Opening Digital Doors: Early Lessons in Software Accessibility for K-8 Students

Accessibility is a critical topic in computing education, yet its integration into K-12 curricula has been limited. This gap highlights a significant need to introduce knowledge, awareness, and empathy regarding the challenges people with disabilities face with inaccessible software to K-8 students, as well as to present accessible software solutions. We conducted interviews with 21 K-8 students to gauge their current accessibility knowledge, observed their performance when playing simulation games developed to teach accessibility, and asked them about their experience with the gameplay and its impact on their accessibility awareness. Our findings revealed a notable lack of accessibility education in current K-8 curricula. However, after engaging with the accessibility games, participants showed a marked increase in their curiosity and awareness of the need for accessible design. Our study advances the goal of integrating accessibility education into early computer science education to foster a more inclusive future technological landscape.