GMS Accessible STEM Expo

Note: Originally Posted to the UNC Digital Accessibility Office's News Page.

Through my course, INLS-690 (Design for Accessibility) with Dr. William Payne, I had the opportunity to present a project at the STEM Exposition at the Governor Morehead School.

The Governor Morehead School (GMS) was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1845. The school provides education for students with visual impairments or blindness, and continues to do so to this day.

This year’s STEM Expo aimed to introduce students to STEM concepts and skills through interactive activities and experiences created by presenters. My classmates created a variety of different experiences teaching students topics ranging from park planning, music making, cooking, and crochet.

However, the most meaningful aspect of the experience was observing how students engaged with the technology, and hearing their feedback. For instance, students suggested to my group that we improve visuals and add an option to skip certain dialogue when it took too long. A key principle of accessible design is avoiding assumptions. Instead we learn directly from the communities and individuals we aim to support. We put this into practice throughout the expo. While we mostly received positive feedback, the students also identified some gaps in our designs, which we will address in future development. At the same time, the event demonstrated how technology reduced barriers: the sky is the limit with the appropriate technology.

As Dr. Kathy Segers, Superintendent of the GMS, noted in her opening remarks, “Technology opens doors”.