Virtual Meeting Platforms and Accessibility Features

There are accessibility options at the user level on how to optimize the meeting platform for themselves. There are also features than can be enabled or used by the host to ensure accessibility.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is the standard meeting platform for virtual meetings in the Government of Canada.

Meeting

• Record a meeting in Teams
• Live closed captioning for meetings
• Supports more than 20 languages
• Teams doesn't save captions
• There is currently no way to turn on captions automatically or by default and this is most likely by design considering all the various disability groups that could be impacted by having open captions.
• Sign Language View for Microsoft Teams
• View and download live transcription in a Teams meeting
• Blur background or use a background image
• Set the noise suppression level to high
• Pin a meeting participant's video
• MS Teams does not allow pinned videos to be resized. Feature request has been sent to Microsoft.
• Dedicated chats for each meeting
• Add someone, like a coworker or interpreter, to a call

Chat

• Limit distractions with Do Not Disturb mode
• Minimize communication barriers with language translation
• Customize the reading and viewing experience for different visual and cognitive needs
• Send audio messages on Teams mobile and use Windows dictation on Teams desktop

More features

• Navigate with a keyboard
• Magnify screen content
• Dark, light, and high contrast theme
• Zoom in and out of Teams
• Use text telephone (TTY)
• Search for messages and more
• Compatible with assistive technologies, like
• Screen readers
• Dictation software
• Eye control (on Windows 10)
• Voice control (on iOS and Android)
• Screen magnifiers
• Switch access (on iOS and Android)