Innovative Curriculum Helps Blind Students Get Start in Computer Science Studies
From: Winona Daily News (MN) - 05/22/2005
By: Shannon Fiecke

Saint Mary's University and Winona State University (WSU) coordinate the
Computer Science Curriculum Accessibility Program (CSCAP), an effort to help
visually impaired students pursue computer science careers that was initially
funded by a $450,000 National Science Foundation grant. The first CSCAP
students have helped refine the math and computer science curriculum to the
needs of the visually disabled in return for tuition, room and board,
tutoring, and equipment. When the program was launched four years ago,
computer science publishers had to send textbook authors' raw CDs so blind
students could hear the text with the aid of screen readers. WSU professor
Joan Francioni says nowadays most companies provide electronic textbooks,
although screen readers cannot render items such as diagrams and math
equations. Alternative methods for conveying such information have been
developed by instructors: Examples include straight lectures and the creation
of tactile versions of graphics or mathematical notations through the use of
a Braille printer. The JavaSpeak tool enables the visually impaired to learn
the Java programming language by verbalizing data about Java's structure and
semantics. Francioni says CSCAP plans to recruit more students and test new
computer tools as it improves. She says the program's goal is to level the
playing field for visually impaired students, while not reducing the
curriculum's intense study element. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2005/05/22/news/00lead.txt

Links:
Computer Science Curriculum Accessibility Program
http://cs.winona.edu/cscap/

Program for Students with Visual Disabilities
http://cs.winona.edu/cscap/csprogram.htm

JavaSpeak Project
http://cs.winona.edu/cscap/JavaSpeak.html