Web Accessibility Training at DO-IT

This spring, sixteen University of Washington students devoted the final few days of their spring break to learning about accessible web design. This was the fourth in an ongoing series of Web Accessibility Trainings (WAT) that DO-IT has conducted for high school and college students with disabilities since 2009. The trainings are provided with support from the AccessSTEM project, the goal of which is to help students with disabilities succeed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and reach critical junctures on paths toward college studies and careers in STEM fields. WATs help students learn the basics of web design, with an emphasis on how to create web pages that are accessible to all users, including those who are unable to see, unable to use a mouse, unable to perceive color, using smart phones or other mobile devices, and other accessibility issues. Following the three-day training, several participants continued on by conducting web accessibility evaluations on STEM-related websites.

Planning is now underway for a Fall WAT, which will take place September 20-22 at Seattle Central Community College. Stay tuned for additional information about this and other upcoming trainings.