Canadian organizations partner with Scribe for Meetings to enhance accessibility and inclusivity
CNIB Foundation, CNIB Deafblind Community Services (DBCS) and Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada (VLRC) have partnered with Scribe for Meetings to help make remote programs, meetings and presentations more accessible and inclusive.
Scribe for Meetings, a solution designed by Pneuma Solutions, allows users to create and screen share accessible slideshow content.
How does it work?
The Scribe app runs during a presentation, monitors the information displayed in the meeting, and sends information about the on-screen content to the Scribe cloud service. Scribe syncs that information with the slides that the presenter previously uploaded and displays an accessible version of the content in real-time in its own window.
Using Augmented Document Remediation technology, Scribe for Meetings can convert presentations into eight different accessible formats in more than 140 different languages! This provides people who have a print disability, including sight loss, with access to accessible presentations using a screen reader, a braille display and/or Scribe’s own built-in speech synthesizer. Participants can also download presentations for offline viewing.
Scribe for meetings is now available for all CNIB, DBCS and VLRC employees and volunteers.
“Our organizations are committed to being accessible and inclusive to everyone, and Scribe for Meetings helps us deliver on that commitment by giving staff and volunteers the ability to quickly and easily produce accessible virtual presentations, webinars and meetings,” says Robert Gaunt, Executive Director, CNIB. “This important service is truly unleashing the power of technology to help create an equitable landscape by providing assistive tech users with access to the same digital information as their sighted peers.”
Using Scribe’s PVR feature, participants can revisit presentations, rewind to review previously presented information, and jump back into the live presentation.
Pictures embedded in presentations will also be read aloud, giving audiences access to visual content being presented. When an image doesn’t have alternative text associated with it, Scribe uses artificial intelligence to analyze the picture and provide a description, even using Optical Character Recognition to pull text information that might be within an image.
“It is gratifying to see leaders in this field step up and make a commitment to greater accessibility for their membership,” says Steve Barclay, President of Canadian Assistive Technologies, Pneuma Solutions distribution partner for Canada. “Approximately 3 million people in Canada have some kind of print-related disability that could impact their learning experience via online platforms. Scribe for Meetings is a game-changing solution for remote learning and one which should be put in place by any organization that is doing online education.”
About CNIB
Founded in 1918, CNIB is a non-profit organization driven to change what it is to be blind today. We deliver innovative programs and powerful advocacy that empower people impacted by blindness to live their dreams and tear down barriers to inclusion. Our work is powered by a network of volunteers, donors and partners from coast to coast to coast. To learn more or get involved, visit cnib.ca.
About CNIB Deafblind Community Services
CNIB Deafblind Community Services is one of Canada’s leading providers of specialized support and emergency services for people who are Deafblind. Our intervenor services and literacy programs enable people who are Deafblind to maximize their independence and engagement with the world around them. To learn more, visit deafblindservices.ca.
About Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada
Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada is a provincially funded, accredited health care organization staffed by a passionate team of certified professionals. The organization provides professional, high-quality and sustainable rehabilitation to Canadians with vision loss now and into the future. Learn more at visionlossrehab.ca.