Accessible curricula and tools for K-12 computing education
  • AccessCSforAll, December 7, 2022
    Presenters: Richard Ladner (University of Washington), Lauren Milne (Macalester College), Andreas Stefik (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
    Most of the tools used in K12 computer science education are not accessible to students with disabilities, especially students who are blind or have low vision. In this webinar, we share about the Quorum programming language, Blocks4All, and other tools that are accessible to students with disabilities. You'll also learn about resources to support teachers who have students with disabilities in their classes.

  • University of California Irvine, December 6, 2022
    Presenter: Dr. Stacy Branham (UCI), Dr. Erin Buehler (Google), Kirk Crawford (Internal Revenue Service), Dr. JooYoungSeo (UIUC), and Emily Young (UCI)
    Dr. Stacy Branham, Professor of Informatics at UC Irvine, discusses how to integrate accessibility into a computing career with a panel comprised of: Dr. Erin Buehler, who is a UX Research Manager at Google; Kirk Crawford, a Product Manager at Internal Revenue Service; Dr. JooYoungSeo, an Assistant Professor at UIUC; Emily Young, a Support Specialist at UCI. 

  • AccessCSforAll, November 30, 2022
    Presenter: Neil Brown (King's College London)
    Block-based programming is very popular in introductory programming. Its drag-and-drop design is very approachable for novices -- but not for the vision impaired and others who would like to use a screen reader and keyboard entry.

  • AccessComputing, November 14, 2022
    Presenters: Adrienne Decker (University at Buffalo), Andrew Begel (Carnegie Mellon), and Kurt Eiselt (University of California, Davis)
    This panel presents a number of different perspectives and programs that support neurodivergent students in their coursework and in the workplace. Like many students transitioning to college, neurodivergent students lose many of their prior scaffolds and supports. Supporting students in our classrooms and degree programs requires training faculty on the challenges neurodivergent students experience and developing curriculum and supports that afford better access. In addition to in-classroom support, support is needed to prepare students to enter the workforce and help them stay employed. Other goals of these programs are to help destigmatize neurodiverse people, help neurotypical people better understand their neurodivergent colleagues, and encourage everyone to better integrate the neurodiverse into their organizations and activities.

  • CMDIT, September 8, 2022
    Presenter: Dr. Stacy Branham (UCI), Josiah Hester (Georgia Institute of Technology)
    Dr. Stacy Branham shares her story of how she became a professor in Informatics at the University of California, Irvine as a woman with a disability. Josiah Hester shares his story of handling failure in computing.

  • AccessCSforAll, August 8, 2022
    Presenter: Richard Ladner (UW)
    About 8.7 million PreK-12 students in the US have a disability and are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Act or under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These students have a number of barriers that prevent them from participating fully in CS education. In this webinar we discuss these barriers and how they can be removed to make CS education more accessible and welcoming to these students.

  • AccessCSForAll, Mar 30, 2022
    Presenter: Andreas Stefik & William Alee (Univ of Nevada Las Vegas)
    Modern block languages consist of a complex series of moving parts. While they do have visualizations of the computer code, they also contain graphical editors, game editors, robotics systems, community forums, multimedia output, and many other attributes that must be accessible for students with disabilities to meaningfully and fully participate in computer science. In this webinar, we provide a summary of the state of what is and is not accessible across block languages and then foster a discussion about how we might get there.

  • AccessComputing, Nov 09, 2021
    Presenter: Terrill Thompson (DO-IT)
    You're shopping for an online platform to use for a virtual conference you're organizing, or you're considering adopting a new technology for the courses you teach. You want, and may in fact be legally obligated, to ensure the product or service you choose is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. How do you do that? This webinar will explore strategies for addressing accessibility at various stages within the procurement process. It will include extensive detail about technology accessibility standards, plus guidance on how to read a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), a standard form used by technology vendors to document their level of accessibility. Our speaker Terrill Thompson is manager of the IT Accessibility Team at the University of Washington, and technology accessibility specialist with AccessComputing. He has nearly thirty years of experience in the IT accessibility field.

  • AccessCSforAll and Infosys Foundation USA, June 16, 2021
    Speaker: Robert DeFillippo (Mon Valley School)
    In this Accessible Computer Science: Teacher to Teacher webinar, Robert DeFillippo will share about lessons learned teaching computer science to students who are neurodiverse.

  • ADA National Network, March 16, 2023
    Presenter: Ali Abdolrahmani (University of Maryland Baltimore County), Stacy Branham (University of California), and Emory James Edwards (University of California)
    Billions of digital images lack quality image descriptions, making them inaccessible to blind screen reader users. Describing digital images with representations of diverse identities, such as people of color, trans or gender nonconforming individuals, and people with disabilities, adds complexity for image description authors. This webinar provides basics of writing good image descriptions, examples, and guidelines for describing marginalized identities in alt text, with hands-on practice and interactive discussions.

  • AccessCSforAll and Infosys Foundation USA, May 11, 2021
    Speaker: Sarah Ciras (Landmark School)
    In this Accessible Computer Science: Teacher to Teacher webinar, Sarah Ciras will share about lessons learned teaching computer science to students with learning disabilities.

  • AccessCSforAll and Infosys Foundation USA, April 7, 2021
    Speaker: Beth Kimball (Indiana School for the Deaf)
    In this Accessible Computer Science: Teacher to Teacher webinar, Elizabeth (Beth) Kimball shares lessons learned teaching computer science to students who are deaf and hearing impaired.

  • AccessCSforAll and Infosys Foundation USA, March 25, 2021
    Speaker: Gina Fugate (Maryland School for the Blind)
    In this Accessible Computer Science: Teacher to Teacher webinar, Gina Fugate shares lessons learned teaching computer science to students who are blind and visually impaired.

  • STEM For All Multiplex, March 24, 2021
    Moderator: Richard Ladner
    Panelists: Sheryl Burgstahler, Jeanne Reis, and Emily Moore
    The webinar will bring together four leaders who will share promising practices in their sustained projects that help make STEM fields more welcoming and accessible to students with disabilities.

  • Equity In Action Summit, March 21, 2021
    Presenters: Richard Ladner and Andreas Stefik (AccessCSforAll)
    Students with disabilities are often discouraged from taking computer science courses. This doesn't have to happen. Learn how.

  • AccessCSforAll, February 17, 2021
    Speaker: Earl Huff (Clemson University)
    To ensure an inclusive computing education, we must examine the suitability and learning experience of existing curricula if they accommodate students with disabilities, especially those blind or who have low vision. This webinar provides an account of the learning and teaching experience in computing education for persons with visual impairments from different perspectives, as well as potential solutions for improving accessibility in K-12 computing education.

  • AccessComputing, November 23, 2020
    Presenter: Kayla Brown (UW)
    Kayla Brown talks about what it means to be disabled, looks at some key moments for the disability rights movement, and discusses common tropes for characters with disabilities in the media. Learn about the medical and social models of disability, examine the history of disability and the disability rights movement in the United States and how this has impacted perceptions of disability, and identify common tropes in the media that negatively portrays disability.

  • Microsoft, University of Washington CREATE, and University of Colorado’s Coleman Institute; November 18, 2020
    Speaker: Andreas Stefik
    A discussion of new research dedicated to making Computer Science education learning experiences more accessible for people with disabilities.

  • AccessCSforAll, November 12, 2020
    Presenter: Anna Kirkpatrick (Georgia Tech)
    Anna shares her personal journey of finding and making tools to allow her to write code efficiently. She discusses her use of inexpensive eye tracking hardware marketed for video games, provides an overview of the open source software project OptiKey, recounts the development of a custom OptiKey keyboard specifically for writing code, and discusses the text editor vim and how features of vim interface well with eye gaze input.

  • AccessCSforAll, September 10, 2020
    Presenter: Andreas Stefik (Univ of Nevada Las Vegas)
    AP Computer Science Principles and other K-12 curricula include units covering using and interpreting data. Ensuring that data, and even data science, is accessible to students with disabilities is not a trivial problem. In this webinar, AccessCSforAll PI and inventor of the Quorum programming language Andreas Stefik shared the approach used in the Quorum programming language.

  • AccessCSforAll, August 04, 2020
    Presenters: Janette Barrios and Jordyn Castor (Apple)
    Explore the latest accessible coding resources for iPad and Mac, including free iPad app Swift Playgrounds, accessible curriculum, tactile graphics, videos in American Sign Language, and resources that support students with disabilities at various stages and age - including fun activities like flying drones and dancing robots! Coding is an essential skill for helping all students thrive in a technology-driven future - it unlocks creativity, develops problem-solving skills, and opens career paths. Learn how easy and fun it can be to code!

  • AccessINCLUDES, June 18, 2020
    Presenters: Sheryl Burgstahler, Terrill Thompson, and Brianna Blaser (DO-IT)
    How can you ensure that individuals with disabilities feel welcome and are able to participate in your classes, meetings, and other online activities? This virtual capacity building institute (CBI) addressed a variety of accessibility including universal design in online learning; accessibility of websites, documents, video, and vendor products; and accessibility and universal design of online meetings.

  • AccessCSforAll, February 11, 2020
    Speaker: Lauren Milne (Macalester College)
    Lauren Milne is an assistant professor at Macalester College. Her research is on making programming more accessible for children with visual impairments. She will be doing a demo of Blocks4All, an iPad application she developed, which can be used to program the Dash and Dot robots from Wonder Workshop and which is accessible with VoiceOver and Switch Control.

  • AccessCSforAll, January 14, 2020
    Speakers: Andreas Stefik (Univ of Nevada Las Vegas)
    The Quorum Programming Language is the first evidenced-oriented programming language that was “born accessible” more than ten years ago. New is Quorum Studio, an accessible integrated development environment (IDE) to support programmers in Quorum. Quorum Studio is built on the same design principles as the language itself, making it accessible to users, including blind users who employ screen readers. In the first version, we have created a full development environment for editing, navigating, compiling, debugging, and executing applications, in addition to typical help features (e.g., highlighting, code completion, projects, updates) and accessibility features (e.g., smart zoom, smart navigation, a highly customized screen reading experience). Quorum Studio is also a platform for future accessible growth, with 3D visual level editing, still fully accessible even if the user is blind, coming in the summer of 2020 in Quorum Studio 2.

  • AccessCSforAll, November 14, 2019
    Julia Ferraioli (Google)
    By instituting good practices around code accessibility early on, you can foster an inclusive team that can run an accessible project. In addition to making your code base accessible to those with disabilities, these adaptations can make your project easier to navigate for everyone, new contributors and senior developers alike.

  • AccessCSforAll, May 09, 2019
    Speaker: Stephanie Ludi (University of North Texas)
    Block-based languages are a common way to engage novice programmers, especially children. However, accessibility is lacking. We will present our work in adding keyboard navigation and screen reader support to the Blockly framework to increase accessibility to block-based languages for persons with visual impairments.

  • AccessCSforAll, May 30, 2018
    Speaker: Emanuel Schanzer (Bootstrap)
    Learn more about what Bootstrap, an in-school curriculum and software package that teaches children programming skills, has done to improve the accessibility of their tools used in K-12 education.

  • CSForAll Consortium, October 24, 2017
    This community call features AccessCSforAll and exploring issues facing teachers and students with accessibility needs, including data on disabilities in K-12; introduces the basics of the Quorum Language; and shares resources and stories from the classroom.
    View Slides

  • CSForAll Consortium, September 7, 2017
    This webinar explores real life examples, common barriers, and strategies practitioners and educators can use to ensure computer science education learning is meeting the needs of all students, including those who struggle academically or students with disabilities.
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  • DIAGRAM Center, March 15, 2017 
    Learn about the current K-12 computer science landscape, challenges in the field, especially regarding coding accessibility, and how inclusive design is making computer science more accessible while also contributing to the overall born accessible movement.
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  • CS10K Community, June, 7, 2015
    Computer science opens doors for all kinds of students! With simple strategy, we can increase the successful participation of students with disabilities in the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) and Computer Science Principles (CSP) courses. Richard Ladner presents teaching strategies to include students with disabilities in computing classes and describes tools and curricula to help make that possible.

  • Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI), February 13, 2014
    Learn about opportunities in computing and IT academic programs and career fields that can be pursued by students with disabilities. Hear about success stories, promising practices, and useful resources. See resources from this webinar on the EASI website.

  • Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI), January 14, 2014
    Technology accessibility specialist Terrill Thompson shares a few simple steps that anyone can take to improve the accessibility and usability of their websites and electronic documents.
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  • Computer Science Collaboration Project, October, 23, 2012
    Learn how universal design has emerged as an approach to ensuring the full inclusion of individuals with disabilities and how it can be applied in educational settings—to instruction, services, technology, and to physical spaces.
     

  • National Girls Collaborative Project, June 5, 2012
    A fully accessible website is one in which all visitors, with or without disabilities, using a variety of devices, can easily find the information they're looking for and access all the features of the site. Learn some basic steps they can take to assess whether your website might be excluding particular groups of people. No prior knowledge is required.

  • AccessCSforAll, May 11, 2023
    Presenter: Shireen Hafeez (Deaf Kids Code)
    Shireen Hafeez is the founder of the national outreach non-profit organization Deaf Kids Code. Since the diagnosis of her son, she became involved with advocacy and activism for kids like him. She founded the organization with the belief that the next generation of Deaf/hard of hearing kids should be contributors, leaders, makers, and innovators. The organization's first principle is that "The Digital Age is the Great Equalizer." The DKC's mission is to promote technology, design thinking, and computer science skills as a way to cultivate and ignite their students.