Teaching Accessibility Across Disciplines:
Perspectives from ADA Title II
2nd Workshop on Teaching Accessibility Across Disciplines (TA2D)
2nd Workshop on Teaching Accessibility Across Disciplines (TA2D)
The workshop on "Teaching Accessibility Across Disciplines: Perspectives from ADA Title II," co-located with ASSETS 2025, brings together accessibility researchers and educators to explore topics, approaches, resources, and challenges involved in teaching accessibility across different disciplines. With the April 2026 Title II deadline approaching, this workshop is especially relevant. While accessibility education has been extensively explored in computer science, its integration into other disciplines is under-investigated.
The workshop has two main objectives:
Providing a forum for researchers and educators from different disciplines to exchange ideas about accessibility education.
Exploring the relationship between accessibility education and accessible teaching practices as influenced by Title II.
The tangible outcome is a report summarizing workshop discussions and inviting participant contributions. The ongoing dialogues regarding accessibility education in ASSETS, SIGCSE, and other disciplines will benefit from our community's input.
The workshop structure is designed for a five-hour virtual session on Zoom, featuring a keynote address, individual presentations, and a group activity leveraging online collaborative tools such as Miro or Jamboard. The schedule is adaptable to participant preferences and access needs.
Tentative Schedule (US Central Time):
9:00-9:20 Workshop introduction and agenda
9:20-10:20 Keynote address
10:20-10:30 Break
10:30-11:30 Individual presentations (7 min presentation including 2 min Q&A) + group discussions
11:30-11:40 Break
11:40-12:40 Individual presentations (7 min presentation including 2 min Q&A) + group discussions
12:40-12:50 Break
12:50-13:50 Group activity
13:50-14:00 Wrap up
Accessibility researchers and education practitioners are invited to share their research and teaching experience of accessibility education in different disciplines. We are open to proposals in any discipline. The proposals must describe a method or strategy used by the authors to teach accessibility in a specific discipline. This description should include insights or findings gained from applying the approach, and any connections to Title II. Proposals should be 2-4 pages in a two-column ACM format excluding references. Submissions do not need to be anonymous.
Submissions should be made using the ACM template; Overleaf provides an appropriate template that may be used. All proposals must be submitted in PDF format to ohw2@illinois.edu with [ASSETS] in the subject line. Please refer to the General Writing Guidelines for Technology and People with Disabilities when preparing your proposal submissions.
Proposals will be peer-reviewed by two organizers based on their relevance to the workshop. At least one author of each accepted proposal must attend the workshop, and all participants must register for the workshop.
The accepted proposal will be published on the workshop website.
Submissions are due Friday, August 15th, 11:59pm (AOE). Notification will be sent out by Friday, August 22nd. The virtual workshop will take place on Wednesday, October 22nd from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm (Central Time) via Zoom.
Olivia H. Wang is an Informatics Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Olivia's research focuses on human-computer interaction and accessibility, exploring how sound and music can convey information in multimodal ways. Their projects explore multimodality in accessible technologies and video games, with a focus on technologies for blind/low-vision, deaf/hard-of-hearing, and neurodiverse users. Olivia is also broadly interested in interaction, physical computing, haptics, AR/VR, and embedded systems.
Chunyu Liu is a Ph.D. student in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests are broadly in tech accessibility, human-AI interaction, social computing, and computing education. Her work explores the intersection of technology and inclusive design, with a particular focus on making computing more accessible across diverse populations. She has conducted studies on teaching software accessibility to K-12 students, contributing to understandings of how accessibility concepts can be effectively integrated into early computing education.
Rachel F. Adler is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on accessibility, human-computer interaction, and computing education. She designs applications for and with people with disabilities. She also conducts research on accessibility education and integrating accessibility into computing classrooms at both university and K-12 levels. She has taught accessibility-related topics to students in computer science and information sciences, as well as to K-12 teachers and students.
Caterina Almendral is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Education Program at LaGuardia Community College. Her research focuses on accessibility in technology for first year pre-service teachers. Her background is in educational psychology and her interests and teaching include incorporating universal design and accessibility in education. She has designed curriculum and developed learning experiences that enable pre-service teachers to consider and address barriers to high quality education.
Devorah Kletenik is an Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science in Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Her research interests include accessibility and computing education and especially the intersection between the two -- education about accessibility within computing programs. She is particularly interested in finding engaging strategies to make accessibility a meaningful part of computing programs, in K-12 education and throughout the undergraduate curriculum.
Deana McDonagh is a Professor of Industrial Design and the founder of the (dis)Ability Design Studio at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. She is a Health Innovation Professor at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. As an Empathic Design Research Strategist, she is dedicated to enhancing quality of life through intuitive and meaningful products, promoting emotional sustainability. Her work focuses on the emotional connections between users and products, using empathy to bridge the gap between designers and users' authentic needs, ensuring that both functional and emotional requirements are met.
Bruno Oro is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at Iowa State University. His research centers on the intersection of design, accessibility, and user experience, with a particular emphasis on enhancing the usability of assistive technologies for children and other vulnerable populations. His scholarly work involves leading interdisciplinary research initiatives that explore innovative approaches to user-centered design, aiming to improve the efficacy and acceptance of assistive products. Bruno's academic contributions focus on advancing design methodologies that prioritize inclusivity and accessibility, preparing future designers to meet the challenges of creating equitable solutions for diverse user groups.
Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou is an assistant professor in the Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests are broadly in Human-centered AI, AI Ethics, Computer Accessibility, and Human-Computer Interaction. He aspires to promote software and AI experience of vulnerable populations through a situated understanding as well as design, education, and governance interventions.
All questions should be emailed to ohw2 _ at _ illinois.edu