IBM and Academe Seek to Improve Technology Access
The computer behemoth IBM is working with several universities to collect and store materials that will help developers make software more accessible to aging and disabled users, IBM announced today.
A majority of faculty members responding to a recent survey do not teach technology accessibility in the classroom, according to IBM. The company wants to reach student developers early and make sure they have the necessary skills and resources as they begin their careers.
Professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, California State University at Long Beach, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto are among those already contributing to the repository, known as ACCESS.
More than 750 million people worldwide have a speech, vision, mobility, hearing, or cognitive disabilities, according to the World Health Organization.—Sierra Millman
