Notifying a presenter using a screen reader another guest wishes to speak (hand raised)

The technology has a visual icon (a "picture" of a raised hand) that appears when moderators or participants wish to speak. For screen reader users, there is no unique sound associated with a "raised hand".

However, there are features within the technology that can be used to announce when a guest wishes to speak. Following are two scenarios, both of which utilize the built-in Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI).

Users can enable the built-in SAPI tool to read text chat messages, and to announce when the status of participants changes.

Option A: The presenter would use the Options / Accessibility / Speech Option menu and select Read Public Text Chat.. With this option selected the presenter will hear all text chat messages. Therefore when a user wishes to ask a question they would send an appropriate text chat message and press and hold down the Talk (Ctrl) key. The disadvantage is that all text chat messages will automatically be read on the presenters’ computer when they are received. Therefore it would be advisable to establish a policy limiting the use of text chatting to questions only during presentations. While the above scenario assumes users would use their microphones to ask questions the same approach could also accommodate asking questions via the text chat.

Option B: Users (both moderators and participants) can use the File menu to specify their status as Online or Away. Pressing the Talk key, when their status is Away, will automatically set their status to Online. The presenter would use the Options / Accessibility / Speech Options menu, and select Say when Status Changes. The built-in SAPI tool will then announce when there is a change in the user's status. Therefore, when a user wishes to ask a question, they would change their status to Away and immediately press and hold the Talk (Ctrl) key. This changes their status back to Online. The audible prompts for the status changes would alert the presenter a user wishes to ask a question.

The above scenarios, while not perfect, will work. Some logistics will be required and a brief explanation should be given to the online audience.