Planning Accessible Virtual Events

Planning for events helps ensure everything is in place to make the event efficient and effective. People with disabilities can be included in events if the appropriate steps are taken to make the event accessible.

Planning for accessible virtual events includes:

• Accommodation Planning
  • Determine the types of accommodations available to attendees
  • Outline the steps required for participants to request accommodations
• Virtual Event Platform Accessibility
  • Determine the platform
  • Determine the platform configuration
• Event Communications
  • Provide an accommodation statement
• Request and Provide Accessible Materials

Accommodation Planning

Plan ahead for costs associated with any accommodations you as a host are going to provide, or that may be requested by your presenters or participants.

Some of the most common individual accommodations are sign language interpreters, electronic materials, large print materials, and captioning (live or realtime). By creating a standard set of accommodations that you always include in your event budget, you’ll have more flexibility. In some cases, you may not have a request for both realtime captions and interpreters at the same event, but setting these funds aside allows you to be prepared if the accessibility needs of the participants should change.

Types of Accommodations

There are many types of meeting accommodations that can be made to ensure that all participants can fully participate. Some common accommodations include:

Captions

Providing some means of captioning support for your event is always recommended, especially for events where a large number of attendees is likely. Not only are captions useful for attendees who are deaf/hard of hearing, but they are also especially useful for all since background noises and other technology-related issues can impact the audio. Captions can be provided in two ways: Live or realtime.

• Live captions or automatic captions are a feature available within most meeting platforms and must be activated by the host of the event. This feature is appropriate to use for last-minute meetings or events where there was inadequate time for securing a real-time captioner. If a formal request has been made for captioning during your event, live or automatic captions should not be considered an accommodation tool to be used due to a few issues with transcription accuracy, speaker voice variations, and background noises.
• Realtime captioning or Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided by a human captioner who transcribes using captioning software. Realtime captioning providers may also provide unedited transcripts. Unedited transcripts should be discussed at the time of the service request. These unedited transcripts are meant to be used as a reference and will contain inaccuracies. Captioning providers may also provide captions for recordings and can provide edited transcripts. These two fee-based service options should be discussed with the captioning provider when scheduling the events.

Oral or Sign Language Interpreting Services

Oral or sign language interpreting services for deaf/hard-of-hearing attendees may be requested. Oral interpreting is a system of interpretation that enables users to use one interpreter to speechread/lipread what is said by multiple speakers. Sign language is a system of communication using visual gestures and signs, instead of spoken words. When requested, attendees should be specific as to the type of oral or sign language interpretation needed for the event.

Types of language interpretation needs may include, but are not limited to, American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), Lengua de Señas Mexicana (LSM), other signed languages, oral interpreting, oral interpreting with sign support (oral interpreting with sign language support in ASL, BSL, or other sign languages).

Transcripts

Transcripts are a text-based alternatives to audio/video content that enables blind, low vision, and deaf/hard-of-hearing users to access content in a different format. This should not be confused with the unedited transcripts that may come with captioning services. Formal transcripts are a separate fee-based service and should be requested at the time of the service request.

Acquiring Accommodation Services

Pearson is committed to providing accommodations. Event organizers will need to request accommodations for an event in advance. To proceed, please follow these steps as soon as possible:

1. Contact your manager
2. If your manager is unsure of how to proceed, please contact Corey Fauble, corey.fauble@pearson.com with the School Accessibility Services Team for support.

Procurement and scheduling of these services can take time, so as much lead time as possible is advisable.

For more information, please see our Providing Accommodation Services resource.

Virtual Event Platform Accessibility

When planning an event, you should consider the accessibility features of the meeting platform. There have been many advancements in accessibility features with event platforms for users but not all meeting platforms provide the same features. It is important to understand the participants’ accessibility needs to choose the most appropriate features.

Regardless of what platform you choose, some key accessibility features should be considered such as realtime captions, shortcut keys, chat, Q&A. Also ensure that any voting, polling, or other forms of participation are accessible.

Microsoft Teams Resources

• Scheduling a Teams Meeting
• Scheduling a Teams Webinar

Teams Accessibility Settings

• Use CART captions in a Microsoft Teams meeting (human-generated captions)
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Features
• Use live captions in a Teams Meeting
  • (applies to both automatic and realtime captions)
• Use Sign Language View in a Teams Meeting
• Spotlighting someone’s Video in Teams

Event Communications

Depending on the type of event, the timing and method of sending invitations can vary. For example, a formal conference may require invites to be sent months in advance, while a meeting may only require advance notice of days to weeks. Regardless of the type of event, your invitation should be clear and concise. Your event invitation should include all necessary details, such as date, time, location, and RSVP instructions. If RSVPs are required, follow up with reminders closer to the event date. This will help ensure a more accurate headcount and help guests avoid forgetting about the event.

Provide Accommodation Statements

An accommodation statement gives information about any planned accommodations and asks participants if there are any accessibility needs and provides a way for participants to request accommodations. The statements should be simple, but informative. Here are a few examples:

Example 1: General Request for Accommodations Statement

For events where specific accommodations are not being provided for all by the event hosts.

“We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodation for this event. Please contact [insert contact name and email/phone number] to make a reasonable accommodation request. Requests must be submitted by [insert date].”

Example 2: Planned Accommodations Statement (host providing specific accommodations):

For events where specific accommodations such as Realtime Captioning or Sign Language services are being provided for all by the event hosts.

“Realtime captioning or CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) and Sign Language interpretation will be provided for this event. To request other accommodation, please contact [insert contact name and email/phone number] to communicate your needs.

“Realtime captioning or CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) and Sign Language interpretation will be provided for this event. To request additional accommodations, please [Either “contact [enter contact information]” or “complete the Accommodations Request Form [Enter link to a form for this]”

Request and Provide Accessible Materials

Every effort should be made to provide accessible presentation materials prior to the event (e.g., PowerPoints, PDFs, captioning pre-recorded video, etc.). Accessible documents provide equal access to the information they contain regardless of your audience or the type of assistive technology they use. It may take a bit of extra effort, but it’s worth it so that everyone can access the content and benefit from the materials.

When communicating with presenters, it is important to mention the need for accessible materials to be made available for posting and sharing before the event.

Please visit our Accessible Document Support Center for more information on why and how to create accessible presentation materials.

With clear communication and thoughtful planning, your event is sure to be a success.