Blog: Three Tips for Integrating ASL Interpreters into Your Zoom Meetings
By Katie Hartwick, Educational Technology Assistant, Teaching and Learning Services
With Zoom becoming a common tool for courses, webinars and meetings, you might be asking how to make meetings more accessible. Specifically, how can you successfully host a Zoom meeting that will include an ASL interpreter? Here we share our top three tips to ensure a smooth experience for meeting hosts, participants and ASL interpreters.
- Get to Know Key Zoom Settings: Use the Pin Function and Side-By-Side Gallery View
To make sure that meetings run smoothly, familiarize yourself with these settings before the meeting takes place:
- Pin function: Hosts and participants can use the Pin function to configure which videos they would like to view throughout the meeting instead of only viewing the active speaker. The active speaker for a Deaf participant includes the ASL interpreter. When using an ASL interpreter on Zoom, the Pin function is recommended over spotlighting a video as it allows hosts and participants to customize their individual screens as opposed to spotlighting a specific video for all participants.
NOTE: Zoom cloud recordings only save with the recording of the speaker and not the interpreter. For a recording to include the interpreter’s video, it must be saved locally to your computer rather than to the cloud.
- Side-by-side gallery view: When screen sharing, the person recording must use “side-by side: gallery view” to show the speaker and interpreters videos beside the shared screen. To protect other participants’ privacy, they may turn off their videos and the person recording the meeting may hide non-video participants for the duration of the meeting. The person recording their screen can make the displayed videos larger by clicking on the drag bar between the screen share and the video sidebar and dragging it left.
NOTE: For video recordings to work while screen sharing, the presenter must be sharing a browser, PowerPoint or other document instead of their desktop.
- Prepare for the Meeting: Coordinate with ASL Interpreters in Advance
Communicating with the interpreters and the participants who require interpreters before your meeting can have multiple benefits.
- Share meeting materials in advance: First, interpreters may not be familiar with the topic and jargon used in the meeting. Providing the interpreters with materials such as a presentation outline, PowerPoint slides and vocabulary lists can support them in better preparation for the meeting (North Essex Community College, n.d.).
- Let interpreters into the meeting early to test their Zoom setup: A few minutes before the meeting begins, allow the interpreters and Deaf participants into the meeting early to give them time to ensure that the appropriate Zoom settings are in place (University Information Technology Services, 2021). Use this time to make sure that your settings are in place, and to enable live transcription for the meeting. For instructions on enabling live transcription, see the Automatic Live Transcription page on the Zoom Support site.
- Adapt the Meeting Structure: Turn Off Webcams, Slow Down and Include Breaks
You may need to make some modifications to your meeting structure to support an ASL interpreter. Small changes can have a big impact for your ASL partner. Consider the following:
- Turn off unnecessary webcams: Once all participants have entered the meeting, ask them to turn off their videos so that the recording only displays the speaker and interpreter’s videos.
- Slow down the meeting pace: Throughout the meeting, consider that the interpreters need time to process English to ASL, and brief pauses can allow the interpreter to catch up to the speaker, and may also account for any technical lags (North Essex Community College, n.d.). Pauses are also beneficial for the person using the interpreter as it grants them more time to look at the slides and gives them opportunities to ask the interpreter for clarifications.
- Schedule breaks in your meeting: Interpreting and focusing on the interpreter on a screen can be exhausting. Provide interpreters and attendees rest throughout the meeting by scheduling regular breaks (Deaf Unity, 2020). To address participant questions, have participants ask their questions in the chat to allow the presenter to read them rather than having everyone turn their video on and off (Deaf Unity, 2020).
With a bit of planning and configuration, your Zoom meetings can successfully support the needs of ASL interpreters and Deaf participants. If you’re hosting a Zoom meeting with an ASL interpreter and have questions, contact TLS Support. We’d be happy to help you get set up. For more tips on making your Zoom meetings accessible, check out our support page on Zoom Accessibility.
References
Deaf Unity. (2020, August 1). Tips on using Zoom with a Sign Language Interpreter. Deaf Unity. https://deafunity.org/article_interview/tips-on-using-zoom-with-a-sign-language-interpreter/
North Essex Community College. (n.d.) Using Sign Language Interpreters During a Zoom Meeting. North Essex Community College. https://facstaff.necc.mass.edu/faculty-resources/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-services-resources/using-sign-language-interpreters-during-a-zoom-meeting/
University Information Technology Services. (2021, April 30). Host a Zoom meeting with American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. University Information Technology Services. https://kb.iu.edu/d/bgwo