Technical Challenges: Managing Sign Language Interpreters in Breakout Rooms for Large Webinar/Meeting

Hi everyone,

I am organizing an online meeting for 140 participants and need some expert advice on the best workflow, as I’ve encountered several limitations during my dry runs.

Our Setup:

• License: Zoom Workplace Pro (considering an upgrade to Large Meeting if necessary).

• Requirements: A main plenary session followed by 4 breakout rooms.

• Accessibility: We have professional Sign Language interpreters who need to be visible alongside the speakers in both the plenary and all 4 breakout rooms. Language is English, participants come from over Europe.

The Challenges:

1. Spotlighting: I cannot seem to spotlight both the speaker and the interpreter simultaneously within the breakout rooms. Participants struggle to see both.

2. Recording: Breakout rooms are not automatically recording to the cloud, and local recording requires manual action from participants. As for exporting the chat.

3. Closed Captioning: AI-based live transcription doesn't seem to carry over or function within the breakout rooms.

My questions:

1. Is there a recommended way to force a "Multi-Pin" or "Multi-Spotlight" view for participants in breakout rooms? So the interpreter and the speaker and the presentation are visible?

2. What is the most reliable way to ensure the breakout sessions are recorded if I cannot use cloud recording?

3. Would moving to separate Zoom meetings for each breakout room be a more stable solution for accessibility (spotlighting/captions)? Is it in this case better to purchase 3 more licences?  

Any best practices or creative workarounds for managing accessibility and spotlighting in this context would be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Kind regards,

Layla

Team INSPIRES