Teach Access Faculty Grants Program Sparks a Lasting Partnership Between Educators
Teach Access
Teach Access addresses the digital accessibility skills gap by equipping learners to build toward an inclusive world.
The Teach Access program has been instrumental in promoting accessibility within higher education by awarding grants to faculty members. This incredible story revolves around the inspiring journey of two faculty members from different universities who received Teach Access grants in separate years and have been collaborating since 2020.
Devorah Kletenik , an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College, was granted funding in 2019. Recognizing that her students tended to quickly forget the coursework once the semester concluded, she seized this opportunity to revamp accessibility content in her Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) course and introduce an experiential lab. She was excited to inform a colleague, Rachel Adler, an Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, who also teaches HCI, about the Teach Access program. Subsequently, Rachel received her own grant in 2020.
Rachel and Devorah recognized the potential for collaboration between their respective HCI classes. They decided to explore how simulation games could enhance students' empathy for people with disabilities and understanding of accessibility. In Spring 2021, students from Rachel's HCI class at Northeastern Illinois University initiated the project by creating a game prototype centered around colorblindness, while Devorah's students at Brooklyn College handled the coding and implementation of the prototype. Within a single semester, they successfully designed and tested the game, creating versions that simulated color blindness, hearing impairments, and physical disabilities. At the end of the Spring semester, Rachel and Devorah incorporated the game into their courses (HCI, Game Design, and Electronic Commerce) allowing their students to experience some of the challenges of inaccessible software and see the benefits of accessible design.
However, this dynamic duo was not content to stop there. They resolved to continue working with their students to develop additional game versions and expand their research. In the spring of 2022, Devorah and Rachel conducted further testing using a randomized control group. Some students were assigned a video lecture, while others had direct access to the game. All students were provided with the same pre- and post-surveys. The results revealed a notable advantage for those who played the game over those who had watched the lecture video.
The collaboration between Devorah and Rachel is an ongoing endeavor, with their students working on creating versions of the game designed for individuals with dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD. If you're interested, you can check out their games and witness the impact of their efforts firsthand.
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“We really are very grateful to Teach Access for starting us off on this journey because it's been great to work on something so fun and so impactful at the same time," said Devorah Kletenik.
Funding for Faculty Grants comes from corporate sponsorship. To become a sponsor, contact Mindy Kolin, Director of Development & Industry Partnerships at [email protected]
Learn more about their research project in their published articles:
Edit: We sincerely apologize. We understand the game linked in the article isn’t usable with a screen reader. In discussion with the faculty, we would like to collaborate with them to design a screen reader-accessible version. If you’re aware of anyone who might be willing or interested in helping us address this please contact Mindy Kolin at [email protected]