For the next weeks, and probably months, the world is shifting to communicate, work and study almost exclusively online. This shift makes work and school much more challenging for millions of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Turns out that pixelated video calls make reading lips much more difficult. And even if you’re blessed with a blazingly fast Internet connection, you don’t always know which window to look at among all these tiny images of people attending the call — that is if they even have their camera on!

Can you read their lips?

Our team at Ava has been working remotely the last 4 years between San Francisco & Paris and we’ve naturally adapted Ava to easily & accurately put captions to all aspects of a remote life. For us, accessible video calls look more like this, on any platform you choose:

Looks much better, right? Ava works for every platform and 10+ languages.

Substantially Better Accuracy for Online Meetings

So today, we’re making two important updates:

As of this morning , the automatic captioning technology powering Ava Pro and Ava Campus has been improved specifically for all online meetings (reaching ~90% for English language). You’ll see the difference.

the automatic captioning technology powering and has (reaching ~90% for English language). You’ll see the difference. We’re doubling the Ava Pro and Campus free trial time to 30-days.

We absolutely believe every deaf/hard-of-hearing employee and student should be on this plan to have the accessibility they deserve.

See for yourself, really. You can start your trial here.

We’re sharing below all the tips that worked for us as a remote organization so deaf/hard-of-hearing people never feel left out from an online meeting or a lecture again (applicable during this Coronavirus outbreak and anytime after!). We’ll keep this list up-to-date as we’re upping our tooling.

Online Work Meetings, Fully Accessible with Ava

What you’ll need

A laptop to attend online meetings (with proper instructions, Ava can caption any of them )

) Your smartphone + Ava app → download it here

To be on Ava Pro (free 30-day trial, zero commitment: you see for yourself. If this works for you, companies usually sponsor it).

1–1: Individual Conference Calls (Audio/Video)

Audio Check

- Make sure your computer volume is turned on high, join the conference call.

- Launch Ava, turn on the microphone (it will show blue)

- Place your smartphone near your computer so Ava can hear well.

- Make sure your computer volume is turned on high, join the conference call. - Launch Ava, turn on the microphone (it will show blue) - Place your smartphone near your computer so Ava can hear well. Captions Check

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone.

- With Ava Pro, expect 90%+ accuracy for online meetings. Activate your free 30-day trial here.

- Critical meeting where you need the perfect caption quality? We also offer Ava Scribe , for 98% accurate captions with actual transcription professionals (similar to CART). Learn more.

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone. - With expect 90%+ accuracy for online meetings. Activate your free 30-day trial here. - Critical meeting where you need the perfect caption quality? We also offer , for 98% accurate captions with actual transcription professionals (similar to CART). Learn more. Tips

- You can save and share the transcripts (but not the audio) when desired.

- If you prefer not to use your voice, you can type on the Ava app to have it voice for you, or on Ava Web.

2–4 People: Small Conference Calls

Audio Check

- Join the conference call, launch Ava, turn on the microphone (it will show blue), place your smartphone next to you.

- Share your unique Ava Link to the other participants. It always looks like this: app.ava.me/&youravaname. You can find your AvaName on your Profile in the Ava app.

- Participants who already have the Ava app (your closest co-workers usually) can find you with your AvaName.

- All other participants just click the Ava Link on their computer, which opens a new window. Once they give permission to enable the microphone, they can all keep speaking, no app download needed.

- Join the conference call, launch Ava, turn on the microphone (it will show blue), place your smartphone next to you. - Share your unique to the other participants. It always looks like this: app.ava.me/&youravaname. You can find your AvaName on your Profile in the Ava app. - (your closest co-workers usually) can find you with your AvaName. - which opens a new window. Once they give permission to enable the microphone, they can all keep speaking, Captions

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone.

- For more comfort, you can also display captions under the video with Ava Web. Just sign-in with your Ava account on app.ava.me to read the captions and type back/forth (especially for non-voicing employees).

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone. - For more comfort, you can also Just sign-in with your Ava account on app.ava.me to read the captions and type back/forth (especially for non-voicing employees). Tips

- Plug-in headphones or turn off your computer volume, and encourage participants to use headphones to minimize sound interference with the mobile app.

- You can send your Ava Link ahead of the meeting in the invite description so more participants come prepared.

- There is one limitation for now: if a conference call participant joins the call from their iPhone, then they may need to open the Ava Link on their laptop to also be captioned, as iOS only accepts one audio input at a time.

5+ People: Large Conference Calls

This setup is similar to calls with a small group, but we recommend using Scribe for meetings with a lot of participants. Our live-transcription professional will ensure a highly accurate transcription despite connection hiccups, as not everyone may be joining via Ava. Learn more to set it up.

Book a Scribe (optional)

- Ask your manager for Ava Scribe Credits by sending a request in your Ava app. Once you have some, you’ll be able to schedule a Scribe like you add a guest to any online meeting, with a 24-hour minimum heads-up.

- Ask your manager for Ava by sending a request in your Ava app. Once you have some, you’ll be able to schedule a Scribe like you add a guest to any online meeting, with a 24-hour minimum heads-up. Audio Check

- While the set up is similar to small conference calls, it can also be a little more challenging if you are not familiar with all of the participants. Explain your rights for accessibility, as it’s for them just a click away to make it happen.

- When everyone who can connect to Ava is connected, you’re ready to go for the meeting. If you’ve booked a Scribe, this is the right moment to connect to them.

- Go to the Conversation Settings and change the Accuracy Level to Corrected by Scribe (98%) to connect to the Scribe you scheduled and your automatic transcription will be live-reviewed.

- While the set up is similar to small conference calls, it can also be a little more challenging if you are not familiar with all of the participants. Explain your rights for accessibility, as it’s for them just a click away to make it happen. - When everyone who can connect to Ava is connected, you’re ready to go for the meeting. If you’ve booked a Scribe, this is the right moment to connect to them. - Go to the and change the to to connect to the Scribe you scheduled and your automatic transcription will be live-reviewed. Captions

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone or on your computer (if you sign-in on Ava Web, app.ava.me). The Scribe will correct them within ~2–3 seconds to reach 99% accuracy.

- Captions will display automatically on your smartphone or on your computer (if you sign-in on Ava Web, app.ava.me). The Scribe will correct them within ~2–3 seconds to reach 99% accuracy. Tips:

- To make sure you have the information live, a Scribe edits the captions in real-time (~1-2s delay). If you prefer to see only the final, 98% accurate captions (expect ~3-5s delay) you can set it in the Conversation Settings.

Online Classes, Fully Accessible with Ava

What you’ll need

A laptop to attend online classes. (with proper instructions, Ava can caption any of them )

) Your smartphone + Ava app → download it here

Activate Ava Campus on your phone (free 30-day trial, zero commitment: you see for yourself. If this works for you, we can talk to your school so they sponsor it).

Audio Check

Join your online class, launch Ava and press the microphone to start a session (it will turn blue).

Option 1: If your computer volume is turned on high, accurate captions should start to appear.

If your computer volume is turned on high, accurate captions should start to appear. Option 2: If you prefer using headphones (therefore, there will be no sound in the room), you can share your unique Ava Link to the teacher, which will open Ava Web on their computer and ask for microphone permission.

- The link looks like this: app.ava.me/&youravaname. You can find your AvaName on your Profile in the Ava app.

- Once your teacher enables microphone permission, they can just speak and you’ll see their name and captions appear on your smartphone.

- You can also invite anyone else who will be speaking, such as other students.

Floating Captions

For comfort, you can also choose to display captions under the video call window with Ava Web. Just sign-in with your Ava account on app.ava.me to read the captions.

Conversation Tips

If you don’t use your voice, you can reply by typing directly on the keyboard using Ava Web. Your teacher can read what you type in real-time on their screen.

To save time next time, your teacher can download the Ava app on their smartphone so you can connect to them directly when you need captions next.

Online Videos

Ava is mostly designed for synchronous conversations, however Ava Pro and Campus can be used ad-hoc to caption online videos on the spot. To maximize accuracy, we recommend some equipment, as described here.

Book a Scribe (optional)

You can request Ava Scribe credits to your school to access captions of the highest quality (99%) by going to Conversation Settings and change the Accuracy Level to Corrected by Scribe (99%) and place your request.

credits to your school to access captions of the highest quality (99%) by going to and change the to and place your request. Once we confirm you with Scribe credits (typically we’ll speak to your accessibility manager at your school), you’ll be able to schedule Scribe as easily as adding a guest to your online classroom slots, with a 24-hour minimum heads-up.

Learn more about how Ava Scribe works here

What’s next?

Everywhere there are conversations, all deaf & hard-of-hearing people have the right to be fully included.

With the power of technology and this inclusion principle guiding our choices, we’re opening new real possibilities during these changing times:

You should never again have to attend online meetings not understanding a thing, because of the conferencing system that was chosen.

You should never again be denied minimal accessibility because of budget reasons.

With Ava, these trade-offs are now a thing of the past.

Onwards with you all,

The Ava Team