1/ Thinking today about how important it is to be able to record video instantly, how many steps it takes on most phones, and how precious those seconds could be.

I found an easy shortcut on Android that I hadn't seen elsewhere and thought I'd share. https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1384632537520164866

2/ The first step is to install Action Blocks from the Play store.

This is a free app from @Google that's designed primarily as an accessibility tool, but also great for making it easier to do pretty much anything on your phone.

You can get it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.maui.actionblocks

3/ Action Blocks are surprisingly powerful: they use the Google Assistant to let you create shortcuts for just about anything the assistant can do, which is a lot.

We're going to create a new action block and select "Create custom action"

4/ Whatever is in the "Action" field here is exactly what's passed to the assistant, as if you had spoken it out loud.

You can use "take a video" here, but other similar phrases work too. You can experiment w/ your device.

Probably want to uncheck "Speak action out loud" too...

5/ Next, add an image for your block and name it.

You can use any photo or image that you want, but Action Blocks also ships with the Tobi Dynavox "Picture Communication Symbols" (PCS) which are used with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices...

6/ The AAC symbols include a Big Red Button which I thought was a perfect choice for quickly recording video.

You can also give your block a name, which will be part of the shortcut.

7/ Finally you can save it, and you'll be presented with the option to add it to your home screen. Add it!

8/ This puts a big ol' button right on your home screen. Can't miss it.

9/ Pressing this launches the action via the assistant and starts recording immediately via the default camera app.

10/ Finally, know your rights. From @ACLU:

"Taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right—and that includes police and other government officials carrying out their duties." https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/photographers-rights/filming-and-photographing-police

11/ Finally, shoutout to the speech language pathologist in my life who taught me everything I know about AAC devices and reminded me this was even possible.