There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Eat, eat, we’ll talk later!” In this day and age of meetings while you eat, meetings while you feel like sleeping … (muting is a wonderful thing, nobody can tell if you snore!), though I’m sure you would never fall asleep in such a meeting.
There’s meetings about when we should have a meeting … business today is very meeting-centric. The constant craziness of, how do we get everyone together, no matter where they are?
A service that has been mostly accessible for awhile, has recently come to the attention of the blind and visually impaired for it’s ease of use. With the ability to come to meetings no matter the platform you’re on, this service really shines.
Zoom is here to Meet Your Needs
The
Zoom Meeting Service
has distinguished itself in its ease of use for organizers of meetings and attendees.
You have options of scheduling a meeting, holding an informal meeting, or you can make your meeting room like a classroom. Requiring attendees to raise their hands, have them enter muted, and have questions go directly to the moderator instead of to the entire group if desired.
Zoom is very customizable depending on what your needs are. If you’re desiring to hold a once-a-month class on a particular topic, or a business meeting, each can be accomplished.
Scripted? Yes, Indeed!
The folks over at the Zoom labs have implemented accessibility as accessibility is always meant to be implemented–from the ground up! If you want more control over what JAWS speaks in the Zoom client, the team at Hartgen consultancy have released some free scripts they built for their own use, and have decided to make them publicly available.
Clients and Extensions that Make Zoom Available
Zoom has a number of clients and extensions, ensuring that you are able to schedule a meeting from whichever device and program you happen to be using.
the
Download area
of the Zoom website enables you access to the following:
- a plugin for Microsoft Outlook which gives you the ability to schedule or begin a meeting from the Outlook toolbar
- a plugin for IBM notes which gives you similar functionality as described for Microsoft Outlook
- Extension for browsers which allows you to start or schedule a meeting from a browser, (Firefox and Chrome are listed), or from Google Calendar
- available for iOS and Android devices
“Zoom Rooms” is a plugin for Windows that allows you to set up your meeting rooms for “one-touch and calendar integration”
Conclusion
the Zoom meeting platform has made quite a splash in the blindness community, due to its native accessibility and ease of use on any device or platform. It has stood the test of time, is a testament to how building in exemplary accessibility can draw many people to use a service, and is why it has come to our attention.
Joining in a meeting is literally as easy as tapping a link twice, (if the app isn’t installed on your mobile device), and the same ease of use is available on the computer side, as well.
If you desire to have video from the participants in the meeting, that is easily done by clicking a button.
Can’t make it home for the second aunt’s brother’s cousin’s once removed graduation? Just hop on Zoom, set up a meeting, turn on that video, and it’s like you’re there!
If you’re hashing out the next big thing at work but want to avoid a think tank and all those people, screen sharing was made for you! You can work from home in your PJ’s, share your screen with your colleagues, and brainstorm.
