Emphasizing accessibility: How to plan a virtual tech meetup for everybody
I applied to be the Accessibility Education Intern for WW right when the world came to a screeching halt due to the pandemic. At the time of my interview, my now manager, Michael D’Anvers, had pitched the idea of hosting a meetup to share WW’s experience working on and toward accessible design, a practice that ensures each and every person can perceive and navigate through an application’s design. This meetup quickly transformed into a virtual event, and we learned that not many people put on virtual events that are accessible to all.
Our event itself highlighted the incredible work that WW designers and engineers have accomplished recently and shared the challenges of shifting accessibility left. Because our speakers were so open with the audience during the meetup, I will now do the same and share some of the key lessons I learned from this event.This list can serve as a guide to all future virtual events so that each and every person can have the opportunity to connect, learn, and grow in this virtual world.
- Make it accessible
Simply put, make your event as accessible as possible. While this may sound like a relatively easy task, due to the overwhelmingly inaccessible world we live in, this is tough and more necessary than ever. In recent years we have seen improvements in the physical accessibility of the world with more wheelchair ramps, tactile pavements, and curb cuts as the physical world has been revolutionized by ADA regulations. However, the virtual world is not as regulated. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provides a great framework but putting it in place can oftentimes be difficult.
Start by choosing a platform. Most video communication platforms are only just now rolling out closed captioning services so definitely ensure that your program will be accessible to those that are deaf or hard of hearing. To also aid this community, an ASL interpreter would be an incredible addition. Doing so is easy as many are registered through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, which is a great place to start your search.
Additionally, think about the sensory load of your presentations. Will different screens keep popping up as different presenters speak? Will there be moving videos behind someone? Will there be loud noises or flashing bright lights? All of these things must be considered to accommodate everyone and his or her individual sensory needs.
If you are having speakers, make sure you either do a trial run of their presentation or get their slides in order to make sure the content itself is accessible. Stick to WCAG guidelines and keep the slide components simple to allow everyone the best opportunity to understand the concepts being covered. Also, don’t forget to remind your presenters to provide alternative text on any images included in their slides and to also give a brief description of those images when referencing them.
2. Make it meaningful
In a world filled to the brim with video calls and conferences, you need to have engaging content in order to lure people in. It was a little bit easier when the same could be done with a catered lunch, but keeping your content engaging will keep people excited about hopping on an additional video call to learn ] something new. Make it fun by having engaging segments. For example our very own Rich Collins did an incredible job with his interactive presentation “Auditory Imagery,” where he urged audience members to interact with photos on an instagram account he had made to demonstrate the challenges of creating accurate and complete alt text for images.
3. Make it happen
Putting on a virtual event — or any event for that matter — requires the help, guidance, and approval of a whole host of people. From the panelists, to the host, to the communications team, there are a number of moving parts. As this virtual world is new to everyone, I strongly encourage you to start planning early as you will most likely find — as we did — that there is not a procedure in place for an event such as this.
Once the event has been planned, it’s time to network. The number of LinkedIn groups I joined to promote our event is astounding. Being that events are virtual, it gives you an incredible opportunity to connect with people far beyond those that would have otherwise been involved in your event. No matter your niche, you will be able to connect with some incredible groups with similar goals and interests.
Then, do a trial run. Mistakes happen, of course, but with online events, there are more opportunities for mistakes or problems to arise. And while we cannot account for Wi-Fi glitches or Zoom crashes, control what you can by doing a trial run. We didn’t do a trial run and in the recording of the first day you can see my cursor scrambling across my page in attempts to mediate technical difficulties and read my notes. While this is a small mistake, it would definitely have been nice to have known that everyone would have been watching me try and figure it all out live.
Just because we are recording from home, it doesn’t mean it can’t be just as professional as if it were in person. Working from home just means that dogs will bark, babies might cry, or in our case, construction will start next door. Working from home comes with a whole host of surprises. That being said, talk to your presenters about what’s in their background or even make a background for them to use during the meetup. Urge presenters to mute when not speaking and to wait just a few seconds longer than usual before jumping in on a conversation.
The last step is simple: execute. Your first run probably won’t be perfect — and if it is, please let us know how you did it! — and your event will probably look completely different than the one you planned. We thought we were doing an in-person meetup that then became a three-day online event with pre-recorded content that then turned into a two-day live event. Lean into the changes. Everyone is learning. Document your mistakes, take feedback, and implement those improvements in your next event. Sometimes the best way to learn is by doing.
Kate Allan, Accessibility Education Specialist
Interested in joining the WW team? Check out the careers page to view technology job listings as well as open positions on other teams.
