Re: working online with blind participants
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Hello Gerardo,
Here is Zoom's about their accessibility.? I pasted it below this email also.? I haven't heard about the actual user experience from a user's perspective, though.
In thinking about the problem that Teletha mentioned about screen readers automatically reading all of the chat messages, I think a better option would be to have visually impaired users call into a conference call at the same time they are on Zoom.? On that conference call, where a person will read the chat messages to them at an appropriate time.? The person could also describe what they are seeing about the speaker or the speaker's slides.? I haven't tried this, but in my opinion, I?think it would be more empowering and accurate and much less painful/abrasive/cold than a screen reader. So the people with limited sight would?have their?laptop speakers & microphone, plus their phone with an earpiece would be connected to the second conference call (which could be the dial-in info for a separate Zoom meeting).? The assistant on the earpiece would probably be speaking 10-20% of the time.
When it is time for something interactive such as a poll, I would use a direct link to a Web-based tool, and I would send all of those out in an email before the event begins.? People with limited sight can turn on their screen reader to read their email and navigate the poll/tool on their own at the appropriate time.
I've never heard of this service being offered, but I hope that some firm will develop this capability and offer it so that the rest of us facilitators can hire them for it.? Firms with professional interpreters charge $100-$250 per hour but I think that people who normally serve as Zoom tech hosts at $35/hour would be able to learn how to do this well with just a few hours of practice.
A client investing in a human assistant to people with limited sight would make a strong statement that accessibility is important to?them, and the cost wouldn't be so high at $35/hour.? Does anyone else have any opinions about that?
Lucas Cioffi QiqoChat | Lead Software Engineer lucas@... +1.917.528.1831 ? 
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Is Zoom accessible for users with visual impairments?Zoom ensures that its products are operable and perceivable for users with visual impairments. Our products support common screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and Android Talkback. Additionally, visual interfaces are designed with adequate color contrast, size, and usage of color to ensure clarity for users with various vision needs. Is content shared through the screen sharing feature accessible to screen readers?User content shared through Zoom¡¯s screen sharing feature is rendered to meeting participants as an HD video stream. In order to make contents of the screen share accessible to attendees who use screen readers, it is recommended that the presenter share the relevant files/notes with meeting attendees. This solution will ensure that the document's full content and semantic markup is preserved and made accessible to screen reader users. Zoom provides file upload capabilities in its in-meeting chat so that meeting hosts may share files to participants while in-meeting. Can I use the remote control feature to control another computer's screen reader?Zoom's remote control feature allows users to control the screen sharer's screen reader. The host computer must first enable "share computer audio" to stream the screen reader speech output to the guest computer. Once the guest has gained remote control, the common screen reader keystrokes will be registered on the host computer. Does Zoom application support high-contrast or dark mode settings?The Zoom Application on Windows, iOS, and Android support the high contrast settings defined in the system preferences. The Zoom Application for macOS supports Dark Mode. Does Zoom application support larger font settings?The Zoom Application on macOS and Windows only support the inheritance of the display scaling options defined in the operating system settings. The Zoom desktop applications also provides font size customizations for subtitles. The Zoom Application for iOS and Android support font sizes defined in the system settings.
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Lucas Cioffi