Seo receives grant for accessibility module

JooYoung Seo
JooYoung Seo, Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor JooYoung Seo has received a $5,000 grant from the nonprofit organization Teach Access to develop and implement a new accessibility module. Seo was one of 19 recipients nationwide who were awarded a faculty grant to infuse accessibility into curricula by creating "modules, presentations, exercises, or curriculum enhancements centered around the fundamental concepts and skills of accessible design and development."

Seo's module will be integrated into his course, Introduction to Data Science (IS 407), and cover topics such as accessible data visualization, multimodal data representation, and accessible data reproducibility. Students will learn how to incorporate multimodal data representations—such as data verbal description, data sonification, and data tactilization—into their data storytelling process and how to integrate accessibility into standard reproducible data workflows using tools such as R Markdown, Jupyter Notebooks, Interactive Shiny dashboard, and Quarto.

As part of the grant requirements, recipients will add their new materials to the Teach Access Curriculum Repository, which will be freely available to anyone interested in utilizing curricula to teach accessibility. Seo will also share the accessibility module on GitHub as an open-source project, in order to foster its adoption by the wider community.

"As an educator, my mission is to ensure that the beauty of data science is accessible to all," said Seo. "This new module, supported by the generous Teach Access grant, will provide a unique opportunity for students to understand and integrate accessibility in their data visualization and storytelling process. It's not just about learning a skill—it's about fostering an inclusive perspective that considers diverse audience experiences in every step of data processing. I believe this approach will widen their understanding and consideration of accessible user experiences in their future careers in the field."

Seo is an RStudio double-certified data science instructor and accessibility expert who is certified by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). His research focuses on how to make computational literacy more accessible to people with dis/abilities using multimodal data representation. He earned his PhD from the Learning, Design, and Technology Program at Pennsylvania State University.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Desai defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Smit Desai successfully defended his dissertation, "Designing Metaphor-fluid Voice User Interfaces," on June 10.

Smit Desai

Student says ‘thank you’ with a helicopter ride

Last month, Michael Ferrer showed his appreciation for one of his MSIM instructors in a unique way—by inviting him for an insider’s look at his work as a reservist in the Illinois Army National Guard. For the ILARNG BOSS Lift, which took place on June 18 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Ferrer selected Michael Wonderlich, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior associate director of business intelligence and enterprise architecture for Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS) at the University of Illinois.

Michael Wonderlich and Michael Ferrer hold a U of I flag in front of a military helicopter

Project helps librarians use data storytelling to advocate for public libraries

A toolkit for public librarians can help them use data to communicate the value of their services and justify their funding needs. The Data Storytelling for Librarians Toolkit helps librarians present data in story form using narrative strategies. It was developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professors.

Kate McDowell

Chan to deliver keynote at SIGCIS 2024

Associate Professor Anita Say Chan will deliver the keynote at the 15th annual conference of the SHOT (Society for the History of Technology) Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society (SIGCIS), which will be held on July 14 in Viña del Mar, Chile. SIGCIS is the leading international group for historians with an interest in the history of information technology and its applications. The theme for SIGCIS 2024 is "System Update: Patches, Tactics, Responses."

Anita Say Chan

Mattson receives ISTE Making It Happen Award

Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson has received the 2024 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Making It Happen Award. The award honors educators and leaders who demonstrate outstanding commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.

Kristen Mattson