On may 15-16, the DIAGRAM center, a benetech global literacy initiative, and the partnership on employment & accessible technology ( PEAT) co-hosted a hackathon at the lighthouse for the blind and visually impaired in san francisco.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom sponsored by microsoft, the two-day event took place during the 16 th international web4all conference that attracted a diverse group from academia, industry, government, and nonprofits that explored the potential of new technologies to personalize the web and provide an accessible user experience that is inclusive to all.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

“this hackathon is a prime example of benetech’s approach of bridging silicon valley and the social sector to address real-world challenges,” said dr.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom lisa wadors verne, senior program manager, benetech. “the DIAGRAM center is committed to leveraging emerging technologies and community engagement to support different learning needs.” charles lapierre, technical lead, benetech; mary bellard, sr.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom accessibility architect, microsoft; and bryan bashin, CEO, lighthouse, participate in the hackathon. Accessible software solutions start with accessible developer tools

cognitive learning theory in the classroom

The goal of the hackathon was to improve the accessibility of web design tools to enhance the user experience for individuals with learning differences.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom an added bonus is that the results of this work will expand the educational and employment opportunities for everyone, not just people with disabilities.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom participants included front- and back-end developers, UI/UX experts, technical accessibility experts, and AT specialists from benetech, PEAT, microsoft, ETS, intuit, W.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom W. Norton, bloomberg, jupyterlab, google, UC berkeley, prime access consulting, and the university of colorado, boulder.

“the majority of companies we talk with actively want to build accessibility into their workplace tools.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it’s increasingly becoming an imperative, not an afterthought,” reported PEAT co-director josh christianson. “one of the most common challenges that we hear about from both employers and developers is the difficulty of finding development frameworks with ready-made accessibility features.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it’s deeply frustrating because it can be time- and cost- prohibitive for individuals to build solutions from scratch. This event helped to bridge that gap by bringing developers, individuals with disabilities, and accessibility advocates together to work on tangible solutions face-to-face.” hackers’ diversity creates inclusive designs

cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• jupyterlab – an interactive development environment that enables users to create and share documents that combine live code with narrative text, mathematical equations, visualizations, interactive controls, and other rich output. Four teams worked on adding various features to jupyter notebooks that allow screen readers to recognize and verbalize menus, tabs, buttons, modal dialogs, and fields.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• accessible code repository – the DIAGRAM center is assembling a repository of open source code for common interactions such as synchronized text-to-speech highlighting, carousels, page settings, date pickers, and drag and drop.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the team worked on improving the layout and functionality of the repository and plans to add more best-in-class code that can be used to make applications more accessible.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• accessible extended image descriptions – they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when you can’t see that picture or understand it due to a visual or cognitive disability, it’s as if the image is not there. Authors and publishers need a way to add simple image descriptions as well as more detailed descriptions that appear in an unobtrusive yet easily accessible way. The team worked on an interface with accessible rich internet applications (ARIA) web standards that allow a user to create extended descriptions that can be toggled on/off and repositioned.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• accessibility conformance testing – the team proposed new rules for testing the accessibility of links, link text, headings, widgets, and other elements of HTML to ensure adherence to ARIA standards that allow screen readers to be able to verbalize and interact with web pages.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom automating this function makes it easier for web developers to make sites accessible from the very beginning.