AccessSTEM

Some individuals with disabilities require assistive technology (AT) in order to access computers. Hundreds of Windows AT third-party products are available, making it possible for almost anyone to use Windows® applications, regardless of their disabilities. The Microsoft® Windows® operating systems also provides a core set of basic accessibility features and AT applications, which can be deployed on all computers in a computer lab or classroom without additional cost.

In 2011-2012 three departments of Illinois State University, the Special Education Assistive Technology Center, Classroom Technology Support Services, and Metcalf University Lab School seized an opportunity to unite in a project which advanced research on better accommodations for students with visual impairments.

Led by Trinidad State Junior College (TSJC) Project E.S.T.E.E.M. (Experience Science, Technology, Engineering, Electronics, and Math) provided youth with disabilities an opportunity to experience programs at TSJC that contain a computer science component. TSJC collaborated with the School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP) to host the full-day event which culminated in an evening in which both students and their parents participated.

Java is a general-purpose programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It gained notoriety in the late 1990s in part because of its vision of platform independence: A compiled Java program can run on most computers, including those running UNIX, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. This cross-platform support is possible because the Java interpreter, known as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), is available for a broad variety of operating systems.

Adobe Flash is an animation technology that allows web developers to build dynamic content featuring multimedia and interactive applications. Flash content downloads quickly and can run on any browser that supports it and is equipped with the Adobe Flash Player plug-in.

On any computer, the operating system (OS) is the set of programs that performs basic tasks that are necessary for the computer to be functional. The OS provides a software platform on top of which application programs can run. Early operating systems, including Microsoft's Disk Operating System (DOS) and UNIX (originally developed by Bell Labs; now an open specification licensed by The Open Group), posed few accessibility barriers for users of assistive technologies because they were text-based.

Microsoft PowerPoint has become a standard format for creating and presenting visuals (e.g., slideshows) for presentations, including those used in educational contexts such as distance learning courses. A variety of approaches are used for delivering PowerPoint content online, each of which has strengths and weaknesses concerning accessibility.

There are many things that students with disabilities might want to know about a career in computing. This includes:

Undergraduate research can provide important and meaningful experiences for students in fields that include those in science and engineering. Research internships present opportunities for undergraduates to gain an exposure to research and consider whether they are interested in research careers and graduate school.

Following are examples of programs that allow undergraduate students with disabilities to become involved in research:

Data tables are tables that are used to represent actual tabular data, with rows and columns of related information. The technique for creating an accessible data table depends on the complexity of the table. Data tables can be described as either simple or complex. A simple data table is one in which each cell corresponds with only one column header and/or one row header. In contrast, a complex data table is one in which there are nested columns or nested rows. Consequently, cells within the table correspond with multiple column and/or row headers.