PPD: Computer Science Program for Students with Disabilities

Winona State University, Winona MN

Investigators

Abstract

The intent of this project is to develop a barrier-free computer science program that is accessible to students with disabilities. Computer Science is a popular major choice for high school students with disabilities planning to go to college. The number of Computer Science majors at the college level has increased significantly, but few students with disabilities are among these computer science majors. A number of barriers exist for these students in a traditional computer science curriculum. Three of the major barriers are: Little assistive technology is available to aid students in learning to program, the main focus of the first two years in a computer science curriculum. The science and mathematics courses of a computer science curriculum are usually not set up to use existing assistive technology that is specifically designed for these kinds of classes. The traditional ways that most computer science courses are taught make heavy use of visual images and abstractions that cannot be easily interpreted by students with visual disabilities and some learning disabilities. We will begin by focusing our tool development on students with visual disabilities. The assistive computer equipment for the project, however, will also support students with limited mobility disabilities. The project will also tangentially support students with hearing and some learning disabilities since the activities and tools to be developed will offer alternative representations of information. Three major goals have been identified for the project: i. Build a high quality, barrier-free, computer science degree program for the southeast region of Minnesota that can serve as a model for other computer science programs in the country. It will be important for this first program to be of high quality so there is no question that graduates of the program are any less qualified than other computer scientists, and it can serve as a valid model for other programs in the country. ii. Develop awareness among Minnesota high school students with disabilities, as well as their counselors, teachers, and parents, of the opportunity to major in computer science in college. It will be necessary to actively recruit students into the program in the beginning. As these students successfully move through the program, however, majoring in Computer Science will be able to be seen as a realistic possibility for future high school students with disabilities. iii. Increase awareness, for all students and faculty in the programs, of barriers faced in computing by people with disabilities. As computer scientists become more aware of these barriers, they will be better able to design future software programs that are accessible from the start.