Award Abstract # 2121606
Helping Computer Science Students Learn How to Build Accessible Computing Technologies

NSF Org: DUE
Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient: WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: August 12, 2021
Latest Amendment Date: August 12, 2021
Award Number: 2121606
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Jennifer Lewis
jenlewis@nsf.gov
 (703)292-7340
DUE
 Division Of Undergraduate Education
EDU
 Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date: October 1, 2021
End Date: September 30, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $75,648.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $75,648.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2021 = $75,648.00
History of Investigator:
  • Yasmine Elglaly (Principal Investigator)
    elglaly@wwu.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Western Washington University
516 HIGH ST
BELLINGHAM
WA  US  98225
(360)650-2884
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: Western Washington University
516 High st
Bellingham
WA  US  98225-9038
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): U3ZFA57417D4
Parent UEI: U3ZFA57417D4
NSF Program(s): IUSE
Primary Program Source: 04002122DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 8209, 9178
Program Element Code(s): 199800
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.076

ABSTRACT

This project aims to serve the national interest by helping students learn to consider accessibility for a diverse user audience in software design and development. Accessibility is about ensuring equitable access to information and services for users regardless of their background or ability. Computer science curricula often lack sufficient coverage of this important topic, which affects students? preparation for the computing workforce. This project will expand the coverage of accessibility beyond elective and special interest computing courses by creating and assessing educational materials for teaching accessibility in existing core computer science courses while maintaining the integrity of the courses. The teaching materials will be made available to the public using academic and industry networks so that other institutions can adapt the material to their programs. Including accessibility in computer science curricula will help students acquire the necessary skills to build accessible technology, resulting in graduates with a wider breadth of technical knowledge for an increasingly competitive technology industry. In addition, raising awareness of accessibility as a key topic in computer science facilitates an open classroom environment that is more welcoming for STEM students with disabilities, which could lead to broadening participation in STEM education.

The goals of this project are to: (1) improve existing core courses in computer science using a set of modules that focus on accessibility-related problems such as data structures and object-oriented programming; (2) assess student learning of core and accessibility learning objectives as well as instructors? use and acceptance of the new modules. To achieve these goals, the project team will refine and update a set of existing accessibility modules, initiate a pilot study with instructors at other institutions, and analyze assessment data to inform improvements in the modules. Each module will include a brief guide to the accessibility content covered, the computer science concepts addressed by the assignment and how accessibility has been incorporated, exemplar instruction slides for the accessibility content, assignment materials including grading rubrics, and pre- and post-survey questions. The assessment of student learning and instructor perceptions will use experience sampling, student surveys, and focus groups. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Baker, Catherine M and Elglaly, Yasmine N and Ross, Anne Spencer and Shinohara, Kristen "Including Accessibility in Computer Science Education" , 2022 https://doi.org/10.1145/3517428.3550404 Citation Details
Martin, Lilu and Baker, Catherine and Shinohara, Kristen and Elglaly, Yasmine N. "The Landscape of Accessibility Skill Set in the Software Industry Positions" ASSETS '22: Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility , 2022 https://doi.org/10.1145/3517428.3550389 Citation Details
Kuang, Emily and Bellscheidt, Selah and Pham, Di and Shinohara, Kristen and Baker, Catherine M and Elglaly, Yasmine N "Mapping Accessibility Assignments into Core Computer Science Topics: An Empirical Study with Interviews and Surveys of Instructors and Students" , 2024 https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642097 Citation Details
Elglaly, Yasmine N and Baker, Catherine M and Ross, Anne Spencer and Shinohara, Kristen "Beyond HCI: The Need for Accessibility Across the CS Curriculum" , 2024 https://doi.org/10.1145/3626252.3630788 Citation Details

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