The University of Washington (UW) seeks an extension for the Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing). AccessComputing aims to increase the number of students with disabilities who successfully complete post secondary degrees in computing and enter the computing workforce. It is lead by a collaboration between the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center at UW and it includes Gallaudet University, the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and Landmark College as partners. The AccessComputing alliance engages individuals with disabilities as well as those who support, serve, guide, educate, and employ them. Specifically, this extension will (1) increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions, precollege educators, veterans associations, other projects that broaden participation in computing, and industry to fully include individuals with disabilities in computing fields; (2) create synergistic and lasting relationships among stakeholders to foster systemic changes toward inclusiveness in computing education and careers; (3) implement evidence-based practices (e.g., mentoring, internships) to increase the number of individuals with disabilities moving through critical junctures to computing careers; and (4) expand an online resource center to share research and promising practices worldwide. Applying methods grounded in multidisciplinary knowledge management, collaboration, and social network theory and practice, the AccessComputing Extension will formalize earlier and new relationships into a multi-tier organizational structure of partners, collaborators, and affiliates. Outcomes for individuals with disabilities will be documented by tracking the progress of student participants as well as institutional enrollment and graduation data; results will be compared to local, regional, and national data with respect to the academic and career success of people with disabilities.
The comprehensive activities of the AccessComputing Extension at the University of Washington (UW, grant # CNS-0837508) applied evidence-based practices to broaden participation in computing academic programs and careers to fully include individuals with disabilities. Activities for students with disabilities aligned with the BPC Core Indicator: Individual Participation. Project activities sponsored by the UW, partners, and collaborators encouraged students with disabilities to learn about computer science and information technology (attraction), choose to keep learning (retention), graduate (persistence), and pursue computing careers (attachment) steps encouraged by the NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering. The AccessComputing Extension directly served more than 900 individuals with disabilities through evidence-based interventions that included (1) college transition and bridge academies and workshops and (2) comprehensive support for AccessComputing Team members. Specifically, over 680 students with disabilities representing 22 states and Washington D.C. participated in college transition and bridge academies and workshops. Many of the college transition and bridge academies and workshops were conducted through AccessComputing minigrants or subcontracts. For example, under one subcontract the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of Gallaudet University hosted a one-week computing camp for high school students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The camp was designed to increase interest in and preparation for computing careers. Instruction and field trips helped enable and motivate students to pursue coursework, degrees, and careers in computer fields. Funded by another subcontract, the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf hosted the DRobotz Summer Camp where students who are deaf or hard of hearing built robotic systems in a college setting. In field trips and presentations participants gained an understanding of a wide variety of careers in computer science and the accessibility of those careers to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. In 2009 the National Federation of the Blind partnered with the University of Washington for the Computer Science Track at the NFB Youth Slam. Funded through a minigrant an IM Chatbots Workshop was held in which fifteen high school students who were blind were engaged in programming using the chatbots and learned about computer science. During the project period, 228 AccessComputing Team members participated in multiple interventions, including peer and mentor support within an e-mentoring community; industry and research internships; college and career transition events; tutoring; conference attendance; and advice from project staff regarding acquisition of assistive technology as well as consideration of and preparation for computing studies and careers. To address the BPC Core Indicators: Organizational Capacity Development and Alliance Impact the AccessComputing Extension worked to create synergistic and lasting relationships among stakeholders to foster systemic changes toward inclusiveness in computing education and careers; to implement evidence-based practices to increase the number of individuals with disabilities progressing through critical junctures to computing careers; and to expand an online resource to share research and promising practices worldwide. Activities included: Partner Engagement. AccessComputing Extension staff engaged 13 project partner and 15 collaborator representatives in bimonthly telephone conferences and electronic communications, with a focus on recruiting students from feeder institutions (e.g., community colleges), increasing the successful participation and graduation of students with disabilities in computing fields at their institutions, and supporting transitions to graduate programs and careers in computing. Communities of Practice (CoP). In CoPs practitioners with common interests help each other improve practices (e.g., to make computing courses more accessible to students with disabilities). 356 individuals participated in six AccessComputing Extension CoPs. Capacity-Building Institutes (CBIs). CBIs brought together individuals from a variety of stakeholder groups to explore problems and solutions regarding the success of individuals with disabilities in computing and IT college programs and careers. Several CBIs were funded through AccessComputing minigrants or subcontracts; for example, one subcontract funded the Workshop for Emerging Deaf and Hard of Hearing Scientists at Gallaudet University. This event brought together STEM students and professionals to discuss how to encourage deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to pursue degrees and careers in STEM fields. A white paper was written which highlighted the outcomes of the workshop and a facebook group was formed called "Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Scientists, Engineers, and Mathematicians." Other Training. Over 3,900 precollege and postsecondary educators and other professionals participated in additional trainings which occurred at education conferences and at partner and collaborator locations, often funded by AccessComputing minigrants. Project Product Dissemination. AccessComputing reached more than 6,300 individuals through presentations and dissemination of project publications. Project products included videos, proceedings of CBIs, and brochures designed to help students with disabilities pursue computing fields and to help computing educators and employers, professional organizations, and other stakeholders develop more inclusive programs and share effective practices. The AccessComputing Extension benefited society by making computing opportunities available to more citizens and by enhancing computing fields with the talents and perspectives of people with disabilities. Project products are available on the project website at www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/.
