Dr. Matt Huenerfauth
Assistant Professor
Computer Science, CUNY Queens College
Computer Science, CUNY Graduate Center
http://www.cs.qc.cuny.edu/matt
This course will begin with an overview of key topics in Human-Computer Interaction -- with a focus on how users' various sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities are essential to their successful use of the interface. The course will examine how various forms of disability can impact users' daily lives and their use of information technology. The course will then survey modern accessibility and assistive technology research on making computers more accessible to people with disabilities (and to benefit these users in their daily lives). By the end of the course, students will understand how research is conducted in the field of Assistive Technology and what the current state of the field is. Students will also have introductory knowledge of the field of Human-Computer Interaction, and they will appreciate how research from a variety of Computer Science sub-disciplines can be used to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities.
There are no special prerequisites for this course.
This course would be excellent for students who may be interested in research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) or any area of Computer Science using user-based studies. Students will also learn how other their research interests may have applications in the field of Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities. Aside from HCI, other areas of Computer Science research with frequent assistive/accessibility applications include: Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Speech Synthesis/Recognition, Computer Vision, Robotics, Sensors, Signal Processing, Information Retrieval, Web Protocol Design, and many others.
This is a tentative list of the topics to be covered in this course: