A General Education Course on Universal Access, Disability, Technology and Society
Sri H. Kurniawan, Sonia Arteaga, Roberto Manduchi · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010) · doi:10.1145/1878803.1878808
Summary
This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a General Education course called "Universal Access: Disability, Technology and Society" (CMPE 80A) offered at the University of California Santa Cruz. The course was created to expose students from all majors — not just engineering or computer science — to disability issues, assistive technology, and universal access concepts. The curriculum covers a broad range of topics including the physical, psychological, and psychosocial aspects of disability; demographic and legislative context (ADA, Section 508, Telecommunications Act); universal design principles; assistive technology for independent living; and rehabilitation and therapy programs. A distinctive feature is the integration of guest lecturers who bring diverse perspectives: disability studies scholars, professionals working with people with disabilities, and individuals with disabilities themselves. The course also uses YouTube and TED videos to supplement lectures, including talks by brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor and disability rights advocates. Students complete either group projects involving people with disabilities or volunteering activities with local organizations such as Shared Adventures and KidsQuest. Since its introduction in 2006, the course consistently filled to capacity, with enrollment ranging from 118 to 207 students per offering.
Key findings
A survey of 75 students from the Winter 2010 offering revealed significant self-reported improvements in knowledge and attitudes. Students rated their pre-course knowledge of universal access and disabilities at a mean of 2.40 (between bad and neutral), which rose to 4.33 (between good and very good) after the course. Students reported increased comfort interacting with people with disabilities (mean 3.84) and greater awareness of accessibility in everyday life (mean 4.20). Qualitative analysis using grounded theory revealed several themes: students began seeing people with disabilities as "normal" rather than as objects of pity, developed greater empathy and patience, and started noticing accessibility barriers on campus and in daily life. Some students were inspired to change career paths toward disability-related fields. Notably, 19 students reported having prior knowledge limited to one specific disability (often a family member's condition) with little awareness of the broader landscape. The hands-on projects — such as helping a blind student learn to use a laundry machine independently, evaluating mobility aids for an older adult, and creating documentary videos about campus disability services — proved particularly impactful for building practical understanding.
Relevance
This paper provides a replicable model for integrating disability and accessibility education into general undergraduate curricula, not just specialized computing programs. For the accessibility field, this matters because building a more inclusive society requires awareness beyond the technical community. The course demonstrates that combining theoretical knowledge with direct interaction — through guest speakers with disabilities, hands-on projects, and volunteering — is effective at changing attitudes and building awareness. For organizations and educational institutions looking to develop accessibility training, the key takeaway is that experiential learning components are essential; lectures alone are insufficient for developing genuine understanding. The paper also highlights challenges worth noting: emotionally intense content can be draining for students, and some students remained uncomfortable interacting with people with disabilities even after the course, suggesting that a single course has limits in shifting deeply held attitudes.
Tags: accessibility education · universal access · disability awareness · assistive technology · curriculum design · undergraduate education