An AccessComputing-sponsored capacity building institute (CBI) focused on promising practices around accessibility in computing. The event was held November 13, 2018 in Westminster, CO as part of Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) conference.
Completion of a Web Accessibility course is required to earn a Web Design Certificate at Bellevue College in Washington State. In the original curriculum, a large portion of course content focused on legal cases related to web accessibility. Although it is important to understand the role that laws and regulations play, this is not critical to ensure that web designers and developers can actually develop accessible websites.
In a study by Erickson, W. A., Schrader, S. von, Bruyère, S. M., & VanLooy, S. A., best practices reported to increase hiring people with disabilities included:
Employers may encounter a variety of barriers to recruiting interns with disabilities. These include:
Blocks-based programming environments such as Scratch are often the first experiences for young children who are learning computational thinking and programming. Unfortunately, these environments are not accessible to children who are blind or visually impaired who use screen readers, thereby excluding them from experiences that can lead to careers in STEM fields including computer science. The Blocks4All prototype programming environment makes blocks-based programming accessible on a touchscreen tablet computer.
This video highlights participants in DO-IT programs such as AccessComputing, who share information about the technology they use to access school, work, and the community. Information is shared about alternative hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities.
There are multiple strategies that can be used to teach about accessibility in computing courses. Exposing students to this information can help them create more accessible products throughout their careers.
AccessComputing is a program at the University of Washington that helps students with disabilities successfully pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in computing fields. The program also works to increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions and other organizations to fully include students with disabilities in computing courses and programs. As a primarily-online mentoring program, building a community is essential to creating a supportive environment for students with disabilities.