Accessibility in Content and Form: Teaching a Multimodal Research Assignment

This brief paper discusses an accessibility project delivered in the authors' writing-in-the-disciplines course for undergraduate engineering and computer science students. Accessibility is uniquely situated to allow students to explore the multimodality inherent in the collection and transmission of information, while making visible the sociotechnical aspects of the design of physical and virtual spaces as well as the ways we communicate about these spaces. The project asks students to identify a physical or digital space associated with the university, assess that site in terms of ADA or WCAG standards and Universal Design principles, conduct research into accessibility best practices in similar spaces, and make recommendations for improving the site of focus. In order to appreciate the sociocultural impact of an environment's design, students need to navigate multiple modes of communication - textual, visual, and physical - to gather and share information. Accordingly, this paper discusses how the authors work with students to read, use, and produce written texts and visuals, while also underscoring the necessity of the physical and social aspects of accessibility work.