Students with disabilities:The Summer Academy is an academically challenging program designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students with skills in math or science who may be considering careers in computing, with the goal of encouraging them to consider college majors and careers in computing fields. The Summer Academy has occurred annually at the University of Washington (UW) since 2007. It is supported by the National Science Foundation as part of the Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing, NSF #CNS-0540615, CNS-0837508, and CNS-1042260).
The Saturday Computing Experience is an eight-week program held in the spring at the University of Washington for local high school students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The accessible program introduces students to computers and computer programming with the goal of encouraging them to consider college majors and careers in computing fields. The inaugural Saturday Computing Experience was held in spring 2011.
Dr. Stephanie Ludi, a software engineering professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, works to increase the participation of people with visual impairments in computing fields. She created Robotics Track, which was integrated within the 2009 National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Youth Slam summer camp. The Robotics Track was designed for high school students who have visual impairments and want to learn more about computing.
Administrators at Purdue University look for ways to raise awareness of web accessibility issues and to educate employees on how to create websites that are accessible to individuals with a broad range of disabilities. They have focused efforts through a campus-wide Web Accessibility Committee (WAC). WAC members represent both academic and administrative units across campus. Most are web developers and all are strong supporters of accessible web design.
The Workshop for Emerging Deaf and Hard of Hearing Scientists aimed to increase the representation of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. The workshop was held at Gallaudet University on a Thursday and Friday with support from the National Science Foundation through the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering’s AccessComputing project and the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division.
Connect to AccessComputing project information, resources, and materials.
With sponsorship from AccessComputing, Georgia Computes, GVU Center, and the Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Tech sponsored A Capacity-Building Workshop for Georgia Tech in September 2011. The workshop aimed to increase the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields and, in particular, to help Georgia Tech to improve how they facilitate success of students with disabilities.
