Pre-College Program: Accessibility in the World and on the Web
Barnard College, Summer 2021
This is a summer course that introduces students to Access Technology (AT) and web accessibility. This class is based on the belief that everyone has the capability to design effective technology. Access technology, technology that makes accessible what otherwise isn’t, has the potential to increase autonomy and improve millions of people’s ability to live independently. This potential is currently under-realized because the expertise needed to create the right AT is in short supply and the custom nature of AT makes it difficult to deliver inexpensively. Taught at Barnard College.
This course teaches how AT is built to work within the tough technical and human constraints in which it must operate. As early adopters, people with disabilities have inspired a host of future user interface technologies, e.g., conversational assistants, text-to-speech, speech recognition, optical character recognition, predictive typing, tactile displays, etc. People with disabilities continue to be the first users of interface next-generation technologies that are gradually adopted widely. This course does not only teaches you the deep inner workings of today’s user interface technology but also serves as a guide for building the user interfaces of the future. Topics include: web accessibility, screen readers, alternative input, technology for language disorders, and ethics.
In this class, you’ll be exposed to a wide range of interactive accessible technology, learn how it is built, and practice building accessible web pages using HTML and CSS. This is directly beneficial if you want to have an impact in this important area, and broadly beneficial to anyone who wants to build interactive systems. No prior experience with HTML, CSS, or JavaScript is necessary, though it is beneficial.