Microsoft supports Teaching Accessibility

Today, the knowledge of accessibility and accessible development has been limited to a handful of domain experts. We believe that one of the greatest challenges to making accessible technology more ubiquitous is a lack of awareness and understanding of basic accessibility issues, concepts and best practices. This was one of the driving reasons we supported the formation of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) last year.

The Teaching Accessibility effort is supported by a number of industry and academic organizations (including Microsoft) and looks to begin contributing to the foundation of knowledge of accessibility in in fields of academics such as design, computer science and human computer interaction. It is our belief that students must be better prepared to enter the workforce and be given better tools that allow them to create technologies that are truly inclusive.

As an employer in the tech industry we also believe that the development of standardized job descriptions that include preference for accessibility knowledge are essential. And that a focus on accessibility within recruitment activities can lead to a greater emphasis on these skills being taught in universities.

The Teaching Accessibility effort looks to support these views and we are glad to support the objectives of the group.

To learn more about the effort and the current objectives please visit the Teaching Accessibility Website.