CPSCI 105: Explorations in Computer Science

Dr. Brian Rosmaita
Department of Computer Science
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Service Learning Prospectus

Abstract

New York Statewide Technology Policy P04-002, “Accessibility of State Agency Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications” (June 21, 2004) requires that web content provided by state agencies be accessible to persons with disabilities. While this requirement may not currently affect your organization, providing web content accessible to visually impaired computer users is nonetheless a good thing to do.

In this project, a small group of students will conduct an accessibility and general usability audit of your website, producing a detailed report for you on their findings. Additionally, the students will construct a “shadow” version of part of your website on our server, preserving as much of the functionality of your website as possible, but implementing it in a manner consistent with New York State Mandatory Technology Standard S04-001 and the most recent version of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Student work will be part of the Spring 2007 offering of the course CPSCI 105: Explorations in Computer Science (section 01).

Details

Your commitment

You agree to

• provide permission for the students to copy your webpages and work with their content
• meet with your student group for an audit presentation on the morning of May 8
• fill out a form on the helpfulness of the student presentation
• fill out a form on the usefulness of the student audit report and shadow website
• give us permission to keep the shadow website as part of a library of accessible design techniques (Note: the shadow website will be moved to a protected area of our server accessible only within Hamilton College; it will be invisible to web searches for your content)

Our commitment

We agree that

• your audit will be discussed in class but will not otherwise be disseminated without your permission
• the shadow website will be constructed on our server; your website will not be touched
• we agree to store the shadow website on our server until June 30, 2007

Limitations

Keep in mind that

• this is an introductory-level course: the quality of the audit and shadow website will depend upon the aptitude of the student and the complexity of your current website
• we provide no warranty, express or implied, of the accuracy of the audit or of the accessibility of the “shadow” website
• you retain all copyright in any content; any design techniques developed by a student for this project, however, will rest in the public domain
• we do not provide any support for the website after the course has terminated on May 15, 2007

If you have any questions about this project (or don't currently have a website, but would like one) please contact Brian Rosmaita at Hamilton College.

[ Return to the CPSCI 105-01 homepage ]