Universal Design in Computer Science Education and Systems Development

1 Miriam Nes, .NET consultant, Avenir, [email protected] 2 Kirsten Ribu, Assistant Professor, Oslo University College, [email protected] 3 Morten Tollefsen, MediALT, [email protected] Abstract The digital divide causes democratic problems in societies where the use of technology is necessary to participate fully. Improvement of user accessibility does not seem to be a priority in industry, students in general have little or no systematic knowledge of principles of universal design, and the inaccessibility of technological facilities, software and web pages continues to erect barriers for many citizens. In order to study the significance of such barriers, we have observed and interviewed people with disabilities, in particular users with Parkinson’s disease, whose problems are similar to those of the elderly. The ailment leads to serious practical difficulties using every-day technology, and the findings indicate that many obstacles can be overcome by applying principles of universal design. An aging technology-dependent population poses many challenges. Universal design principles should become a standard in the software industry and engineering education. In Norway, there is a Government action plan designed to increase accessibility for disabled persons. In order to fulfill these recommendations, universal design techniques must be taught systematically, and incorporated into the engineering curriculum. Students should learn to think in terms of accessibility early in their studies. In this paper, we discuss the inclusion of universal design principles in computer science courses like programming, software engineering and HCI (Human-computer interaction).