Results from a Survey to Measure the Benefits of Accessibility and Universal Design Topics in Course Curricula (plus teaching resources for including accessibility/UD Topics in University Courses) AHEAD 2021

1. Results from a Survey to Measure the Benefits
of Accessibility and Universal Design Topics in
Course Curricula
(plus teaching resources for including accessibility/UD Topics in
University Courses)
AHEAD Austin 2021
Howard Kramer
AHEAD
University of Colorado-Boulder
hkramer@colorado.edu, hkramer@ahead.org
720-351-8668

2. Presentation posted at
slideshare
http://slideshare.net/hkramer99/
https://www.slideshare.net/hkramer99/ UD-in-Curriculum-
4AHEAD-2021-final.pptx
UD-in-Curriculum-4AHEAD-2021-final.pptx

3. Agenda
• Changing and non-changing landscape and attitude
towards accessibility and universal design
• Research that explains the dearth of teaching about
UD
• Results of survey on the benefits of teaching about
UD
• Example curricula & strategies for including UD
content in curriculum
• Resources for teaching about UD/accessibility
• More about grant project - UDUC
• Q & A

4. My Background & Projects
Howard Kramer
PI for Promoting the Integration of Universal Design
into University Curricula (UDUC), CU-Boulder
Teach Universal Design for Digital Media
Accessible Web Design
Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web &
Technology Conference

5. Terminology
Universal Design
vs. Inclusive Design
vs. Design for All
vs. Accessibility
vs. Usability
https://depts.washington.edu/uwitats/checklist/

6. Career Benefits
• In 2015 tech firms such as Yahoo,
Facebook, Microsoft, Dropbox and
LinkedIn announced that they will develop
standard language that lets applicants
“know that having accessibility knowledge
is preferred” to land a job.
Changing and non-changing landscape for
accessibility skills in tech and design

7. ■ WCAG: 299 jobs
■ ADA: 1000+
■ Accessibility: 1000+
■ C++: 1000+
■ IT Security: 1000+

8. Where’s the Gap?

9. http://teachaccess.org/resources/fact-sheet-why-teach-
accessibility/

10. Why the Gap?
• Post-secondary IT programs update their
curricula every 4 to 5 years
• Curriculum standards boards – late in
adding accessibility as a component
• Association of Computer Machinery’s (ACM) –
added accessibility only in 2017
• ABET – just recently added accessibility
• ACM/IEEE – Computing Curricula 2020 (new)
• Paradigms for Future Computing Curricula

11. Why the Gap?
• Shinohara, Kawas, Ko and Ladner (2017) –
surveyed 1800+ faculty in Information
Technology & Information Science fields
• Received responses from 318 institutions
• 175 (50%) had at least one faculty member
teaching accessibility
• No fewer than 2.5% of faculty overall teach
accessibility

12. Why the Gap?
• most critical barriers to teaching
accessibility
• clear and discipline-specific accessibility
learning objectives
• the lack of faculty knowledge about
accessibility
• difficulty recruiting persons with disabilities
• difficulty engaging students

13. UDUC Survey
Measuring the Value of Accessibility
and Universal Design Topics in Course
Curricula Survey

14. Survey Overview
• Target audience: Current students or recently
graduated students (up to 3 years) who have
taken tech, design, computer science or media
design courses
• Distribution: email invite sent to faculty at
colleges around the country to pass along to
programs and schools
• First round: beginning of the (2019) year
• Completed responses – first round: 88
• As of 5-19-20: 206 total

15. Survey Invite
https://www.uduc.org/survey-invite/

16. 4. Were there topics related to Universal Design and/or
accessibility for persons with disabilities addressed in a
college-level course you completed?

17. 5. Please tell us the reasons why you did not take
any classes that addressed Universal Design or
accessibility topics

18. 6. Would you have been interested in taking
courses with these topics if they were offered?

19. 8. Was the primary focus of the course Universal
Design and/or accessibility or were these topics a
component of a course with a broader scope?

20. 9. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating “no value” and 5
indicating “crucial,” please rate the usefulness of taking a
course with topics that included Universal Design and/or
accessibility.

21. 10. Were there any topics included in the material on Universal
Design or accessibility that you found to be particularly
valuable?

22. Specific Responses

23. Specific Responses Cont’d

24. Specific Responses Cont’d

25. 12. Since taking the class, have you found the material
on Universal Design or accessibility to be valuable for you
in specific ways?

26. 13. If so, please give examples. Things to consider could
include ideas or techniques you have used in later
coursework, value in getting a job, ideas or techniques you
have used in a job, and influence on your career plans.
(If you feel the material has not
been valuable, please leave these responses blank.)

27. Examples – work related

28. Examples – work related

29. Examples – work related

30. Examples – academic related

31. Examples – academic related

32. Employee Survey
• First Round – ~September 15, 2019
• 27 complete responses

33. 4. Were there topics related to Universal Design and/or
accessibility for persons with disabilities addressed in a
college-level course you completed?
Employee Survey

34. Survey Takeaways
• May be a significant number of students interested in
Universal Design and accessibility topics but unable to
take courses
• Courses with these topics are highly valued.
• Colleges and universities would likely find an enthusiastic
response if they offered more courses with these topics.
• Including courses with these topics has notable work,
career and academic benefits.
• For those teaching courses, the responses provide
guidance on what topics or class activities students find
the most valuable.

35. Resources to Introduce and Convey
Accessibility Issues
• WAI – Accessibility Perspectives
• https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/

36. Resources to Introduce and Convey
Accessibility Issues
• WAI – How people with disabilities use the web
• https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-
web/stories

37. Real examples of individuals using
Assistive Technology
• Tommy Edison – the Blind Film Critic
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0nvdiRdehw
• S—t people say to blind people
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uk8pwEHMBE

38. Accessibility on Your Phone
• iPhone
• Android

39. 7. When happy
with your
settings, either
tap Accessibility
in top left of the
screen or press
your device’s
Home to return
to the Home
screen.
iPhone

40. 5 Popular Accessibility Features
1. Magnification
2. Text to speech
3. Negative colors/Color
adjustment/Invert
4. TalkBack/Voice Assistant
5. Interaction Control
Android
Using talkback gestures:
http://www.apps4android.org/?p=4147

41. Books & Curriculum Material
• A Web for Everyone: Designing
Accessible User Experiences
• Norman, David A. The Design of
Everyday Things (2002).
• InterACT with Web Standards: A
holistic approach to web design,
Anderson, et. al.

42. A Web For Everyone
Personas
Excerpts
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/#excerpts

43. Aspects of Course that particularly
effective at promoting UD
• Demographic assignment
• Emphasis on multi-faceted benefits – mobile,
SEO, etc.
• AT User Interview
• Use of screen reader and other evaluation tools
• Opportunity for them to redesign a site of their
choice

44. No Book Version
■ WAI – How people with
disabilities use the web
https://www.w3.org/WAI/i
ntro/people-use-web/
■ Universal Design for
Digital Media (eBook)
http://www.uduc.org/res
ources.php

46. Teach Access - Initiatives
• Include accessibility in tech job requirements
• Conduct faculty training
• Provide guest speakers from tech companies for
the classroom
• Training tutorials on accessibility
• Supporting Materials Catalog for Teaching
Accessibility
Other Resources / Projects

47. Online Database of Supporting Materials Catalog
https://www.uduc.org/find-or-contribute-a-resource/

48. W3C WAI Resources
• Before and After Demonstration (BAD)
• Web Accessibility Tutorials
• Developing Presentations and Training
• Business Case for Accessibility
Other Resources / Projects

49. W3C WAI Resources
• Business Case for Digital Accessibility -
https://www.w3.org/WAI/business-
case/#groups
Other Resources / Projects

50. W3C WAI Resources
• WAI developed curricula
https://www.w3.org/WAI/curricula/introduction-to-
web-accessibility/
• https://www.w3.org/WAI/curricula/introduction-to-
web-accessibility/
Other Resources / Projects

51. Accessing Higher Ground Conference
Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education
• https://www.coursera.org/teach/inclusive-design/
Free Coursera MOOC
Accessible Media, Web & Technology
November 15 – 19, 2021
• Denver Sheraton- downtown Denver
• http://accessinghigherground.org
3-credit CU class – Accessible Web Design
https://ce.colorado.edu/courses/advanced-special-
topics-in-technology-arts-and-media-accessible-web-
design-atls-4519/