You just don’t get it

In my experience and considered opinion, people who use MS Teams don’t understand accessibility.

During the lockdown years, I worked exclusively online. The work world of COVID-19 gave us the opportunity to try out different meeting platforms. The one I found most amenable and responsive to sign language interpretation was Zoom. The multi pin and spotlight features along with different views (i.e., gallery, speaker, etc.) allowed sign language users to see each other—a requirement for visual language. In October, 2022 Zoom even added a channel specifically for sign language interpretation.

After years of forced interpretation on MS Teams, I find this platform frustrating. It privileges communication based on sound and has limited options to set one’s view. As a Mac user, I find MS Teams malfunctions often. I sometimes feel I am being punished for not subscribing to and bowing down to the Microsoft gods.

Accessibility isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Access needs are as various as the people who have them. Perhaps some people prefer MS Teams. I don’t. For now, the features of Zoom allow me to focus on my job when working online. When I see that MS Teams is the platform for online work, I groan and think twice about taking the assignment.

Photo credit: Kimberley J