Workshop Dates
In-Person Workshop: July 16–17, 2026
Virtual Workshop: July 22–23, 2026
This workshop will be offered in both virtual and in-person formats. The virtual workshop ensures that faculty who are unable to travel can still participate fully.
Application
We are accepting applications from faculty interested in incorporating accessibility into their computing courses. Each workshop will include approximately 20 faculty participants.
Participant Support
All participants will receive a $500 honorarium for their contribution across the full program, which includes the two-day workshop and six follow-up meetings. In-person attendees will also be eligible for up to $1,500 in travel support.
Workshop Overview
We are conducting two 2-day training workshops for computing faculty who are interested in learning how to incorporate accessibility into their courses. The workshops are designed to help faculty embed accessibility concepts naturally into computing education so that they can prepare students and engineers who are accessibility-aware and competent.
The workshops will bring faculty together to learn from people with disabilities, industry experts, and project researchers. Participants will engage with industry-informed panels, hands-on instructional activities, and course development exercises using materials from our prior work and resources developed by Teach Access.
Pre-Workshop Preparation
Prior to each training workshop, participants will be asked to:
- Select a course and lesson they would like to workshop.
- Bring relevant instructional materials, including assignments.
- Indicate their area of expertise and any prior experience with accessibility.
- Review background reading on disability and accessibility that we will provide in advance.
Day 1: What to Teach
Day 1 focuses on building a foundational knowledge base and connecting faculty with both disability perspectives and industry expectations.
Tentative Schedule
| 8:30 – 9:15 | Introductions & Icebreaker |
| 9:15 – 10:15 | Panel of People with Disabilities: Experiences, barriers, accessibility needs, and best/worst technology accessibility |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Break |
| 10:30 – 11:45 | Assistive Technology Lab |
| 11:45 – 12:30 | Small Group Brainstorm: Integrating accessibility into courses |
| 12:30 – 2:00 | Lunch |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | Industry Accessibility Experts Panel: Best/worst practices and use of AI in accessibility |
| 3:00 – 3:30 | Assistive Technology Lab (continued) |
| 3:30 – 3:45 | Break |
| 3:45 – 5:00 | Demos: Best & Worst of Technical Accessibility, AI (hype vs reality), challenges and constraints |
| 5:00 – 5:30 | Accessibility Learning Objectives & Individualized Curricular Mapping |
Day 2: How to Teach
Day 2 focuses on helping faculty translate accessibility knowledge into practical teaching strategies and course integration.
Tentative Schedule
| 8:30 – 9:15 | Recap of Day 1 and Introduction to Day 2 |
| 9:15 – 10:15 | Strategies for Including Accessibility in Courses |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Break |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Showcase of Exemplar Accessibility Exercises and Assignments |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Small Group Brainstorm (Grouped by Course) |
| 12:30 – 2:00 | Lunch |
| 2:00 – 3:30 | Pedagogy Work Session |
| 3:30 – 3:45 | Break |
| 3:45 – 4:30 | Share Out & Large Group Feedback |
| 4:30 – 5:30 | Looking Forward: Planning, accountability, and next steps |
Follow-Up Meetings
Participation in this program extends beyond the two-day workshop. In the academic year following the workshop, we will conduct six follow-up meetings to support faculty as they integrate accessibility into their courses.
Meetings 1, 2, 4, and 5 will reinforce knowledge from the workshop — for example, hosting a tech professional to share how they apply accessibility on the job, or offering a tutorial on accessibility testing tools. These meetings also give participants a chance to share challenges they encounter and receive feedback as they review lesson plans, prepare assessment tools, and explore new approaches to teaching accessibility.
Meetings 3 and 6 will take place near the end of each academic term and focus on assessing lesson delivery, student learning, overall experience, and plans to continue teaching accessibility beyond the program.
Workshop Goals and Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Develop a stronger understanding of accessibility and disability in computing contexts.
- Learn practical strategies for integrating accessibility into their courses.
- Create or adapt instructional materials and assignments for future use.
- Align course content with real-world accessibility needs and industry expectations.
- Leave with concrete plans for implementation, assessment, and continued support.
Organizers
Catherine M. Baker is an associate professor at Creighton University. She has added accessibility into many of her courses and is currently research how to support other instructors to do the same. She served as a co-organizer for the Workshop on Including Accessibility in Computer Science Education at ASSETS 2022 and presented at the the SIGCSE pre-symposium session Integrating Accessibility and Disability into the Computing Curriculum in 2022. In addition, she is a partner of AccessComputing and participated in Microsoft’s Accessible Computer Science Education Fall Workshop in 2020.
Yasmine Elglaly is an assistant professor of computer science (CS) at Western Washington University (WWU). Her research focuses on spreading awareness about accessibility and disability through design and education. She investigates how accessibility can be taught in CS core courses and in machine learning courses. She organized two prior workshops on accessibility education. Elglaly serves as the director of the CS Distinguished Scholar program at WWU, the secretary of Teach Access executive committee, and the co-chair of SIGCSE’s universal design committee.
Kristen Shinohara is an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She researches how to support graduate students with disabilities and how to include accessibility in computing courses. She served on the Accessibility and Inclusive Design ACM/IEEE/AAAI curriculum subcommittee member for HCI, as co-organizer for the Workshop on Including Accessibility in Computer Science Education at ASSETS 2022 and the SIGCSE pre-symposium session Integrating Accessibility and Disability into the Computing Curriculum in 2022, and participated in Microsoft’s Accessible Computer Science Education Fall Workshop in 2020.
Kate Sonka is the Executive Director of Teach Access. Previously, she was the Assistant Director of Inclusion and Academic Technology at the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. She holds a M.Ed. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education from DePaul University and has more than 12 years of experience in higher education. She has worked to improve teaching and learning with technology through course design and support, experiential learning, and training and mentorship for faculty members and students.
Rolando Mendez is the Director of Education of Teach Access. Previously, he was the Interim Associate Vice President of Online Learning at Inter American University of Puerto Rico. He is a bilingual learning experience designer, manager, and facilitator with more than 14 years of experience in higher education. Throughout his career, he has worked on creating sustainable, scalable, inclusive, and user-centered initiatives to leverage knowledge and learning, especially in online education. He is an advocate for accessibility, equity, and inclusion in education.
Teach Access began as a volunteer grassroots initiative in 2016 and gained its 501C3 status in 2021. Teach Access aims to equip 1 million learners across the United States with skills to build toward an inclusive world by 2030. In collaboration with industry, academia, and nonprofit/advocacy partners, we provide free programs and resources for instructors and students to learn about digital accessibility. Kate Sonka is the Executive Director and Rolando Méndez is the Director of Education.