Inclusive thinking in computer science education

Abstract

On average, one in every five people has a disability. There is a growing, worldwide attention to the rights and needs of disabled users to access information technologies (IT). This technology is not simply for recreational use, but in many cases is a disabled user's lifeline to services and a path to employment. To address this issue, there has been enactment of legislation in countries worldwide aimed at making technology accessible. Such legislation has led to the creation of standards, guidelines, and checklists for accessibility, with the goal of having a common understanding of what is needed to make IT accessible and thereby enabling developers to create accessible applications. Despite these efforts, however, technology remains largely unusable for people with disabilities. A number of factors may contribute to this state. Here we consider one of the key factors - that developers, in large part, do not understand and are not attuned to the needs of disabled users. The checklists are not intuitive and provide developers with little insight into the very real problems that disabled users have with computing. Moreover, these checklists address issues of "compliance", but do not meet the needs of a large number of users whose needs fall outside of traditional accessibility concerns. Older adults are an excellent example of users whose needs are often not considered during development. A conference theater event will highlight computer use by persons with disabilities. Following up on that event, inclusive design in computer science education will be considered. The focus will be on populations that are often not considered in the design process.