Microsoft teams and hearing impaired

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Some degree of hearing loss is virtually inevitable as we age. Sadly other factors, such as loud noises, disease, injury or congenital disabilities, rob millions of others of the vital sense.

As with many disabilities, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing face discrimination in various areas of life, including employment opportunities. Additionally, a person’s inability to hear could have adverse effects on how they interact socially. Thus, they may be uncomfortable or lack confidence in certain social settings. How others embrace or fail to embrace them could also affect them.

An inability to hear could be a life-threatening condition, as well, if an individual is unable to perceive environmental cues to alert them to danger. Microsoft’s inclusion mission seeks to move beyond discriminatory practices by bringing people who are deaf or hard of hearing into its workforce.

The company is also producing technology that will enable these individuals to experience some of the benefits of hearing. Swetha Machanavajhala is a software engineer at Microsoft who is also deaf. She embraces the opportunities available to her at the company and encourages others, regardless of abilities or disabilities, to pursue employment with Microsoft.

As a person with hearing loss, she is particularly sensitive to the needs of others facing similar challenges.

In , Machanavajhala was inspired to participate in Microsoft’s annual Hackathon event. The event allows Microsoft employees from all over to bring unique ideas to the table and work within teams to bring these ideas to fruition. Machanavalhala led a team of 16 people who helped bring an idea to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing become a reality. The team’s prototype of Machanavalhala’s idea won second place in the “Technology for Good” category in the worldwide Hackathon. This accomplishment is just one example that proves that having a disability does not hinder a person’s creativity, leadership abilities or vision.

Machanavajhala was inspired by her team’s accomplishment. And like the Hackathon project that brought mobility to Steve Gleason who has ALS , she invested time and resources to move her Hackathon project from prototype to product.

The team that worked on what would ultimately become the Hearing AI app opens in new tab had this to say about its motivation to work on the project:. We were motivated to build this application when we heard a story about a woman who is deaf who almost lost her life as a result of an inaccessible carbon monoxide alarm that rang for two weeks without notice.

People often take for granted the ambiance of sounds and audible nuances that are a persistent part of our perceptions. We’re also acquainted with the sudden interjection of sounds into that ambiance, which may alert us to danger. As the team noted, people with hearing loss don’t share that experience. Therefore, they set out to approximate that experience with technology. Everyone has something to contribute regardless of their level of ability.

As we see with Machanavajhala, a person with a hearing impairment can make profound contributions that can potentially benefit millions.

This accomplishment echoes that of Saquib Shaikh, a blind Microsoft programmer who created the Seeing AI app , which is also available in the App Store opens in new tab. We would all love to live in a world where various maladies did not rob some of us of the senses or abilities others have. But empathy coupled with ingenuity brings us together to help those affected by circumstance to overcome those challenges through technology and basic human kindness.

I think it is fitting to end this piece with an excerpt from the team who brought the world Hearing AI:. If we could leave one message, it’s to be more aware of how the small things that you take for granted in your daily lives are not always accessible for everyone, and that we should all work together to promote a more inclusive society. Jason L Ward is a columnist at Windows Central. He provides unique big picture analysis of the complex world of Microsoft. Seriously, this dude thinks outside the box.

He’s doing the “write” thing! Windows Central Windows Central. Jason Ward. Topics Warditorial. See all comments 8. I hate to tell you this, but Google and Apple do the same exact thing.

You don’t have to hate to tell me. I’m writing about Microsoft and what they’re doing in the space. I know Apple and Google have policies around inclusion. Ignore the overly protective iDroid trolls, Jason. Anyways, MICROSOFT needs to use their own ease of access technologies because they must be deaf if millions of fans told them for years how to handle a few products that I have no need to mention ,, and they never got the message. It’s Windows Central, Rodney.

Learn to read even though I know it’s not a strong skill for you. I hope this program helps the completely deaf Satya Nadella. Hey, Jason – great article! You do use this language elsewhere in the article, and a lot of hearing folks don’t know the terminology has these negative connotations for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, so I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Thanks will do! Windows Central Newsletter. Get the best of Windows Central in in your inbox, every day!

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Guide for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

 

Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn’t match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information.

For your team members with visual disabilities, or for team members that are emerging readers or learning a new language, Immersive Reader increases readability and comprehension of chats and channel conversations within Teams. Your team can consume content in a way that suits their individual needs and preferences to increase focus and understanding. Text Preferences enable users to sustain focus with increased text sizing and increased spacing between lines, letters, and words.

Color choices within themes include “Irlen” colors that increase focus and lessen eye strain. For those who are emerging readers or learning a new language, enabled Grammar Options help increase word recognition and pronunciation, as well as improving the understanding of sentence structure.

Line Focus mode within Reading Preferences acts much like a reading ruler by removing extraneous information and reducing focus to just one, three, or five lines at a time. Other options within Reading Preferences increase comprehension by providing graphical hints for specific words when needed and translation options.

Individuals with dyslexia or low vision may prefer to hear content instead of reading it. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn’t match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Within the Teams interface, you can zoom into specific elements of your channel-based messaging experience. You can zoom in and back out by using either your keyboard or your mouse. The zoom functionality extends to meetings in Microsoft Teams.

You can use the same commands as you do in the channel and chat interface during a meeting. Like when zooming in on the channel or chat interface, you will zoom in on the whole Teams app. Immersive reader reduces distractions from the rest of your app by zooming in on your highlighted text. Within immersive reader, you have options to focus on a specific line, page, or even highlight nouns and adverbs.

If your users need help with focused reading or would benefit from changing the colour and sharpness of the background, immersive reader is a great tool. You can use immersive reader in all your Microsoft apps like Word and PowerPoint. For users who prefer, or need to use, apps with a dark mode feature, Microsoft rolled this out in Dark mode, in any app, enhances visual ergonomics by reducing eye strain.

This means the Teams environment adjusts to lighting conditions to be at optimally-lit level so you can keep your focus. You can enable dark mode for Teams desktop:.

And on your Teams mobile app:. To change your Teams setup to dark mode, toggle Dark Mode in your Settings. Do the same in Teams to keep this consistent. For users with limited colour visibility or photosensitivity issues, Teams offers high contrast mode. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

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