AccessComputing capacity building activities are funded by the National Science Foundation (grant #CNS-1042260). They were coordinated by the Alliance for Access to Computing Careers, which is led by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and DO-IT at the University of Washington.
Among the strategies for meeting AccessComputing objectives are Communities of Practice (CoPs) for stakeholder groups. Communicating using email and other electronic tools, CoPs share perspectives and expertise and identify practices that promote the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields. The eight project CoPs are described below. Members in all CoPs:
Accessible Technology in Education: Problems and SolutionsWith technology, curriculum, or any resource, we should ask "can everyone access this?" "Everyone" includes theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking who has a motor neuron disease that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; T.V.
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Registration and Refreshments
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m
Welcome
Institute Objectives and Schedule
Introductions
Daniela Marghitu (Auburn University Education and Assistive Technology) & Nels Madsen (Associate Dean, Samuel Ginn COE)
9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
Universal Design in Academia: A Capacity Building Institute took place April 11, 2012 in Auburn, Alabama. Its overall purpose was to bring together a select group of national experts to help Auburn University faculty and staff reduce barriers and optimize levels of challenge and support to meet the needs of all learners.
My name is Diana. I graduated last year from Georgia State University (GSU) with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Computer Information Systems and a Certificate of International Business. The IT field is always changing, and I excel in dynamic environments, so computing was a great fit for me.
The Workshop for Emerging Deaf and Hard of Hearing Scientists was held at Gallaudet University on May 17-18, 2012, with support from AccessComputing. The workshop brought together 97 participants, including high school, college, and graduate students as well as K-12 educators, sign language interpreters, university professors, and government staff involved in STEM fields.
What might be the first response of a professor when a student who is deaf enrolls in her computing class? Would she look forward to the unique perspective this student brings to the class, or only be concerned about what accommodations might be necessary? An important step to creating a classroom environment that is welcoming to all students is to value diversity in all of its many forms—to see, in this case, differences in hearing abilities as a normal, interesting part of the human experience.
AccessComputing's new video, titled IT Accessibility: What Campus Leaders Have to Say, features university presidents and chancellors, chief information officers, and other information technology (IT) leaders sharing their thoughts and strategies related to IT accessibility in higher education.
AccessComputing has funded over 140 internships for students with disabilities to work on research as well as lab, technical support, and other computing projects. Through these experiences, students have learned how to request reasonable accommodations, communicate with supervisors and co-workers, collaborate with others, and manage priorities. As one student shared, "despite being visually impaired, I can continue to work toward a degree in software engineering. My confidence level has increased along with my determination."
Research projects include:
