Survey Says: What Web Conferencing Solutions Are Best for Blind And Low-Vision Users?
In my previous blog, “Tale of a Reluctant Web Conferencing Solution User”, I described my experiences using assistive technology to maneuver popular web conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet.
Chris using his computer.
Now that more and more of us are becoming versed with working from home, I suspected that there may be other blind/low vision users out there who would have additional thoughts and opinions about the various web conferencing solutions being used.
So, I set out to (informally) survey a dozen or so of my contacts, other blind/low vision users who I have gotten to know over the years, to have them weigh in on the accessibility of some of these platforms from an assistive technology perspective.
Here is just a small sampling of the different things we learned…
In terms of the different web conferencing solutions being utilized by the blind and low-vision users I spoke with, they include:
We asked our sample group of blind/low vision screen reader users what web conferencing solutions tend to work best for them and why. By far, respondents ranked Zoom and MS Teams as the best solutions for a variety of reasons, a few of which I have shared here below:
“Well before working from home was the norm, Disability Network Capital Area had made the decision to use Zoom as our primary platform for web conferencing. That being said, I did not use it that much. I have since become much more acquainted, however I still do not consider myself a content expert, just a satisfied user. Navigating through the different areas is relatively easy. When using a screen reader one often relies on different navigational elements for ease of use. For example, if there are buttons, links, shortcut keys, etc. In my experience, Zoom has done well in making sure the platform is accessible. Generally speaking, there is one page of key commands to learn to become comfortable with using the platform. As a meeting attendee, I can navigate the meeting room with very little difficulty. And, as a meeting host the same is true. Another platform I am becoming increasingly familiar with is MS Teams. And, although there are many more key commands to learn, this platform (for the most part) is accessible. In my opinion navigating MS Teams is a bit “clunky,” but it is manageable. I have found that using the app from a mobile device is easier than on a laptop.”
– Kellie Blackwell, Program Manager – Community Engagement
Disability Network Capital Area
“Zoom and Microsoft Teams are best for me. Zoom is the most user friendly of all in my opinion. The system is filled with capability and works well with my screen reader (JAWS). The only area of noteworthy deficit is the way screen sharing works. Screen reader users cannot see anything in the slide area when someone shares materials via the Zoom screen share. The work around for this is getting the presenter to send the native files to you in some other way like e-mail. Microsoft Teams is a close second to Zoom. The audio quality there used to be vastly inferior but has been immensely upgraded in the past year. Teams is very complex and has a steeper learning curve for screen reader users as it does so much. I do like the way it makes a PowerPoint shared through it accessible to me thus avoiding some of the pitfalls of the Zoom sharing problem. Some shares in Team will not be readable but this platform has the best chance of sharing something I can use directly without secondary file share. WebEx is OK but I find its audio quality, access shortcuts, and overall screen reader friendliness a distant third to Zoom and Teams.”
– Michael Hudson, Director
Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
“Zoom has recently been updated with a new feature that allows you to pin videos as a participant. If you require interpreter services this simplifies the process if the Host does not accommodate the pinning on their end. The host can now also spotlight up to 9 videos. Spotlight video puts a participant as the primary active speaker for all participants so you don’t get “screen” jump if someone is not on mute while someone else is speaking. The Bureau of Services for Blind Persons recently used Zoom for its Honor Roll award ceremony on October 22nd. We had 40 plus presenters including live and recorded speeches. We also had numerous individuals using screen readers present or view the awards ceremony. In addition, interpreters and captioning was provided. The ceremony was very successful and the Zoom platform accommodated our needs.”
– William Robinson, Director
Bureau of Services for Blind Persons, Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity
“I have become adept at both Teams and Zoom, with equal proficiency within each. Earlier in the pandemic, both of these platforms were buggy and less capable then they are now. In the last few months, both platforms have worked to improve their bandwidth and expand their features, such as allowance for more users at once, etc.”
– Caleb Sandoval, Ability Access Specialist, College of Law Liaison
Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
Another visually impaired user who works as a Database Administrator for a very well-known IT company, a long-time friend of mine who would prefer to remain anonymous, offered up the following observations.
“We started using Microsoft Teams this summer, and the interface is getting updates on a monthly basis, so I’m learning a new interface with each update. The interface is sometimes a little tricky in that accessing conversations is challenging. Often navigating is a trial and error process, but eventually I get there. Fortunately Microsoft provides multiple pathways to each feature, i.e chat, activities. So, if one pathway is blocked, there is often another way to get to a feature.”
While Zoom and MS Teams stood out as some of the more popular, and most user-friendly technologies, the varied responses we received just goes to show you all of the different ways blind/low vision users are leveraging their assistive technology with these robust tools to keep connected in this age of COVID…
“I find Facetime more simple and easier to use as it's built into the iPhone operating system and I have more practice and experience using it.”
– David Shachar-Hill, Recent Graduate
Another low vision user who also asked to remain anonymous, the wife of a friend of mine who is in the middle of a career change due to experiencing late onset blindness, shared…
“Currently I am using zoom text magnifier to use my laptop and magnifier feature on my iPhone. I am very comfortable using the zoom text magnifier. For me zoom text is best.
We also asked our group of blind and low-vision screen reader users which web conferencing solutions tend to be problematic for them, and why? We have included a few of these responses below, taking the liberty to remove the names of each respondent to keep their comments anonymous.
“Uberconference was used by a vendor and presented connection issues as well as issues for me as a visually impaired individual. The controls were not easy to use. That is why I ranked it last. I can get by with Adobe and WebEx is pretty good.”
“When taking a look at additional platforms, in my experience, I have been the least successful with Webex and GoToMeeting.”
“Live chat feature in Zoom is one of the two toughest parts for screen reader users (the other is the fully inaccessible screen share function). To date my experience indicates it is hard to edit a message one is working on and seeing the messages others have sent is a bit less than optimal as they are largely non-navigable blocks of text that one cannot easily scroll or arrow through. They are often read by tabbing through the list of messages which renders each message a sort of a blob that is quite granular. Adobe products never seem to work for me relative to accessibility with the exception of Acrobat which has improved through the years. I think Adobe is centered on visuals and accessibility is a distant afterthought in most of their products. Their Web Connect tool has proven impossible for me to use independently on several occasions.”
Conclusion
Heading into this little experiment, I admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect. And even though we were really only able to scratch the surface with the initial survey of our small sample group of blind/low vision users, I have to say that I was encouraged by the rich exchange of ideas, expertise, and perspectives that has already occurred organically through this process.
That being said, I definitely think that there is much more work that could be done to thoroughly explore, understand, and promote the accessibility of these web conferencing solutions, and I look forward to continuing this study as part of future installments on the blog.
In closing, I thought I would leave you with a couple more excerpts from some of the responses we received, as I believe the sentiments of these respondents, in their own words, really sums up why this sort of peer-to-peer collaboration and learning is needed.
“As these tools become critical in our daily lives, accessibility becomes even more important. Companies like Zoom and Microsoft have taken accessibility seriously, and their products are among the best when it comes to including people with disabilities.”
– Michael Hudson, Director
Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
“I am interested in learning more about other screen reader users' experiences. And, I think the more we share, the better chance we will have for making sure accessibility is a consideration in the design process and not an afterthought.”
– Kellie Blackwell, Program Manager, Community Engagement