NEWS from the Alliance for Access to Computing Careers Increasing opportunities in computing for people with disabilities June 2018 New Resource Promotes Accessibility to Larger Community of CISE Projects By Sheryl Burgstahler, AccessComputing Co-PI The National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program is encouraging existing and new CISE projects to make significant efforts towards broadening participation by addressing the needs of groups underrepresented in computing, which include women, racial/ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. AccessComputing, which is funded by CISE, is contributing to this effort by providing a new web resource to help current and future CISE project leaders proactively include broadening participation activities that address disability-related issues in their supported and Engage in AccessComputing proposed projects. Students with disabilities The new AccessComputing resource includes • Internships advice on the inclusion of people with disabilities • Mentoring in academic, employment, internship, and • AccessComputing Team outreach opportunities. It also tells how to universally design onsite and online instruction Educators and employers and digital resources (e.g., websites, documents, • Hosting an intern videos) so that everyone can effectively access • Communities of practice Continued on page 2 • Mentoring • Presentations Highlights of this issue: • Minigrants AccessComputing Resume Database ......................2 Puget Sound SIGCHI .........................................2 When more citizens have access to computing My Trip to WWW'18 in Lyon, France ..............3 opportunities, and when computing fields are An Exciting 2018 CSUN Conference ................4 enhanced by the perspectives of people with AccessComputing PI Richard Ladner Wins Strache disabilities, we all benefit. Leadership Award ................................................5 SIGCSE 2018 Trip Report: CS for All! ..............6 Find more information about these Autism at Work Summit 2018 .............................8 opportunities as well as videos, publications, AccessCSforAll Featured in Video Showcase ......10 and other resources on the AccessComputing About AccessComputing .......................................10 website, www.uw.edu/accesscomputing. and engage in content. It offers informative videos, publications, and other resources that give grant writers and project administrators a place to start in making sure that individuals with disabilities can fully participate in all they have to offer and in designing specific activities to address the needs of this underrepresented group. Learn more about how to get started in addressing disability-related issues in a grant proposal or funded project at www.uw.edu/ An AccessComputing participant works with a accesscomputing/getting-started-addressing- faculty member to improve their resume. disability-related-issues-grant-proposal-and- funded-project. benefits, including access to support staff and mentors and opportunities to engage in Introducing the AccessComputing electronic mentoring, work-based learning, Resume Database and other experiences that enhance college By Terrill Thompson, AccessComputing Staff and career success in computing fields. Project staff help Team members locate paid In the October 2017 edition of internships and other work and research AccessComputing News, we announced the opportunities as they transition to and succeed launch of our Resume Database (www.uw.edu/ in college, graduate school, and employment. accesscomputing/resources/accesscomputing-news- To apply, complete an AccessComputing Team october-2017/accesscomputing-resume-database- application at www.uw.edu/accesscomputing/ launches). The AccessComputing Resume accesscomputing-team-application. Database was created to help employers connect with individuals with disabilities in In order for employers to access the Resume computing fields, such as computer science Database, they must be an AccessComputing and information technology. Students and Industry Partner. For additional information recent graduates who have disabilities can on becoming a Partner, please see our use the Resume Database to complete an Industry Partners web page at www.uw.edu/ online profile and upload their resume. accesscomputing/about/industry-partners. Then, employers can search the database to locate potential interns and employees with Puget Sound SIGCHI disabilities who match their specific needs. By Jacob O. Wobbrock, AccessComputing Co-PI To date, 82 applicants have logged into the On April 19, 2018, I spoke at the Puget Sound system to complete profiles and upload Special Interest Group on Computer-Human resumes, and 12 industry partners have created Interaction (SIGCHI). Entitled "Ability- accounts in order to search for possible Based Design: Making Technologies Match candidates. Profiles have been viewed 497 All People’s Abilities and Context," my talk times and 19 resumes have been downloaded. was sponsored by TEK Systems and co-hosted by Puget Sound SIGCHI and the University In order for students to use the Resume of Washington (UW) Information School. Database, they must first join the Turn-out was the highest it had been in recent AccessComputing Team, a community of high memory with about 150 people in attendance. school and college students with disabilities In fact, pizzas had to be rush-ordered when who are interested in computing fields. It's the usual staple of sandwiches ran out! free to join, and Team membership has many 2 I described ability-based design, which Because ability-based design also focuses on is an approach that designs for all people the contexts in which people use technology, and all abilities by focusing on what people we are also pursuing research on how people can do and by making computing systems are using mobile technology. For example, accommodate their users, rather than the WalkType is a project that makes smartphone other way around. For example, if a touch keyboards more accurate by modeling the gait screen could be calibrated to accept more of the user, specifically which foot is stepping flexible forms of touch, it wouldn't force forward, and corrects for subtle shifts in finger a user who can't operate their fingers to position that can result in missed keys. Other procure a hand-mounted pointing stick or projects can detect the grip with which a user other technology. On this subject, I shared is holding a smartphone, when the user looks the project SmartTouch, which makes touch away and returns his gaze to the screen, and screens capable of modeling and interpreting even the blood alcohol level of the user— different forms of touch, even if it is not with all using commodity smartphone sensors. a single finger capable of landing and lifting With the ability to sense these things comes from one spot with no interference from other the ability to accommodate them in various parts of the hand. ways—for example, making interfaces operable with one hand, using on-screen highlights to Along with the motivation for, and principles help direct a user’s attention, or preventing a of, ability-based design, I described multiple user’s car from starting when he is inebriated. other research projects my students and I have pursued, including a system for writing by All living people have abilities. And making letter-like gestures with a trackball, an accessibility is a concept for everyone. automatic user interface generator informed Ability-based design emphasizes both points, by the mouse-pointing abilities of users, how striving to recognize all that people can do in to improve the accuracy of a mouse cursor, the design of computing systems that better a voice-controlled painting program, finger- accommodate their users. driven screen-reading for making smartphones accessible to blind people, and smartphone My Trip to WWW'18 in Lyon, France text entry based on a Perkins Brailler. By Ivan Brugere, AccessComputing Team Member I am a graduating Ph.D. student in computer science, specializing in machine learning on social networks. I was very fortunate to receive the support of AccessComputing to attend The Web Conference (www2018. thewebconf.org) in Lyon, An ad for Jacob O. Wobbrock's talk on Making France. Attending this conference allowed me Technologies Match All People's Abilities and to build new connections and collaborations Context during a crucial time when I transition to a career in industry research. 3 The Web Conference is a unique and valuable systems, knowledge-bases, or biological experience for students of many different networks. These alternative representations backgrounds. In recent years, it has become a mitigate some complexity of networks to top venue for research in large-scale machine build better predictive models, but are still not learning. However, it has strong communities well-understood. in accessibility, security and privacy, and human-computer interaction. They also During my time in Lyon, I was largely focused co-host the Web For All Conference, which on my work for the conference, and meeting focuses on developing accessible features a few closer colleagues. When I travel, I tend and websites with respect to disability, to meet many different groups of colleagues, socioeconomics, and other barriers. Due to and take time with them to see the city. These this co-located event, The Web Conference have been very important experiences and itself also has better disability