Google has added the ability to live caption Google Slides presentations when using the Google Chrome browser. This tool will greatly enhance the accessibility of your live presentations.

To enable the live captioning:

1. Click Present at the top right of the Google Slides screen to enter presentation mode. You can also enter presentation mode using these keyboard shortcuts:
   • Windows: Ctrl + F5
   • Mac: ⌘ + Shift + Enter
2. Select Captions from the menu along the bottom of the screen. The keyboard shortcut for this is:
   • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + C
   • Mac: ⌘ + Shift + C
3. The first time you enable captions, Chrome will ask for permission to access your microphone. Select Allow.
4. Captions will appear along the bottom of the screen.

While this service is currently limited to a single English-speaking user, Google is planning to expand the offering in the future. Microsoft has also announced plans to include this feature in PowerPoint. Some users of Office 365 may already be able to enable live captioning.

Thanks to Sharyn Merrigan for showing us this helpful tool! If you have any accessibility tips or questions, please reach out to Robert Hardy, the district’s Website Accessibility Specialist, at extension 6105.