Microsoft has made it easier for users of its Microsoft Teams video conferencing platform to use sign language through a new meeting experience called “Sign Language View.”
The feature allows users to prioritize up to two videos from other participants so they stay visible and in a consistent location throughout the meeting.
In a blog post (Opens in a new window), Microsoft Team accessibility architect Chris Sano said the feature is a “first step in addressing several questions from the deaf and hard of hearing community.”
Like pinning and captioning, the feature doesn’t affect what others in the meeting see, and when running, designated people’s video feeds remain visible if their video is turned on. The sign language view also allows you to pin or highlight participants without invading or hiding the sign language interpreter.
The feature ensures that the priority signer remains high quality and larger in size than the video feeds of non-designated participants in the call, even when someone is sharing content in the meeting or sharing their screen, for example .
The move also means that users will no longer have to select settings in each meeting: in a new accessibility panel in the settings menu, sign language view can be enabled by default in all meetings. Users can also pre-identify a set of preferred signers who are regular performers and set subtitles as default in meetings.
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The sign language view and the new accessibility panel are currently available for testing in public preview (opens in a new window). This can be enabled on a personal basis if a user’s organization has it enabled. Microsoft has said that the features will roll out to the Teams desktop and web clients for commercial and GCC clients in the coming weeks.
In September, Zoom also updated (Opens in a new window) its accessibility software for deaf and hard of hearing users. The platform allows meeting and webinar hosts to designate multiple participants as sign language channel interpreters, and participants can choose which sign language interpretation they see.
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