Accessibility in Computer Science for Persons with Visual Impairments: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract:  Computer Science and IT broadly have gained prominence in K12 education and broader society as a path to a valued career.  Many universities have seen significant enrollment growth in the past few years, at least in part due to significant efforts in the Computer Science Education community at the pre-college level.  As Computer Science is seen by many as a path for diverse student populations, gaps persist for students with disabilities.  The reasons are many, with issues in curriculum and tool support being acute for persons with visual impairments.  This talk will discuss current issues and efforts to bridge gaps in tools, both in terms of text-based and block-based programming, as well as in the support of software developers who are both sighted and visually impaired.  In addition to tools to support the education of novice programs who are visually impaired, the presentation will also include data-driven explorations and interventions to better understand and impact accessibility knowledge gaps in educating software developers, which further impact the accessibility of systems delivered by industry.

Bio:  Stephanie Ludi is a professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of North Texas.  She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Arizona State University. Her research interest in accessibility involves refactoring software to maximize access by visually impaired students and programmers, as well as applying appropriate analysis techniques to explore accessibility issues that impact users and software developers.  In addition to her work in accessibility, Stephanie conducts research in Computer Science education.  Stephanie has led efforts to increase inclusion in K12 Computer Science and robotics curricula for students with visual impairments via curriculum redesign and tool support. Other projects include refactoring block-based programming tools for accessibility and designing user interface features to support code navigation and code understanding for blind programmers. Her work has been funded primarily by NSF. Outside of research, Dr. Ludi's internal roles have included Graduate Program Director, Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Academic Affairs Fellow, and Interim Department Chair at UNT.  Outside of her home institution, Stephanie is currently the Co-Editor-in-Chief for ACM's Transactions on Accessible Computing and Co-Chair for ACM's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, as well as having several supporting roles for conferences within her research areas.

A pizza lunch for attendees will be available at 11:45 a.m. in Computer Science Building, Room 150/151.