Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community of Practice

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community of Practice (CoP) is a CoP of existing practitioners/ networks that support individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and are interested in increasing the representation of these individuals in computing fields. It includes researchers, college educators, K-12 school teachers, and representatives of networks of precollege and postsecondary schools for the deaf and hard of hearing, professional organizations, parent groups, and precollege and postsecondary institutions that have special programs for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Members of this CoP

  • recruit high school and college students who are deaf or hard of hearing for Alliance academies and workshops, e-mentoring communities, internships, and other activities.
  • locate speakers who are deaf or hard of hearing and recruit participants who are deaf or hard of hearing to computing conferences and other events nationwide.
  • develop computing transition and bridge workshops/academies for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  • help plan, and recruit participants who are deaf or hard of hearing for AcccessComputing Capacity-Building Institutes.
  • work with existing computing programs and projects to make them accessible to students who are deaf or hard of hearing; help update documents with appropriate wording for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including those who do and do not identify with Deaf culture (e.g., Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Project, Equal Access: Universal Design of Professional Organizations).
  • provide input on the document Equal Access: Universal Design of Computing Departments relevant to the inclusion of students, faculty and staff who are deaf or hard of hearing in computing departments.
  • provide input regarding wording on all AccessComputing publications, web documents, and other materials to make them appeal to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, both those who identify with Deaf cultuure and those who do not.
  • suggest/provide content for the AccessComputing Alliance Knowledge Base, particularly questions and answers, case studies and promising practices relevant to individuals duals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

You and your colleagues can join the Deaf and Hard of Hearing CoP by sending the following information to accesscomp@u.washington.edu:

  • Name
  • Position/Title
  • Institution
  • Postal Address
  • Email Address

For infomation about other CoPs sponsored by AccessComputing, consult the AccessComputing Communities of Practice page.