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AccessIT Web Design & Development: A Promising Practice in Integrating Accessibility Topics into Curriculum

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Course curricula can be enriched by integrating accessibility for people with disabilities as a topic for discussion and application. Students whose education includes an opportunity to learn about accessibility may be more likely to practice accessible design techniques and implement universal design in their future careers.

The AccessIT Web Design & Development I course curriculum is a promising practice in integrating accessibility into a mainstream course. This introduction to web design was developed for grades 9-12. It includes six units covering introductory design and site planning, HTML coding, cascading style sheets, graphic design, site design and management, and use of web authoring tools. Students end the course by designing an accessible website for their school or local community organization.

In the first unit, students learn about the importance of standards-based and accessible design, in addition to learning about other core design theory principles. These principles are then revisited throughout the course as students learn new topics. For example, when students learn HTML coding techniques, they also learn about code that is necessary for ensuring that webpages are accessible. When students learn about graphics, they also learn about the importance of ensuring high foreground and background color contrast, as well as techniques for adding alternate text to graphics on webpages for users who are unable to see the images.

The curriculum is cross-platform and vendor-neutral, which is another aspect of universal design. Teachers can use this curriculum regardless of which operating system, web browser, graphic software, and web authoring tool they have installed in their schools.

The curriculum was designed by a team of high school web design teachers in Bellingham, Washington, working in collaboration with the National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) and hosted by the University of Washington (UW). The curriculum is now maintained by the UW's Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing) with support from the National Science Foundation (grant #CNS-0540615 and #CNS-0837508) and is available without charge. Teachers worldwide, at academic levels ranging from middle school to community college, are now using the curriculum, which holds promise for the future of the web as more students who graduate into the workforce have a foundation of knowledge that includes awareness of accessibility issues.