For Presenters: HighEdWeb 2024 Accessibility Summit

We are asking all presenters to prepare a pre-recorded video of their presentation. Each video should feature your presentation slides and also yourself speaking as you deliver your presentation. Think side-by-side or picture-in-picture.

Details for each presentation type

Here are some more specifics about how each type of presentation format will work during the conference.

45-minute track session

Your pre-recorded video should be 30-40 minutes long.
Attendees will watch your presentation during your slot in the schedule. While the video plays, they can chat with each other and with you using the conference's chat feature.
After your pre-recorded video, attendees can also ask you questions live via the chat. There is no live, on-camera Q&A.

Poster sessions

Your pre-recorded video should be 3-5 minutes long.
Your video should include you speaking about your poster topic, along with slides or other graphics that visualize your presentation.
Attendees will "visit" each poster video that interests them during the poster session, will view each video in their own time, and will chat with you in the conference chat feature. There is no live, on-camera Q&A.

Promo videos

Creating a promo video is optional.
Your pre-recorded promo video should be 30 seconds to 2 minutes long.
We suggest introducing yourself, describing your presentation or poster session, and inviting viewers to attend the conference and your session. Some ways that might consider discussing your session include:
- describing who would benefit from attending,
- listing the action items participants will be able to achieve after attending your session, or
- explaining why this topic is important to you.
Promo videos will be used by HighEdWeb in digital marketing leading up to the day of the event.
Please share your promo video with us by Friday, May 24, 2024.
A Zoom background is available, if you wish to use it when recording your promo

Other technical specifications

Your video should be recorded in high-definition, at least 720p (1080p is preferred). Most current laptop webcams can record in 720p.
Videos should be recorded in a horizontal, 16×9 aspect ratio.
Acceptable file formats: MP4, MOV, MWV.

Getting your video(s) to us

Please use WeTransfer, a free file transfer service, to send your video files to us. Send them to the program committee at av@highedweb.org.

Creating your presentation videos: Some step-by-steps

There are several tools you can use to record your presentation video. Here are some step-by-steps for some of the most popular. If you have access to other technologies that will allow you to create the type of presentation video we need, that’s also fine.

Create your presentation video in Zoom

Open your Zoom desktop client
Click on the gear icon in the top corner below your profile to access your settings.
From the left-hand menu, choose “Recordings.”
Check the box for the option “Record video during screen sharing.”
For a split screen where your webcam recording is next to your slides, check the box for the option “Place video next to the shared screen in the recording.” If you prefer to have your webcam video slightly larger and overlapping the top right corner, leave this option unchecked.
Click “New meeting” to start a new meeting.
Join with computer audio and video.
Open your presentation file in new window.
Back in Zoom, click on “Share Screen” from the bottom toolbar.
Choose the window that contains your presentation file.
Begin your presentation in full-screen mode.
Hover over the top “You are screen sharing” menu in Zoom and click on the “More…” icon.
Select “Record” from the “More” dropdown.
The red Record icon will appear in the “You are screen sharing” menu.
Deliver your presentation.
When you are finished, hover over the “You are screen sharing” menu again and click “Stop Recording” under the “More” dropdown.
Click “Stop Share.”
Click “End Meeting.”
After you end the meeting you should see a “Convert meeting recording” message and progress bar.
Your recording is converted to an MP4 and is saved locally to the location in your Zoom settings under “Recordings.”

Create your presentation video in PowerPoint

If you are using PowerPoint 365, you can record your presentation along with your webcam directly in PowerPoint. This excellent video tutorial walks you through the steps.

Open your PowerPoint presentation.
Choose the “Record Slide Show” option under the “Slide Show” menu.
If you have a webcam, PowerPoint should automatically detect it.
Use the “Settings” menu in the top right corner to choose your audio and video sources.
Click the “Record” icon in the top left corner to begin your recording.
Deliver your presentation.
When you are finished, click “Stop.”
Press Esc to return to your presentation file.
On each slide, you can position or crop your webcam video within the slide using the “Video Format” tools, or dragging and dropping.
When you are finished, click on “File” and choose “Export” then select “Create Video.”

Create your presentation in Keynote and Quicktime

For Mac users, it’s possible to create a recording in Quicktime player that captures both your Keynote slides on your screen and your webcam. See this video tutorial for a step-by-step.

Create your presentation video in Google Chrome extensions

If you are using Google Slides or other browser-based presentation software, you can use screen capture extensions in Google Chrome – like Screencastify or Awesome Screenshot or Screencast-o-matic – to create videos of your presentation that also capture your webcam video. To record longer videos, you need to upgrade from the free versions of these tools; costs range from $2 to $4 a month or $50 a year.

Tips for a great video

When it comes time to record yourself giving your presentation, here are a few tips.

Sit in a well-lit area, with natural light sources preferred over artificial light.
Keep the light source in front of you, and not behind or above you.
Position your computer so that you are just barely an arm’s length away from the screen.
Position your computer so that your webcam is at eye level, rather than having to look up or down at the camera. You may try taping notes or the photo of a loved one/pet by the webcam to help with eye contact.
Check out this tutorial for more tips about self-recorded video.

Accessibility

For your presentation video, don’t worry about providing transcripts, subtitles, or captions. We’ll add captions to each presentation video.

Please consider these accessibility best practices when designing your presentation slides and recording your videos.

Keep in mind that at this online event, audience members will be viewing presentation materials on a wide array of personal devices, from high-definition monitors to tablets or phones.
Check your type and background colors for a nice contrast. Choose bold over subtle. Use this Color Contrast Checker to verify your color sections.
Make sure your font size is large, and be aware of the amount of type you are placing on a single slide. Choose simple, short, and large type size over complex, long, and small type size. Fonts like Calibri and Calibri Light (defaults) are easier to read than more elaborate fonts.
When using images on your slides to illustrate your point, include a reference to or description of the image while you are speaking, so those with low vision or those who aren’t able to view your slides will still understand the substance of your point.
In your videos, please don’t use any video tools that speed up your speech. (Think: listening to podcasts at 1.5x speed, for example.) This can make videos difficult to caption and also make speech patterns difficult to grasp. So, please record at your natural speed.

Inclusive language

HighEdWeb promotes inclusion and kindly asks that you be mindful of the words you use during your presentation. Language that may not seem harmful to you, can be to others. Harmful language can be perceived as harassment, which is a code of conduct violation. Please work to avoid language that is harmful to people with disabilities, language of a sexual nature, language that leverages racism, or gendered language.

Guidance for Event Presenters

Deadline