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As most of our readers know, the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) Center is located at the the ´ó·¢¿ìÈý¹ÙÍø (UW). However, DO-IT is primarily supported with funds external to the UW.

Sheryl Burgstahler and Christopher Andersen discuss ideas in between presentations at the AccessSTEM CBI.

The largest contributor to DO-IT efforts is the National Science Foundation (NSF). With funding from the NSF, (Award #HRD-0227995 and #HRD-0833504), DO-IT leads AccessSTEM, a regional alliance with Seattle Public Schools, UW, Seattle Central Community College, and Bellevue College. AccessSTEM works to increase the participation and success of people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) academic programs and careers. AccessSTEM recently sponsored a capacity-building institute (CBI; see related article).

DO-IT is also part of the NSF's multi-campus Center for Neurotechnology (CNT), which is led by the UW under NSF Award #EEC-1028725. In its role, DO-IT ensures engagement of individuals with disabilities, including veterans, in project activities and the universal design of products developed through the Center. As a partner in the Promoting Equity and Engineering Relationships (PEERs) project, DO-IT is funded by NSF's Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) program under Award #HRD-0833338. PEERS is a collaborative effort toward making the culture in the UW College of Engineering more supportive of women, minorities, students with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.

In DO-IT's Collaborative Dissemination Project (NSF Research in Disabilities Education Award # HRD-0929006), we lead projects to broaden the participation of people with disabilities in sharing resources and interventions for the purpose of maximizing their collective impact.

NOAA funds a participant in the DO-IT Scholars program, which allows students with disabilities to participate in events like this visit to a CNT lab during Summer Study 2013.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Award #NA-100AR4320148 funds a participant in the DO-IT Scholars program, which prepares young people with disabilities for college, careers, independent living, and leadership roles in society. The DO-IT Scholars program, as well as other state-wide efforts to increase the success of students with disabilities, is primarily funded by the State of ´ó·¢¿ìÈý¹ÙÍø.

The Boeing Company supports DO-IT's collaboration with Seattle Public Schools; the Accessible Career and Technical Education program serves to make materials and curricula more accessible to students with disabilities (see related article). Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation funds the AccessSTEM CAREERS project to provide career development services to postsecondary students with disabilities in the region.

So, as you can see, DO-IT relies on the support of many funding sources for its ongoing activities. In addition to these funds, we receive contributions, big and small, of individuals who value the work that we do.

On February 25-28, DO-IT's AccessSTEM project at the UW hosted a CBI focused on sharing interventions to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in STEM postsecondary programs and careers. The event was held in Seattle and was attended by more than fifty participants from around the country, including individuals who currently serve in projects funded by the NSF's RDE project, past RDE project leaders, individuals with disabilities, and representatives from key professional organizations.

The CBI was collaborative. Short presentations by participants were followed by discussion groups to share expertise, practices, and funding ideas. Major topics included faculty and staff engagement in universal design; transition supports; technology access; and interventions that support STEM students with disabilities through academic coaching, mentoring, and other activities.

Over fifty individuals participated in the CBI.

Some practices suggested for replication include the following:

• Adapting and creating a lending library of accessible science equipment similar to the set at Bellevue College.
• Offering summer bridge programs.
• Starting outreach early—like the National Center for Woman and Information Technology's AspireIT Middle School Outreach Program ().
• Widely distributing ways to make the web more accessible—like 30 Web Accessibility Tips ().
• Developing a peer mentorship program for campus veterans—like the Virginia Commonwealth University Veterans Education and Transition Supports in College program ().

In a highly-rated activity on the second day of the CBI, four STEM students with disabilities participated in a panel presentation. While discussing the impact of technology on her education, one of the panelists shared her story: "I used to have a one-on-one [personal care attendant] with me. A large part of me becoming independent was technology I was given [to] control my computer with my voice. It truly changed my life." Another panelist talked about how programs aimed at increasing diversity in STEM changed her outlook: "I never thought I would be doing research and presenting about it. Because of programs aimed at increasing diversity in the field, I was exposed to experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise."

The CBI was funded by a supplemental grant from the NSF to DO-IT's AccessSTEM project (Grant #HRD-0833504). Find more information at www.washington.edu/doit/programs/accessstem/overview. CBI event proceedings will be posted online in the coming months.

Every year the Association of Computing Machinery's hosts the Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing (). The conference brings together undergraduate and graduate students with educators and professionals in computing fields who are from diverse backgrounds. One of the conference's goals is building community among groups that are underrepresented, including individuals with disabilities.

An AccessComputing participant presented his study at the Tapia Conference. Photo provided by Christopher Bachman Photography.

AccessComputing was well represented at this year's event, held in Seattle on February 5-8. AccessComputing was a Bronze Sponsor of the conference and many AccessComputing student team members were awarded travel scholarships to attend.

For the first time, AccessComputing held a "Birds of a Feather" session to bring together attendees with disabilities. The session was well-attended—over twenty people came, including individuals with disabilities, educators, and other advocates. The discussion focused on raising awareness of AccessComputing's resources and activities, ways of creating more community among individuals with disabilities, and establishing greater visibility of disability at future Tapia Celebrations.

The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing) helps students with disabilities successfully pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in computing fields, and works to increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions and other organizations to fully include students with disabilities in computing courses and programs. These activities are funded by NSF Grant #CNS-1042260. Find more information at www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/.

The DO-IT Center is collaborating with the Seattle Public Schools' Career and Technical Education (CTE) department to increase the successful inclusion of students with disabilities in program options. DO-IT began by working with the Skill Center programs.

DO-IT promotes gaining skills in a variety of career fields.

The school district launched the Skill Center program in Fall 2012, with new classes added each year. At present, there are six program offerings, which includes aerospace science and technology, information technology, culinary arts, digital animation and gaming, fire science, and medical careers. The Skill Center is staffed primarily by teachers with a background in industry focused support, and encourages universal design of instruction to reach all learners. By designing instruction for students who are diverse in ability, age, race, ethnicity, reading level, learning style, and other characteristics, instructors lessen the need for individual accommodations and increase the potential of success for all students.

In addition, DO-IT is engaging a range of CTE staff through discussion lists and the creation of web resources related to the full inclusion of students with disabilities. DO-IT's collaboration with CTE is funded by the Boeing Company.

In collaboration with Code.org, AccessComputing worked with Audio Eyes, an audio description company, to make Code.org's signature inspirational video accessible to blind students.The video features a variety of celebrities—famous technology leaders, musicians, and professional athletes—talking about the importance of learning to write programming code. The video quickly went viral after its release in 2013, and for a while was the #1 video on YouTube with over ten million views.The original video includes on-screen text that identifies each speaker (for example, "Bill: Created Microsoft"). People who are unable to see the on-screen text don't necessarily know who's speaking, which is a key part of what makes the video so inspiring. In order to make this information accessible, the added audio description supplements the program audio with occasional brief narration that verbally announces essential visual content and identification of the speakers.Ìý

Code.org's inspirational video now features audio descriptions of text and images for those who are visually impaired. Images provided by Code.org.

The described video is now available in three versions (9-minute, 5-minute, and 1-minute) at

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DO-IT maintains one of the most robust and vibrant internship programs in the country. In the last three years, particip