Project Grant 90BISA0084

The National Science Foundation awarded a 5-year, $481,175 CAREER grant under the STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) program to the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University to improve the accessibility of technology-mediated high school science education for blind and low-vision students. The project aims to: (1) investigate teachers' knowledge about creating "born accessible" technology-mediated science classes, and (2) develop opportunities for pre- and...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) provides $300,809 to Saint Louis University to explore the integration of reconfigurable sensorimotor interfaces into educational STEM simulations for digital learning platforms. The goal is to develop low-cost, reconfigurable "teletangible" haptic devices that can be used to embody STEM concepts and support the learning of both sighted students and those with blindness or low...

The University of North Texas received a $429,262 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to develop an accessible digital learning environment for blind and visually impaired youth to learn computer science concepts through music programming. The three-year award beginning June 1, 2023 will support iterative co-design of EarSketch, an online platform for coding through music, to be more accessible. Participatory design studies with...

This $1,000,000 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) will enable Alchemie Solutions, Inc., a woman-owned small business, to develop an expandable system for generating detailed and standardized descriptions of STEM diagrams in interactive media. The goal is to provide real-time alternative text (alt text) generation for screen reader users and create an inclusive communication...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $1,541,878 project grant to The University of Texas at San Antonio under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) on June 15, 2022. The project will develop new accessibility tools for students with visual impairments, including a program syntax- and semantics-aware screen reader and a voice-command-based code navigation framework. These tools will employ compilers, artificial intelligence, and cloud technologies to allow screen readers to understand...

Georgia Tech Research Corporation was awarded a $2,124,522 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to develop an accessible digital learning environment for teaching computer science to blind and visually impaired youth through music programming. The awardee will co-design and evaluate EarSketch, an online platform for coding through music, to ensure accessibility for learners with visual impairments. Participatory design studies and mixed...

This Project Grant award of $899,979 from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) will fund a three-year collaboration between the Concord Consortium and Perkins School for the Blind to develop an AI-powered, multimodal data exploration environment. The goal is to enable blind and low-vision students to meaningfully engage with data through voice commands, sonification, and AI-generated audible descriptions. The project team aims to transform the educational...

This $749,685 National Science Foundation project grant under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) will fund the development of an Automated, Integrated, Multimodal Software (AIMS) system to improve inclusive access to information for persons with disabilities. Saint Louis University leads a consortium that includes software companies Vital, Unar Labs, and Viewplus Technologies to build a unified framework for authoring, converting, and delivering accessible content...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation Division of Human Resource Development provides $104,236 to Georgia Tech Research Corporation from August 2021 through July 2023. The funding supports a critical interpretative synthesis study titled "Experiences of Students with Visual Impairments with Tactile Graphics in STEM Courses." The project analyzes how tactile graphics are used to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to students...

This $729,372 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of podcast-based science curriculum resources to broaden participation in STEM fields among blind, visually impaired and sighted upper elementary students. Funded under the NSF's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program, the three-year award to Oregon State University will engage students in listening to and producing podcasts featuring blind and disabled scientists. Teachers will guide...