants have access to whatever materials they will need.
- Describe/narrate all shared visual content.
- Be flexible by assessing and addressing needs in real time.
- Send the following to participants and those who may have missed the meeting:
- meeting/lecture recording
- the saved chat transcript
- all links from the chat
- presentation materials
- audio transcription file
- Ask for feedback from meeting participants/students.
Presenters
(Anyone presenting material and/or facilitating specific activities)
- Create, use, and share accessible materials.
- In planning, minimize the number of digital tools used and select them mindfully (screen sharing, polling, and whiteboarding tools are not fully accessible).
- Plan for opportunities for engagement, interaction, practice, participation, and comprehension checks.
- Providing time estimates for each portion of the presentation is especially helpful for neurodivergent participants.
- Provide instructions on how and when to ask questions.
- Use simple and inclusive language. Avoid jargon and acronyms.
- Describe/narrate all shared visual content.
- Create pauses during and between activities, so students who are taking notes, students with slow Internet bandwidth, or students who are using captions or sign language interpreters can catch up.
- Use the chat feature sparingly and share chat content through additional channels after the meeting. While the chat is important as a non-verbal way to participate, the chat feature can also be distracting for some neurodivergent users and folx using screen readers. Some options for using the chat feature thoughtfully include:
- Read the comments aloud as part of the meeting.
- Demonstrate how to disable the chat preview feature.
- How to prepare participants for breakout rooms:
- Let them know how long it will last.
- Decide who will facilitate.
- Explain how to ask for help or ask questions.
- Ensure that they have access to whatever materials they will need.
Resources
Captioning
- Teams - Use Live Captions during a Teams Meeting
- Zoom - Using Closed Captioning
- Google meet - Use captions in video meeting
- PowerPoint - Present with real-time, automatic captions or subtitles
- YouTube accessibility
Video Captions and Transcripts
Accessibility Features in Virtual Meeting Platforms
Teams
- Accessibility Support
- Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Teams
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Teams