March 2, 20060
K.3.2 [Computers and Education]: Computer and Information Science Education—computer science education, curriculum; K.4.2 [Computers and Society]: Social Issues—assistive technologies for persons with disabilities
Human Factors, Legal Aspects
accessibility, disabled computer users, ethics, pedagogy
We consider the importance of accessibility with regard to computer science, advance reasons for its inclusion in the computer science curriculum, and discuss three distinct ways in which accessibility can be naturally integrated into current courses.
To situate the discussion, we define what we mean by accessibility. The easiest way to do this is indirectly, by marking a distinction between a disability and a handicap.1 A disability is a human condition which differs from the norm with regard to a particular human ability. It becomes a handicap when it interferes with normal human functioning. For example, consider an individual with low (20/500) vision. This visual disability is not a handicap since corrective techniques (such as eyeglasses) exist. These allow a low vision person to function in a wide range of contexts just as well as someone with normal (20/20) vision. In its most general form, then, accessibility is the practice of arranging things within some context so that a disability is not a handicap.
We see three ways in which accessibility interfaces with the computer science curriculum:
Our contention is that accessibility, in the three senses articulated above, can be integrated early into the current computer science curriculum. We discuss our experiences in this regard and consider the impact the inclusion of accessibility has on the content of typical computer science courses.
Hardware and software accessibility has been legally mandated by recent laws, e.g., section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, amended in 1998 and enacted in June of 2001. Beyond legal requirements, ensuring that systems are accessible to all users is a concern shared by all socially responsible developers. We have an opportunity as Computer Science educators and researchers to improve the communication abilities for various disabled communities, provide access to Computer Science education to more students, and provide compelling research opportunities to our students.
Some examples to consider:
Accessibility is foremost about real people living in a real world. Technology often plays a role in accessibility, but it is secondary to understanding the needs and wants of a particular user population. This stands in sharp contrast to how computer science is typically taught, where emphasis is invariably placed on the underlying technologies, programming languages, and computational models while the notion of a user is often relegated to the background for later exploration in advanced courses (e.g., human-computer interaction). Including accessibility issues in a computer science curriculum forces the notions of users and user needs back into the foreground and at the same time provides numerous opportunities to engage students in critical thinking.
One such opportunity involves the legal and ethical aspects of accessibility. The ACM Code of Ethics specifies that all individuals, regardless of ability, should have equal opportunity to use and benefit from computer technology. Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (USA) and the Disability Discrimination Act (UK) include provisions mandating accessible access to certain forms of information and technology. Students can discuss how these rules impact their obligations to society as computer specialists. Does every piece of code or web page need to be accessible? Is it possible to achieve universal accessibility? Is it okay to limit your user population? Answering these questions requires students to make and defend critical decisions.
Another opportunity is the intellectual challenge involved in making technology accessible. A shift in focus is needed in that the students can no longer just program for themselves. Attention to a user's wants and needs is paramount. Addressing these needs can also be problematic. Individuals with the same disability can display a wide variance in needs, some of which might be contradictory. Priorities and tradeoffs are inevitable; how to deal with them is an open question for students to consider.
In summary, there are often no easy answers in accessible technology. Critical decisions are needed on both ethical and practical levels. Discussing accessibility provides a rare opportunity to challenge our students to think critically about a socially-relevant topic.
With an increasing number of students with disabilities entering higher education, it is important to understand particular aspects of a disability that will affect classroom situations. Knowing characteristics of common disabilities enables the professor to offer techniques that will maximize the student's educational experience and also increase the educational benefit to all students in the classroom. Unfortunately, very few computer science instructors receive training aimed at educating students with disabilities. Through forums such as this SIGCSE panel, we are able to give people the pedagogical tools needed to successfully integrate students with disabilities into the higher education classroom.
With the assumption that the students with disabilities have already been identified to the professor using a campus specific process, we can discuss particular accommodations that may be made based on their disability. Because Asperger's Syndrome is one of the more common disabilities seen in computer science, it would be beneficial if more CS professors had knowledge of classroom management issues for teaching students with Asperger's Syndrome. Classroom management is an important issue not only to the students with Asperger's Syndrome, but for other students in the classroom as students with Asperger's Syndrome can be disruptive. Therefore, it is in everyone's interest that the professor learns how to discourage problem behavior and encourage cooperation in the classroom.
One reason to stress accessibility in CS courses is to enable students to implement accessible software. But attention to accessibility has effects that extend beyond the disabled user community. Presenting students with a non-standard user model for web browsing (e.g., a visually impaired computer user) makes it easier for students to separate content from presentation, and subsequently code up websites in a much more maintainable way. Further, this content/presentation distinction can assist students in separating essential from accidental characteristics in GUI design, which can be used as a basis for a more thorough understanding of objects in OOP or as a foundation for understanding ontologies. Similarly, “bulletproofing” GUIs for nonstandard users teaches students the same skills required for anticipating pathological conditions in programs (e.g., the buffer overflow problems so popular nowadays). Finally, as technology develops, the many ways to access data blur the distinction between a “normal” computer user and a disabled user (e.g., someone surfing the web while driving a car is a visually impaired computer user). So in addition to being socially responsible, a stress on accessibility can enhance the learning of current CS students.
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Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
SIGCSE’06 March 1–5, 2006, Houston, Texas, USA.
ACM 1-59593-259-3/06/0003.