Virtual Events and Meetings
Recognizing that attendees may have diverse access needs is crucial. Not all disabilities are apparent, so you may not know that someone with a disability will attend your virtual event. When there are barriers to participation, it can make attendees feel unwelcome and less likely to return or recommend this event to a friend or colleague. By considering accessibility at your event from the planning stage you allow attendees to feel included and invited to the space.
Accessible Marketing
Your event’s advertisement creates an important first impression. It is important that your marketing strategy is inclusive and considerate of all audiences.
A good advertisement should inform attendees of the 5 W’s: who is the event for, what is the purpose of the event, when and how long is the event, where is the event located, and why they should attend. Below are a few points to demonstrate your commitment to access in your event marketing:
- Create accessible digital marketing materials with alternative text for images, appropriate document heading structures, captions on media, etc.
- Ensure any required registration is accessible.
- List accommodations available without request (e.g., interpreting, captioning, accessible seating, etc).
- Include an access statement. Depending on the scale and reach of your event, the Miami access statement or the abbreviated statement may be appropriate.
- Miami Access Statement: Miami University is committed to providing an inclusive and equitable event experience. If you need disability related accommodations (e.g. interpreter, captioning, materials in an accessible format) to facilitate full participation please contact the Miller Center by phone at 513-529-1541, Ohio Relay 711 or SDS@MiamiOH.edu at least three business days prior to the event.
- Abbreviated Access Statement: If you have questions, need accommodations, or want to RSVP, please contact (name) at (email or phone).
- Be mindful of inclusive disability language.
Best Practices for Zoom
Turning off HD Video will improve the user experience for everyone attending, especially if they have bandwidth limitations, restricted data usage on mobile, or unreliable internet access. Some institutions may already have this feature disabled for all licenses depending on how your institution’s Zoom global settings are configured.
From within the Zoom Client:
- Select the Home tab.
- Select the Settings “Gear” icon. A settings pop-up window will open.
- Select the View More Settings link under General settings. The Zoom website will open. Login if you are prompted with the login screen. The Meeting Settings page will open.
- Navigate to the In Meeting (Advanced) section of the Meeting Settings page.
- Disable the Group HD video setting.
Note: If the Group HD video setting is “locked by admin,” contact your Help Desk to have the feature unlocked.
Automatic Transcriptions should be enabled in all Zoom sessions.
- If you have a participant who is Deaf/deaf or has hearing loss then you will need to ensure closed captioning or third-party captioning service is arranged for the class or event.
- In addition, please be familiar with how to assign a participant to type closed captions should a request arise.
By selecting the Always Show Meeting Controls checkbox, the controls at the bottom of the zoom screen will remain up. This improves the user experience for many participants as they don’t have to worry about the bar appearing and disappearing upon hover (especially if they are new to Zoom and don’t know how to make the bar at the bottom show up after it’s disappeared).
From within the Zoom Client:
- Select the Home tab.
- Select the Settings “Gear” icon. A settings pop-up window will open.
- Select the View More Settings link under General settings. The Zoom website will open.
- Log in if you are prompted with a login screen. The Meeting Settings page will open.
- Navigate to the In Meeting (Basics) section of the Meeting Settings page.
- Enable the Always Show Meeting Controls setting.
In your meeting settings, select the Mute participants upon entry checkbox (located under Meeting Options when scheduling a session). Participants will have to unmute their mics to participate. This feature will ensure fewer disruptions at the start of a meeting or class.
Send out the Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts ahead of time. These instructions are valuable for anyone using keyboard-only navigation or assistive technology. In addition, it could be helpful to anyone who may have had their mouse stop working unexpectedly.
Describing visual content that is displayed will help anyone with a vision or cognitive disability, as well as someone that may have needed to call in due to a local internet outage.
There are a couple of ways people can ask questions. First, participants can use non-verbal feedback, such as raising their hand and unmuting when called upon. In addition, they can post a question in the chat feature. The recommendation is to use both features, but to always repeat aloud the questions that are submitted through chat. By repeating the questions, you will help anyone that can’t access the chat during the session (people using assistive technology will have too much screen reader interference if they enable chat) and you will improve the captioning quality of any recorded sessions.
It’s okay to use the Chat feature. However, keep in mind that anyone using assistive technology may not be able to copy or activate the links. It’s recommended that you send any resource links you’ll be sharing either prior to or after the session. You can also speak out the URL when posting it in Chat. If your resource link is long, consider using a URL shortener, such as bit.ly or Tiny URL, to help with communicating the link verbally and so that the link is cleaner for anyone copying it from the chatbox.
Similar to using a whiteboard in the classroom, you should always describe what you are writing on the board for anyone with a disability or anyone that is using their phone due to internet connection issues in your virtual room.
There are a few reasons to consider recording your Zoom sessions locally to your computer for distribution after a meeting or class:
- Occasionally, due to local outages, students or employees may not be able to access a live Zoom session.
- Currently, there are several countries or regions where international students are unable to access live Zoom sessions for regulatory reasons.
- In addition, other unexpected distractions may come up that cause your meeting or class participant to miss portions of your class.
Best Practices for WebEx
Use your Personal Meeting Room to provide a single, short and consistent URL for meetings and classes. This makes it easier for users to log in because they don’t have to find a different URL each time. You can schedule meetings in your personal room or host an impromptu meeting.
You can use a microphone or call-in audio for Webex. Use a high-quality microphone or call in for a reliable audio experience. It is important to have a strong internet connection. Consider hard wiring instead of using wifi if you have poor connectivity.
Video can be a great tool to enhance the social aspect of web conferencing. It may also help users observe the nonverbal expressions of participants. In some cases, it may be helpful to disable video if a poor connection is occurring. This may happen particularly when “sharing your screen” in Webex. Allow for flexibility among users.
In your participant's panel, select the “mute on entry” checkbox. Participants will have to unmute their mics to participate. This feature will ensure less disruption throughout the meeting. The host also has the ability to mute and unmute individuals.
Consider recording your Webex sessions for distribution after the meeting. The recording can be used by anyone that experiences poor connection or was unable to attend. In some instances, recorded sessions are used to facilitate transcription accommodations. Student Disability Services will contact you if this is relevant to your class.
Automated closed captions are available for Webex Meetings and Webex Webinars (not available for webinars in webcast view). You'll always know exactly who said what because each caption includes the speaker's name or the name of the room or desk device the speaker joined from. Be aware that if offensive words are used, asterisks replace some letters in the offensive word in the caption.
To show captions, click Show closed captions in the lower left of the screen.
Enable closed captions for meetings and classes that require this feature. Student Disability Services will notify you if a registered student requires captioning. Familiarize yourself with how to assign a participant to type closed captions if you have an accommodation request.
Send out the Webex Keyboard Shortcuts ahead of time. Everyone can benefit from this information and it is particularly helpful for assistive technology users.
Verbally describe visual content (e.g. images, charts) displayed on screen for call-in users and those with vision or cognitive impairment. This is especially important when you are using the Whiteboard feature.
Send resource links by chat, email, and verbally describe the URL so participants have multiple ways to access the content. This allows assistive technology users to choose an alternate method if they encounter access barriers with any particular one. We recommend sending resources in advance and using shortened (e.g. Tiny, bit.ly) URLs if needed.
