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kestrellDuring the Covid-19 quarantine, many schools, offices, and social groups have turned to the Zoom conferencing software for online meetings.
For a visually impaired user, Zoom, with all its buttons and settings, can seem intimidating, but there are many resources to assist visually impaired computer and smartphone users to access Zoom.
First of all, it is recommended that you
download
https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting
and install
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207373866-Zoom-Installers
the free Zoom app onto whatever device you are going to use, such as your Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc. This will not only give you access to additional features, but make joining meetings easier.
If you are comfortable exploring Zoom on your own, you can find the list of
Zoom Hot keys and keyboard shortcuts here
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205683899-Hot-Keys-and-Keyboard-Shortcuts-for-Zoom
Two of the most useful keyboard shortcutsare:
F6, which navigates between Zoom panes/popup windows, and
Control+Alt+Shift, which moves the focus to Zoom's meeting controls.
These two shortcuts are useful for the most common question for blind users, which is "Which window am I in?".
Whether you are an expert user or a novice, however, I recommend that you download and listen to the following audiobook, which is being made freely available by the author.
Jonathan Mosen audiobook _Meet Me Accessibly: A Guide to Zoom Cloud Meetings from a Blindness Perspective_
https://mosen.org/zoom/
Once you unzip the downloaded file, you will find a list of MP3s, each of which describes an individual topic in Zoom. This means that you can listen to the "Introduction" and "Attending Your First Meeting" MP3s first, and then come back later to the more complicated sections such as configuring the client windows for Windows, iOS, or the online website. The audiobook also explains about sharing your screen, and recording meetings.
Note that you can record meetings and also get automatic transcripts. Read more
Zoom Accessibility FAQ
https://zoom.us/accessibility/faq
Another resource for learning to download, install, and get started with Zoom is
Perkins School for the Blind Zoom 101
https://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/blog/zoom-101-basic-steps-using-zoom
Hartgen Consultancy is offering a paid online course titled "Time to Go Zoom," which begins May 18.
http://www.hartgen.org/timetogozoom
There is a second book available on Zoom for visually impaired user, but this one is not free.
_Getting Started with Zoom Meetings: A Guide for Jaws, NVDA, and iPhone Voiceover Users_
by Heather Thomas, Accessibility Services Associate at the Carroll Center
Price: $18
This is a step-by-step text-based guide for screen reader users.
Topics covered include: Initial setup on the PC and iPhone; the basics of participating in meetings; scheduling meetings and inviting participants; strategies for hosting meetings and managing participants; and other useful features like sharing your screen, chatting, and making recordings. A list of important keyboard shortcuts is also included.
Read more at
https://carroll.org/product/getting-started-with-zoom-meetings/?bblinkid=220991595&bbemailid=21485714&bbejrid=1483340570
Here are a couple more guides to help get you started, produced by WebFriendlyHelp.com:
Joining Zoom Meetings
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/joining-zoom-meetings/#content
How to Host Your Zoom Meeting
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/how-to-host-your-zoom-meeting/
Double Tap has this podcast which demonstrates how to send a Zoom meeting invite on an iPhone and then join the meeting on a PC.
A Quick Guide To Using Zoom Cloud Meetings
https://doubletap.online/zoom-cloud-meetings
Zoom has many, many features which allow you to do many different things, including making a podcast like the Double Tap one listed above.
There is a feature called
Sharing Your Screen
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362153-Sharing-your-screen
which allows the user(s) to view and/or hear what the person who is using "share screen" is doing.
This can be used to teach, give tech support, exercise, sing, or watch a video or movie together. In regard to that last item, if one of the users is blind, a sighted user can provide their own audio description.
Another feature which might be useful if a sighted person wants to provide tech support to a visually impaired person is "Remote Control."
Requesting or Giving Remote Control
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362673-Requesting-or-giving-remote-control
This allows the user who is granted permission to make changes on the other user's computer, including. downloading, installing, and making changes to programs. An example of when this might be used is if a sighted person (Remote Control isn't very accessible to visually impaired users) wants to install programs which will make a visually impaired user's computer more accessible, or if the visually impaired person is having a computer problem which requires sighted assistance.
Another feature is Zoom Backgrounds, which can be used to provide a fun look to your video, or it can be used to hide the room or people behind you.
Explore Zoom backgrounds
https://zoommeetingbackgrounds.com/
For a visually impaired user, Zoom, with all its buttons and settings, can seem intimidating, but there are many resources to assist visually impaired computer and smartphone users to access Zoom.
First of all, it is recommended that you
download
https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting
and install
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/207373866-Zoom-Installers
the free Zoom app onto whatever device you are going to use, such as your Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc. This will not only give you access to additional features, but make joining meetings easier.
If you are comfortable exploring Zoom on your own, you can find the list of
Zoom Hot keys and keyboard shortcuts here
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205683899-Hot-Keys-and-Keyboard-Shortcuts-for-Zoom
Two of the most useful keyboard shortcutsare:
F6, which navigates between Zoom panes/popup windows, and
Control+Alt+Shift, which moves the focus to Zoom's meeting controls.
These two shortcuts are useful for the most common question for blind users, which is "Which window am I in?".
Whether you are an expert user or a novice, however, I recommend that you download and listen to the following audiobook, which is being made freely available by the author.
Jonathan Mosen audiobook _Meet Me Accessibly: A Guide to Zoom Cloud Meetings from a Blindness Perspective_
https://mosen.org/zoom/
Once you unzip the downloaded file, you will find a list of MP3s, each of which describes an individual topic in Zoom. This means that you can listen to the "Introduction" and "Attending Your First Meeting" MP3s first, and then come back later to the more complicated sections such as configuring the client windows for Windows, iOS, or the online website. The audiobook also explains about sharing your screen, and recording meetings.
Note that you can record meetings and also get automatic transcripts. Read more
Zoom Accessibility FAQ
https://zoom.us/accessibility/faq
Another resource for learning to download, install, and get started with Zoom is
Perkins School for the Blind Zoom 101
https://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/blog/zoom-101-basic-steps-using-zoom
Hartgen Consultancy is offering a paid online course titled "Time to Go Zoom," which begins May 18.
http://www.hartgen.org/timetogozoom
There is a second book available on Zoom for visually impaired user, but this one is not free.
_Getting Started with Zoom Meetings: A Guide for Jaws, NVDA, and iPhone Voiceover Users_
by Heather Thomas, Accessibility Services Associate at the Carroll Center
Price: $18
This is a step-by-step text-based guide for screen reader users.
Topics covered include: Initial setup on the PC and iPhone; the basics of participating in meetings; scheduling meetings and inviting participants; strategies for hosting meetings and managing participants; and other useful features like sharing your screen, chatting, and making recordings. A list of important keyboard shortcuts is also included.
Read more at
https://carroll.org/product/getting-started-with-zoom-meetings/?bblinkid=220991595&bbemailid=21485714&bbejrid=1483340570
Here are a couple more guides to help get you started, produced by WebFriendlyHelp.com:
Joining Zoom Meetings
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/joining-zoom-meetings/#content
How to Host Your Zoom Meeting
https://webfriendlyhelp.com/how-to-host-your-zoom-meeting/
Double Tap has this podcast which demonstrates how to send a Zoom meeting invite on an iPhone and then join the meeting on a PC.
A Quick Guide To Using Zoom Cloud Meetings
https://doubletap.online/zoom-cloud-meetings
Zoom has many, many features which allow you to do many different things, including making a podcast like the Double Tap one listed above.
There is a feature called
Sharing Your Screen
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362153-Sharing-your-screen
which allows the user(s) to view and/or hear what the person who is using "share screen" is doing.
This can be used to teach, give tech support, exercise, sing, or watch a video or movie together. In regard to that last item, if one of the users is blind, a sighted user can provide their own audio description.
Another feature which might be useful if a sighted person wants to provide tech support to a visually impaired person is "Remote Control."
Requesting or Giving Remote Control
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362673-Requesting-or-giving-remote-control
This allows the user who is granted permission to make changes on the other user's computer, including. downloading, installing, and making changes to programs. An example of when this might be used is if a sighted person (Remote Control isn't very accessible to visually impaired users) wants to install programs which will make a visually impaired user's computer more accessible, or if the visually impaired person is having a computer problem which requires sighted assistance.
Another feature is Zoom Backgrounds, which can be used to provide a fun look to your video, or it can be used to hide the room or people behind you.
Explore Zoom backgrounds
https://zoommeetingbackgrounds.com/
