DO-IT Community Outreach
DO-IT is always looking for opportunities to interact with students and faculty to seek out individuals who benefit from our programs. Whether it is on a college or high school campus or at a community career fair, we try to make connections and network. We often showcase our accessible science equipment where we demonstrate assistive technologies and tools to make the science classroom more accessible to people with disabilities. Other times we partner with the Access Technology Center (ATC) to display adaptive computer equipment. Through these demonstrations we have conversations with attendees about the importance of universal design and how we can provide resources to instructors and students with disabilities.
In October, two DO-IT staff members hosted a booth at the University of Washington Information Technology (UW-IT) Tech Expo. It took place during the first week of fall quarter, so many freshmen were looking for resources for their first year at UW. Beginning college on a new campus can be overwhelming even for the most prepared student, so reaching out to them at this critical time is important. Students with disabilities have even more on their plate and DO-IT aims to be as visible as possible. Many students took applications and played with accessible science equipment. This is just one example of the many events that we participate throughout the year and is always a highlight for DO-IT staff to participate in.