The University of Washington is a college. It has many Computer Science and Engineering classes. CSE is Computer Science and Engineering for short. CSE 331 is one of their classes. The CSE 331 content is not accessible to all students. Many CSE classes also have this problem.
I am a member of the CSE 331 teaching staff. I want to make CSE 331 accessible. I found what CSE 331 content was not accessible. I fixed some of the content. It is accessible now. I wrote a paper sharing what I fixed and why. Then, I listed what will still need to fix. I explained why this content was not accessible. I shared my writings with the CSE 331 staff. They will be able to finish my work next quarter. My paper will be a guide for them.
Learning is a right. All people should have equal access to learning. Making CSE 331 accessible will help more students succeed.
For my project, I focused on making the CSE 331 course content more accessible. This started with an accessibility analysis of the course website and materials, where I used tools like WebAIM’s WAVE checker, a screen reader, and a magnifier. I also took into account feedback from other course staff to identify accessibility issues. Through this analysis, I found several areas for improvement and worked on implementing changes to make the course materials easier for all students to use.
I made several improvements to the website to address the issues I identified. These included ensuring captions were added to Panopto recordings, removing unnecessary text underlines, and improving descriptive link text for better navigation. I also fixed broken same-page links, enhanced alt text for images, and corrected heading levels to create a logical structure for assistive technologies. Additionally, I emphasized the importance of releasing lecture and section slides before class. These fixes were essential for improving the experience of all students, including those who use assistive technologies.
Despite these improvements, there are still accessibility issues that need to be addressed on the website. Key areas include ensuring PowerPoint presentations, LaTeX documents (homeworks, sections, notes), and tables on the website are accessible. Other tasks include improving the accessibility of Canvas section solutions and starter code provided to students. While I couldn’t complete all these fixes within the scope of this project, I documented these tasks for future staff to address, explaining why they are critical for accessibility.
To support future course staff, I created a document that includes a Future Work Plan, Accessibility Guidelines, and a Progress Summary. The Future Work Plan outlines what still needs to be done and why, while the Accessibility Guidelines provide an overview of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and helpful tools like WebAIM’s WAVE checker. The Progress Summary details the changes I made during this project and the reasoning behind them, emphasizing the importance of avoiding past mistakes. Additionally, the document includes a resource list with articles and tools for continued accessibility efforts.
This document will be a valuable resource for future staff as they work to improve the accessibility of CSE 331. By outlining both completed work and areas for improvement, it provides clear guidance on how to continue making progress. The inclusion of accessibility tools and guidelines ensures that staff have the resources they need to evaluate and address accessibility issues effectively. It also emphasizes the importance of prioritizing accessibility in course development.
In conclusion, this project made significant progress in improving the accessibility of the CSE 331 course materials, including website fixes and the creation of a comprehensive plan for future improvements. While there is still work to be done, the changes I implemented and the resources I created will help ensure accessibility remains a priority in future iterations of the course. These efforts are an important step toward creating a more inclusive learning environment for all students.
The first way that this project complies with the 10 Principles of Disability Justice is by recognizing Intersectionality, which emphasizes that individuals experience disability alongside other intersecting aspects of identity, such as race, gender, class, and sexuality, which together shape unique challenges and experiences. It calls for an approach that recognizes these overlapping identities to ensure that solutions and advocacy efforts are inclusive and equitable for all disabled people.
My project respects Intersectionality in part by acknowledging the importance of creating a course website that serves a diverse audience with a range of disabilities.
However, it falls short in some aspects because the project will not be directly incorporating feedback from users who represent intersecting identities, as I will not be able to gather this input within my timeline. To better align with this principle, I will ensure that in the Future Work Plan and Accessibility Guidelines document, the importance of intersectionality and incorporating feedback from users who represent intersecting identities is made clear.
The second way that this project complies with the 10 Principles of Disability Justice is by recognizing Sustainability, which advocates for creating practices and systems that are supportive, long-lasting, and responsive to disabled individuals' needs without causing burnout or harm. It emphasizes pacing and planning for ongoing support, recognizing that genuine justice requires continuous, manageable effort rather than short-term or exhaustive solutions.
My project respects Sustainability by creating Future Work Plan and Accessibility Guidelines document, which will help sustain accessibility improvements beyond the scope of this quarter. By documenting a plan for continued development, I’m setting the stage for ongoing, incremental progress, allowing future staff to build on my work rather than expecting all changes to be immediate or final.
The third way that this project complies with the 10 Principles of Disability Justice is by recognizing the Commitment to Cross-Disability Solidarity, which encourages unity and mutual support amongst people with diverse disabilities, recognizing that each person's experiences and needs are unique. It fosters collaboration across different communities, ensuring that advocacy and solutions address the varied challenges within the broader community.
My project succeeds by aiming to address accessibility broadly, rather than tailoring features solely for one disability, such as vision impairment. For example, I’m working on improvements to scripts and HTML that can benefit users with visual, auditory, and cognitive impairments.
However, due to limited time, I may not fully address the needs of all disability types, which could result in certain disabilities being underrepresented in the improvements. I plan to address this issue by ensuring that anything I am unable to implement but discover in my audit, is recognized in the Future Work Plan and Accessibility Guidelines document that I will be passing on to the next CSE 331 staff.
Through this project, I learned that accessibility issues are far more common and extensive than I initially expected. While conducting my analysis of the CSE 331 course website and materials, I discovered many areas where accessibility was lacking, from broken links to insufficient alt text for images. These issues underscored how challenging it can be to create content that meets the needs of all users. I also realized that accessibility work requires consistent effort, as even small details—like descriptive link text or accessible slide formatting—can significantly impact a student’s experience.
One key takeaway from this project is that there is still a lot of work for the course staff to address in future iterations. The document I created provides clear next steps and introduces tools and guidelines as support resources. However, maintaining and improving accessibility will require an ongoing commitment from the staff, especially since the course structure and materials evolve each quarter. By establishing a solid foundation, this project ensures that accessibility improvements can grow alongside the course.
Another important insight is that this work doesn’t just benefit CSE 331. Many other courses taught by Professors Kevin Zatloukal and James Wilcox share similar website layouts and tools, including CSE 311, CSE 341, CSE 452, CSE 493X, and CSEP 552. This means that the improvements made here, along with the Future Work Plan and Accessibility Guidelines document, can directly influence accessibility efforts across multiple courses. By addressing shared structural issues, course staffs can create a ripple effect, enhancing the learning experience for even more students.
Looking ahead, this work can be extended in several ways. Future course staff can build on the improvements I made by addressing unresolved issues and expanding the use of accessibility tools like WebAIM and screen readers during content creation. Additionally, accessibility training for staff and instructors could ensure that new content is designed inclusively from the start. This project demonstrates that accessibility is not a one-time fix but an ongoing process that benefits from collaboration, reflection, and continuous learning. By treating accessibility as a priority, CSE 331 has the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the broader learning environment for all students.