Vocations · Job Skills

An agenda everyone
can actually use.

Most agendas are a table in an email: hard for a screen reader, silent on how to ask for captions, with no break in a two-hour meeting. Enter the items and minutes once. The formatter works out each item’s start time, checks the total against the time booked and prints a clean agenda with headings, times written out and a contact for access requests.

Format an agendaWhat you get

Agendas

The worked example is made up: a hybrid planning meeting with no captions, a two-hour all-staff meeting with no break that runs ten minutes over and an online onboarding session that is ready to send. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Job SkillsFree

What you finish with
A record per meeting: title, date, start time, time booked, format, room or link, an access contact, the agenda items with minutes and leads and six access checks. Works out each item’s start time, the total against the time booked and whether a break is planned; prints an accessible agenda; flags agendas over time, meetings over 90 minutes with no break, no access contact and online or hybrid meetings without captions.
Who it is for
Anyone who runs meetings at work: team leads, coordinators, administrative staff and committee chairs.
Format
Browser formatter with a saved record per meeting. Prints the accessible agenda, the record, every meeting in a table or a blank agenda; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List the items and minutes.
  2. Name who leads each one.
  3. Add a contact for access requests.
  4. Fix anything flagged.
  5. Print or save the agenda and send it a day ahead.

Format an agenda

What makes it usable

An agenda people can useWrite it outTimes as 9:15 a.m., nota grid.One item per line, inorder.Real headings, not boldtext.Send it earlyA day or more ahead,with the slides.In a format screenreaders handle.Say how to askA named contact forcaptions, interpretersor large print.A way to take partwithout speaking up.An agenda people can useWrite it outTimes as 9:15 a.m., not a grid.One item per line, in order.Real headings, not bold text.Send it earlyA day or more ahead, with the slides.In a format screen readers handle.Say how to askA named contact for captions, interpretersor large print.A way to take part without speaking up.
Tables and text boxes can trip up screen readers; a numbered list with times written out reads well everywhere.

Captions help more people than you think

Live captions help people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and also people in noisy rooms, people listening in a second language and anyone who looks away for a moment. Most video meeting software can turn them on for everyone.

Breaks

Long meetings without a break are hard for people with chronic illness, pain or attention differences, and tiring for everyone. A short break around the middle of any meeting longer than about 90 minutes keeps people in the room.

Sources

  1. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Making events accessible: checklist for meetings, conferences, training and presentations (w3.org/WAI).
  2. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Reasonable accommodation in the workplace, including for meetings and training (eeoc.gov).
  3. Job Accommodation Network. Accommodation ideas for meetings and remote work (askjan.org).
  4. Section508.gov. Creating accessible documents: headings, lists and tables.

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.