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Accessibility and AV

Session chairs should ensure that panelists make their talks accessible by reminding them in advance of the Society’s policies as described below. 

 

Audio-visual equipment:

  • Each breakout room will be equipped with an LCD projector, screen, and HDMI cables.

  • Participants must provide their own laptops; if you are using a Mac, please provide your own dongle.

  • The following larger breakout rooms will include a microphone and speakers;

    • Regency E

    • Regency F

    • Sterling 3

    • Sterling 9

    • Mills 3

  • All presenters and sessions that indicated a “must have” need for sound were accommodated, as were the majority of sessions that indicated a preference for sound. All other breakout rooms offer acoustic quality typical of many university classrooms that seat 50 people.

  • Wifi will not be available in the breakout rooms this year; please see the note* at the end of this page for further information. Cellular service for most carriers is adequate for most participants’ internet needs during breakout sessions.

  • The hotel offers complimentary wifi in the hotel lobby. Complimentary basic wifi is available in hotel sleeping rooms for anyone that reserved their room through the official hotel room block. Neither of these wifi sytems will work in the hotel meeting rooms.  

  • Conference participants unable to attend in person may provide a pre-recorded video to the chair to play during the session; please inform the Executive Director at director@asecs.org of the arrangement so that we can adequately plan for such options for future conferences. Should other accommodations be required, even last minute, please let us know, and we’ll work with you on solutions.

 

Speaking: 

  • Speak clearly and distinctly and at a level that everyone can hear, and build in adequate time for your remarks to account for a slower tempo.

  • Speakers should repeat questions or statements made by audience members.

  • Session chairs should ensure that only one person speaks at a time.

  • In discussions, speakers should identify themselves so that audience members know who is speaking.

 

Papers, Handouts and Audiovisuals: 

  • Presenters, including roundtable participants, should bring at least two copies of their papers or remarks, with at least one copy in large print (16 or 18 boldface type), even if the text is only in draft or outline form, for the use of members who need to follow a written text.

  • Speakers who use handouts should prepare two to three additional copies in large print and should avoid using colored paper. Handouts should be briefly described orally or read aloud to the audience.

  • Accessibility copies of papers may also be shared in advance through the ASECS 2023 Annual Meeting app, as links or pdf files.

  • To have accessibility copies posted to the conference app, you may upload your document (or provide a URL link) on this form by Monday, March 6th at Noon Central Time: Accessibility Copies

  • Chairs should collect accessibility copies for distribution at the start of the session, distribute the copies to those who request them, and retrieve them at the session’s end. Presenters may mark accessibility copies with “Do Not Circulate/Cite Without Permission” and ask for copies to be returned at the end of the session. If you have made a digital copy of your presentation available through the app, please alert your audience to the availability of the digital version as you begin your talk.


For PowerPoint presentations: 

  • A simple design with minimal text (6 or fewer lines) and the largest possible font is the most accessible.

  • Presenters should describe orally any images on the slides.

  • When referring to a visual aid or handout, or when indicating the location of materials in the room, allow time for audience members to follow this information. Projectors should be turned off when not in use, to reduce background noise.

 

Tables:

  • In addition to the table for the panelists, all rooms will have at least one table at the front of the room to provide a writing surface.

 

Lactation Room:

  • The lactation room is on the fourth floor in Mills 9 and will be available during breakout session times on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; the key can be checked out at the conference registration desk.

 

Quiet Room:

  • A quiet room will be available on the fourth floor in Mills 8 during breakout session times on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  

 

Gender-neutral restrooms:

  • Gender-neutral restrooms will be located on the 2nd floor near the escalators. Gender-specific restrooms will be located on the 4th floor. 

 

* AV costs have spiraled out of control:

  • 2019 AV and Wifi was $26,871. 

  • 2022 AV and Wifi was $42,460

  • 2023 AV and Wifi was priced at $99,968.61 by Encore, the hotel’s AV company. We have elected to go with an alternate outside vendor, Gateway, at a cost of approximately $43,000, which does not include wifi or hard-wired internet. Such runaway AV costs are a significant structural obstacle to accessibility, including closed captioning services.

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