AccessISL Community of Practice

AccessISL staff and faculty leaders engage in an online Community of Practice (CoP) that includes key stakeholder groups that impact efforts to make informal science learning (ISL) environments accessible and usable by everyone (e.g., faculty, students, disability service units, informal science learning programs, teaching and learning centers, diversity programs, professional organizations) to share ideas and assist in the creation and dissemination of resources to encourage others to help a broader range of students and patrons learn about universal design and accessibility in informal science settings.

CoP members take part in the following:

• Share strategies for recruiting a wide variety of stakeholders to participate in project activities.
• Share successful practices for recruiting faculty and staff with a broad range of disabilities in ISL training and education programs.
• Discuss how to engage, accommodate, and retain students with a wide range of disabilities in postsecondary ISL studies.
• Share disability-related and universal/accessible design content to be incorporated into senior design and other specific ISL courses.
• Learn about training videos, resources, and publications.
• Identify unmet needs and useful products for the project to develop.
• Provide input for a project video and related online resources.
• Respond to formative results of the project and suggest future activities.
• Share accessibility issues in their ISL programs and brainstorm strategies for improvement.
• Explore strategies for adapting existing ISL courses for universal/accessible design.
• Share forums for connecting students to individuals with disabilities in the local community and online.
• Collaborate in the development of universal/accessible design topics in conference presentations and seminar series.

You and your colleagues can join the AccessISL CoP by sending the following information to doit@uw.edu:

Name
Position/ Job Title
Institution
Postal Address
Email Address