NDLI: Inspiring blind high school students to pursue computer science with instant messaging chatbots

Content Provider	ACM Digital Library
Author	Aller, Maxwell B. Bigham, Jeffrey P. Brudvik, Jeremy T. Leung, Jessica O. Yazzolino, Lindsay A. Ladner, Richard E.
Abstract	Blind students are an underrepresented group in computer science. In this paper, we describe our experience preparing and leading the computer science track at the National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam. As part of this workshop, fifteen blind high school students created and personalized instant messaging chatbots, a project designed to be completely accessible to blind students. Chatbots enable students to infuse their own personalities into a socially-oriented program that incorporates ideas from artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and web services. We first outline the chatbots project and curriculum, which has wide appeal for all students, and then offer general design principles used to create it that can help ensure the accessibility of future projects. Students created their chatbots using a real programming language and were guided by both blind and sighted mentors. By programming from the start in a supportive environment, our students will gain the confidence to persevere in computer science in the future.
Starting Page	449
Ending Page	453
Page Count	5
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00978418
DOI	10.1145/1352322.1352287
Journal	ACM SIGCSE Bulletin (SGCS)
Volume Number	40
Issue Number	1
Language	English
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Publisher Date	1978-02-01
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Accessibility Blind students Chatbots
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Inspiring blind high school students to pursue computer science with instant messaging chatbots

Inspiring students to pursue computing degrees

Instant Messaging or Instant Headache?

Beyond Instant Messaging

Mobile instant messaging through Hubbub

Instant messaging in informal learning via interactive television

Understanding Unified Messaging

Instant messaging and the future of language

Awareness of presence, instant messaging and WebWho

Inspiring blind high school students to pursue computer science with instant messaging chatbots

Similar Documents

Inspiring blind high school students to pursue computer science with instant messaging chatbots

Inspiring students to pursue computing degrees

Instant Messaging or Instant Headache?

Beyond Instant Messaging

Mobile instant messaging through Hubbub

Instant messaging in informal learning via interactive television

Understanding Unified Messaging

Instant messaging and the future of language

Awareness of presence, instant messaging and WebWho

Inspiring blind high school students to pursue computer science with instant messaging chatbots