AccessSTEM

Exploring Computer Science (ECS) and Computer Science Principles (CSP) are two different curricula for computer science that are used in K-12 settings. Both have the potential to be accessible to students with disabilities, but also present accessibility challenges. These challenges include

Accessibility experts in the AccessCSforAll project, funded by the National Science Foundation, can answer individual questions that computing instructors have about working with students with disabilities. Their specific expertise includes topics related to disability types, accessible design of technology, inclusive teaching, and computing education. For support, contact accesscsforall@uw.edu or 509-328-9331.

There are multiple strategies that an instructor can take to include information about accessibility in engineering courses. Having an entire class focused on accessibility in web design or engineering is great. However, it is possible to incorporate accessibility topics into almost any engineering class. An instructor could focus part of or a full lecture on an accessibility topic. Teaching about accessibility or inviting including a guest speaker can help increase knowledge and the perspective of engineers as a whole.

Following are examples of strategies for integrating universal design, accessibility, and disability topics into the engineering curriculum, facilities, and programs.

The Engineering Place at North Carolina State University (NCSU) educates K-12 students, K-12 teachers, families and other the citizens of North Carolina about the nature of engineering and the opportunities and careers within engineering. The Engineering Place offers hands-on, inquiry- and problem- based programs and informational workshops and tools. The vision is that every student, educator, and parent, including those with disabilities, in North Carolina will know when engineering is and its impact on everyday life.

In the electrical engineering and computer science department at the University of Michigan, David Chesney teaches two courses that include accessibility. The first, Gaming for the Greater Good, an introductory course focused on creating a game with accessibility features for a specific disability, is used as a recruitment tool for students interested in computer science. The second, a software engineering capstone class, focused on children with disabilities in the community and how to create accessibility solutions using the latest and greatest technology.

Steps that disability and IT professionals can take to ensure the accessibility of their campus IT resources include:

Many students with disabilities have successfully completed computing courses during their K-12 education. As a result, some individuals with disabilities have successfully completed postsecondary degrees in computing and now have careers in computing fields. However, more work needs to be done in order for all students with disabilities have opportunities to pursue these careers.

InftyReader is optical character recognition (OCR) software that recognizes  standard text, but also scientific figures and mathematics symbols. After scanning a document, it can output the content in a variety of digital formats, including LaTeX, MathML, XHTML, HRTeX, IML and Microsoft Word. Assistive technology can then be used to provide speech, Braille, or enlarged text access.

Funded by the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, ClassAct was developed to support instructors and staff who work with deaf and hard of hearing students in all mainstreamed academic environments. ClassAct improves existing teaching practice in mainstream classes by ensuring access to instruction for these students. Resources on the ClassAct website focus on teaching challenges and successful methods as well as helpful communication strategies for the classroom and service units.