Thanks Overtoun. Some of the common challenges relate to the expectations of parents, mentors, and educators who underestimate the talent and potential of students with disabilities. Lack of access to role models (individuals with disabilities in challenging STEM fields) is also an issue. The DO-IT Center has built robust mentoring programs over the last three decades to help address this issue. Additional challenges relate to inaccessible programs, facilities, and information technology. We have tried to address such challenges through Capacity Building Institutes and the development of resources to help others improve accessibility and implement Universal Design practices. The focus of lot of DO-IT's work came about by listening carefully to students with disabilities pursuing STEM education, such as those featured in the book Perspectives of STEM Students with Disabilities.

Great summary, Scott. One of the ways we address challenges is to build our next project on the current one, thus building our knowledge base and diversity of collaborators. We also seek partners who contribute their unique perspectives and expertise. We seek out collaborators working in different fields who may not have considered disability/accessibility issues; we gain their buy-in by starting with small steps that can make a course, program, service, project activities more accessible to people with disabilities.

Renee, it's great to hear from you! The Scholars program was originally funded by the National Science Foundation, and subsequently funded by the State of Washington and other generous funders. Currently, the program serves students who live in Washington State. We encourage each student to consider their unique interests and characteristics as they consider options for college, and we always hope for them to find the best fit possible. Having said that, we love it when they attend the University of Washington, as many of them do! That allows us to see them in-person more often, and allows them to stay connected with one another right in our own backyard.

As Richard notes, DO-IT works with students with disabilities from multiple programs.  Many DO-IT Scholars who have pursued computing education or careers have participated in AccessComputing. Others have served as mentors to AccessComputing Team.

DO-IT efforts have utilized a Student-Centered Community Building Model where an ongoing collection of projects provide activities and resources to stakeholders such as educators, service providers, community leaders, postsecondary administrators, families, funding agencies, and policymakers. Several projects have strong ties to employers. Many mentors were met and recruited through these communities and activities.

A large number of DO-IT participants serve as mentors for younger students as they move further into their own career. These "near-peer" mentors are among the most impactful. They engage in online mentoring activities and help mentor students during on-site programming. Some appear in videos as advocates and mentors, for example, the videos Scholar Profile:K and Our Technology for Equal Access.

Kelsey, The DO-IT Scholars enjoy visiting KUOW every year. They learn more about media, diversity and internship options for high school students. My favorite part is that the media they experience is created by their high school peers. Thank you for being a wonderful host. 

Kelsey, Thank you for your kind words. The Scholars have benefitted greatly from visits to your radio station to learn about audio recording, storytelling, and advocacy-based programming. It's nice to see you here at the Showcase!

Well, computing technology hasn't really changed that much since the program started in 1992. Just kidding of course! The smart phones we carry in our pockets today are much more powerful than the largest desktop computers of the 90's. In the earliest days, the program was nation-wide and home internet was almost non-existent. Having a personal computer in your home was also much less common than it is today. So back then, in many cases, DO-IT had to teach teenagers with disabilities how to use the Internet through their school or local library and how to best utilize and maintain a computer in their home.

The assistive technology (AT) tools have also seen incredible changes over the last 28 years. We have had to teach students to value "life-long learning" as it relates to AT, and to continually try new products as they become available. We have also seen an increasing need to advocate for educators and administrators to understand how AT users are impacted by their decisions around Information Technology (IT). Check out the DO-IT video IT Accessibility: What Campus Leaders Have to Say, where University presidents, chief information officers, and other IT leaders discuss the importance of and strategies for making IT accessible campus-wide.

This is over simplified, but, in the early days of the program, the focus was on getting assistive technology (AT) for students. Once they had access to AT, most IT resources were accessible to them because so many of them had pretty simple features and were text-based. As graphical systems and the World Wide Web emerged, increasing attention needed to be paid to the design of mainstream technology so that it is accessible to people with disabilities, including those that use AT.

Hi Marcia. Thanks for your comment. The Access Technology Center (ATC) at the University of Washington has a showcase room of assistive technology (AT) that faculty, students, and staff can explore and/or use on a regular basis. These AT products are also installed in computer labs and workstations at various locations around campus, so that individuals with disabilities can use UW computers widely. This strategy is more an example of Universal Design as compared to an accommodation. The ATC offers a brief video that invites people to visit.

As far as accommodations, students typically register with the disability resources office, or in some cases work directly with faculty, to identify solutions to learning barriers. Some solutions require the use of AT, while others might be low-tech or no tech. I'd suggest watching the DO-IT video Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology for an overview of computer access challenges. The video highlights some of the advantages access to computers, adaptive technology, software, and the Internet provide to people with specific disabilities. For more information about technology access issues in the workplace view the video Access to Technology in the Workplace: In Our Own Words. 

If you find these resources helpful, there are more at DO-IT's Access to Computers page.

Sure! New students interact with staff each Spring. During that time, they receive laptops and assistive technology that they can use during DO-IT and school activities. Online and in-person mentoring continues through the summer and during the summer camp. The rest of the year, DO-IT staff and mentors host in-person networking events and online competitions.

For example, often in September, STEM students are encouraged to enter an essay contest called "What I did over the summer to further my pursuit of STEM."

DO-IT also tries to engage Scholars in panel presentations and exhibits at events throughout the year.

That is such a great story, Jeffrey! Thanks for sharing. Please join our growing group of practitioners from informal STEM learning (ISL) programs through DO-IT's NSF-funded AccessISL project, which supports efforts to develop a capacity building model for making informal STEM learning opportunities more welcoming and accessible to everyone, especially individuals with disabilities. We host an AccessISL Community of Practice, where we share ideas and assist in the creation and dissemination of resources to encourage others to help a broader range of students and patrons learn about universal design and accessibility in informal science settings. ISL practitioners and stakeholders are invited to our next project meeting on May 18, 2020 at 11:30am Pacific Time. Interested stakeholders can send me an message at <swb3@uw.edu>. There is no cost to participate in this NSF-funded effort.

Thanks for your encouragement. We are the lucky ones that see success stories every day when students with disabilities become prepared themselves and gain access to technology, learning opportunities, and mentoring.

Leanne, We have advocated for secondary and postsecondary schools to broaden their thinking about assessment and demonstration of learning, and taught DO-IT participants to do the same. This is such an important topic. Thank you for your work in this area!

Hi Michael. Thanks for your comments.

Regarding your first question, the DO-IT program has been replicated (with modifications) in Japan and Malaysia. DO-IT has created two free online books, for people interested in replicating DO-IT activities: Creating a Transition Program for Teens: How DO-IT Does It, and How You Can Do It Too and Creating an E-Mentoring Community: How DO-IT Does It, and How You Can Do It Too.

As other projects consider access issues, I would encourage them to check out DO-IT's Center for Universal Design in Education, which develops and collects resources to help educators apply universal design in order to make all aspects of the educational experience welcoming to, usable by, and inclusive of everyone, including people with disabilities. Also of potential interest is DO-IT's model that explores Critical Junctures for STEM Students with Disabilities. Inputs in the model address issues that encourage people to learn science (attraction), choose to keep learning mathematics and science (retention), graduate (persistence), and secure STEM careers.

Thanks, John. NSF support for many of the DO-IT projects has helped change many lives and bring more of these traditionally underrepresented students into STEM fields. It's fun and rewarding to watch the DO-IT students move through high school and postsecondary education, and then on to challenging careers.