Communities of Practice (Increasing the Participation of Students with Disabilities in Exploring Computer Science and Computer Science Principles Courses 2015)

Two people talking at the presenter's podium at the AccessCS10K CBI.

AccessCSForAll engages stakeholders that include national leaders within Communities of Practice (CoPs). CoPs share perspectives and expertise and identify practices that promote the participation of people with disabilities in STEM fields. Those most related to AccessCSForAll >are described below.

Broadening Participation CoP

In this CoP, individuals who administer projects that serve to broaden participation in STEM fields

  • discuss how to recruit participants with disabilities and accommodate them in their programs and activities and how to make their offerings more accessible overall
  • recruit their participants with disabilities into disability-related e-mentoring, internships, academies, and workshops to complement their activities
  • co-sponsor events and discuss potential new projects and share funding possibilities

Computing Faculty, Administrators, and Employers CoP

Computing professionals, faculty, and administrators as well as representatives from industry and professional organizations use this CoP to increase their knowledge about disabilities and make changes in computing departments that lead to more inclusive practices. Participants

  • gain and share knowledge and help identify issues related to the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in computing fields
  • help identify and field test Computing Department Accessibility Indicators to make computing departments more welcoming and accessible to students with disabilities
  • help organizations make their websites accessible to visitors with disabilities, their conferences accessible to attendees with disabilities, and their conference programs inclusive of disability-related topics
  • identify campus computing events to which students with disabilities might be invited
  • discuss how to include accessibility topics in postsecondary computing curriculum

You and your colleagues can join CoPs by sending the following information to doit@uw.edu: 

  • CoP(s) you would like to join
  • name
  • position/title
  • institution
  • postal address
  • email address

For information about other CoPs hosted by AccessComputing, consult the AccessComputing website.