Accessible Computing Through Experiential Learning Labs

Outline

Poster Outline:
-Title: Accessible Learning Labs: Teaching Inclusive Software Design through Experiential Activities
-Background: Many software applications fail to meet accessibility standards, and students often lack awareness and skills in creating accessible software.
-Objectives: To provide educators and learners with hands-on labs that teach accessible software design techniques and the importance of accessibility.
-Approach: A series of experiential labs simulate real-world accessibility challenges, allowing learners to experience and solve accessibility issues.
-Key Findings: These labs improve understanding of accessibility, encourage inclusive design thinking, and are adaptable for learners from beginners to professionals.
-Recommendations: Using these labs can enhance computing education by fostering empathy, accessibility skills, and inclusive practices across diverse learning environments.
-Next Steps: Materials are freely available online; educators are encouraged to adopt and adapt the labs to fit their contexts.
-References & Acknowledgments
-Contact Information

Presentation Outline:
-Greeting and Introduction (1-2 minutes): Welcome attendees, introduce ourselves and briefly explain the importance of accessibility in software design.
-Elevator Pitch (2-3 minutes): Summarize how the Accessible Learning Labs provide hands-on learning experiences to bridge the gap in accessibility education.
-Guided Walkthrough (5-10 minutes): Walk attendees through key poster sections, emphasizing the lab activities, outcomes, and real-world impact.
-Interactive Demonstration (5-10 minutes): Show live demos of the labs, highlighting how users identify and fix accessibility issues.
-Q&A and Discussion (ongoing): Engage attendees by inviting their experiences, questions, and ideas for implementation in their own settings.
-Resource Sharing: Offer printed handouts or digital links to the labs and related materials.

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:
-Understand key accessibility challenges in software design.
-Recognize practical strategies for creating accessible digital content.
-Explore how hands-on Accessible Learning Labs support inclusive learning and teaching.

Supporting research

1. Krutz, D. E., Shi, W., Khan, S., El-Glaly, Y. N., & Malachowsky, S. A. (2020). Experiential accessibility learning labs for computing education. In Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 1260–1266). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3328778.3367001

2. El-Glaly, Y. N., Shi, W., Malachowsky, S. A., Yu, Q., & Krutz, D. E. (2020). Presenting and evaluating the impact of experiential learning in computing accessibility education. In Proceedings of the 42nd International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training (pp. 97–106). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3377814.3381710

3. Khan, S., Moses, H., Malachowsky, S. A., & Krutz, D. E. (2021). ALL: Accessibility learning labs for computing accessibility education. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 609–610). ACM. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10287593

4. Lopez, C., Messerle, K., Malachowsky, S. A., Cotler, J., & Krutz, D. E. (2024). Using the Accessible Learning Labs for accessibility and machine learning education. In Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10562595

5. Moses, H., Trapatsos, E., Rahman, F., Malachowsky, S., & Krutz, D. (2025, February 27). Presenting computing accessibility education using experiential labs [Poster session]. SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2025, Exhibit Hall C, Toronto, Canada. https://sigcse2025.sigcse.org/details/sigcse-ts-2025-posters/28/Presenting-Computing-Accessibility-Education-Using-Experiential-Labs

6. Moses, H., Wedner, J., Malachowsky, S. A., & Krutz, D. E. (2022). The accessible learning labs: Supporting accessibility education. In IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10359013

7. https://all.rit.edu