FW: Accessibility Training for Blockly Developers
Brianna Blaser
We are planning a workshop this summer for Blockly Developers to be held in Seattle this summer with an award from Google's Blockly Accessibility Fund.
Please consider applying and share with others who may be interested in attending.
Accessibility Training for Blockly Developers
What:
- A training workshop for Blockly developers; developers will learn about accessibility and strategies to make their products accessible.
When:
- June 24-27, 2025. Participants will travel to Seattle on June 23.
Where:
- University of Washington, Seattle
Cost:
- FREE. Travel, lodging and meals included for invited participants.
Application deadline: Apply online by April 15th, 2025. Participants will be notified about their acceptance by April 30.
More about:
Accessibility rules and laws in 2024 have changed dramatically from even just a few years ago. Notably, making any and all tools built on top of Blockly legally compliant with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the April 2024 rule from the U.S. Department of Justice, and state rules in Colorado and Maryland requires a deep and systematic understanding of accessible technology. Despite this, software developers almost never obtain formal training in accessible engineering and, even if they did, the academic literature is limited at best on how to adjust tools like Blockly, or its implementations, to make them accessible in practice.
This workshop is part of a long-term partnership between Andreas Stefik at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Brianna Blaser at the University of Washington. Our related project AccessCSforAll provides professional development opportunities and resources related to accessibility in K12 CS education.
Participation is application-based and competitive. Please complete the following application as thoroughly as possible.
For questions: accessc...@uw.edu
Brianna Blaser, Ph.D. (she/her)
Director and co-PI, AccessComputing | PI, AccessADVANCE
University of Washington, DO-IT
washington.edu/doit