Live Virtual Classes

If providing handouts, slides, or other resources for learners to review, be sure to share them with participants before the live session via email, Canvas announcements, or other means. Keep in mind that it’s important to make sure these resources are fully accessible before sharing. For help with this, review Accessible Documents and Slides.

Try to use a tool that Cornell supports (e.g., Zoom or Microsoft Teams). These tools are supported by Cornell staff and are more likely to have basic accessibility features. For example, they are more likely to be keyboard navigable.

If available in the tool, adjust your settings so that all participants are automatically muted upon entering the session. In addition to preventing disruptions to class, this option prevents the background noise from interfering with screen reader² audio. For help on how to adjust these settings, see:

• Zoom:  Muting All Participants When they Join a Meeting
• Microsoft Teams: Manage Attendee Audio and Video Permisisions

If you have learners with accommodations for live captioning³ and/or sign language interpreters, we recommend connecting with Students Disability Services (SDS) for more information on how to make those accommodations.

Try to avoid using animated or moving virtual backgrounds, as well as fast flickering lights, effects, and/or animations. These can diminish the experience for learners who are prone to seizures, headaches, motion sickness or are easily distracted. If it is absolutely necessary to include these effects, be sure to include a warning at the beginning of the Zoom session and understand that some learners may need to step away during those parts of the class or presentation.

Don’t forget to identify yourself when speaking, and encourage other speakers and learners to do the same.

While presenting:

• Remember to explain all acronyms, abbreviations, jargon, slang, and metaphors.
• When screen sharing graphics, demonstrations, labs, scenes, and any other visuals that convey information or a story, remember to verbally describe what is being shared. This will help learners glean the pertinent information or story from the speaker’s(s’) auditory instructions, lecture, or dialogue alone. This practice is especially important for students with low vision, who may struggle to benefit from important supporting materials. 
• Especially for classes that are longer than an hour, plan to incorporate breaks when learners can step away from the meeting for a brief period of time. It can be challenging for all of us to be in a live session that long, but it can be especially challenging for some who get headaches, require frequent bathroom breaks, experience pain when sitting for a while, etc.

For class discussions and activities:

• Try not to rely solely on color or visual appearance when giving instructions. For example, if you’re sharing your screen to demonstrate how to do a task using specific software, instead of saying “Click the red button”, you can say “Click the submit button” or even “Click the red submit button.” This is especially important for students who may be color-blind. 
• There are numerous reasons why someone may need to call into a virtual class with the phone instead of using a computer. If incorporating polls or other interactive pieces, have a plan for how these learners can participate as well. For example, for polls, always verbally read the question and answer choices, and possibly post them in Canvas before class.
• While chat features are useful during live classes in many ways, they can also cause difficulty or distractions for some learners, and others may not be able to interact with the chat fully. To help ensure that the chat is beneficial to all learners, here are a few things you can try:
  • Encourage learners to only type in the chat during a designated discussion time in class when you are not presenting or lecturing. Then, read aloud key questions and comments.
  • An option in Zoom is to change the settings so that learners can only comment to hosts (e.g., TAs or instructors.), who then will read out the comments during a designated time in class. For details on how to do this, review: How to designate who participants can chat with in Zoom
  • When answering a question from the chat, remember to repeat the question aloud before responding.
  • After class, follow up in an email and/or Canvas announcement with any important points raised and resources shared in the chat.

Zoom automatically generates live captions in a classroom once this feature is enabled. To enable this feature, you will first need to turn it on in your Zoom account. The “User” section of the following article may be helpful: Enabling automatic captions in Zoom.

Once enabled, you can turn the captions on during a Zoom class by doing the following: Viewing captions in a Zoom meeting

For more information about other accessibility tips using this tool, review Zoom’s tips for hosting more accessible meetings.

If enabled, Microsoft Teams will automatically generate live captions. To enable this feature, visit Use Live Captions in a Teams Meeting.

A great feature of Microsoft Teams is the ability to have the captions identify who is speaking; however, individuals who don’t want to be identified can hide their identity. To enable this feature, visit Hide your identity in meeting captions and transcripts. For more information about other accessibility tips using this tool, review Microsoft’s accessibility tips when using Microsoft Teams.

If you are not using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to record your presentation, then another option to generate captions is Microsoft Powerpoint’s autogenerated captions.

Note that, to enable this option, you will have to present the slides via the Slide Show tab for the captions to appear; they will not appear in the default editing mode.

If you are not using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to record your presentation, then another option to generate captions is Google Slides’ autogenerated captions. Note that, to enable this option, you will have to present the slides via the Slideshow button in order for the captions to appear; they will not appear in the default editing mode.

If you have learners with live captioning and/or sign language accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services (SDS) for information on how to provide those services. For all other courses, live captioning and/or sign language interpreters are encouraged when you have the means to provide them.

Note that once the virtual class is complete, the resulting recording is considered a “recorded video” in terms of the WCAG⁴ accessibility guidelines. This means that, even if you don’t have a learner with an official accommodation for captions and transcripts, the guidelines state to provide accurate captions and a transcript for all recorded videos.