JULY 1, 2021 — The University of Texas at San Antonio will host its second annual ExploreSTEM@UTSA event to increase access to San Antonio students living with disabilities. The event will be presented by the UTSA Departments of Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching, and Geological Sciences.
Co-directed by Wei Wang, assistant professor of computer science, and Kathy Ewoldt, assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching, the UTSA summer camp will teach the fundamentals of programming and artificial intelligence with a focus on autonomous vehicles.
“Computer science has great career opportunities. Its jobs pay very well and are suitable for any people, with or without disabilities,” Wang said. “However, without good guidance, it is hard to get started in computer science.”
According to statewide reporting, some Texas K-12 schools struggled to offer disability curriculum during the coronavirus pandemic. UTSA’s additional support helps meet this immediate community and regional need.
“We want to make sure parents know that great opportunities exist. I want to offer the program this summer to give kids a chance to know computer science, to know the possibility of a computer science career,” Wang added.
At ExploreSTEM@UTSA, students will be provided a hands-on programming and machine learning experience to build autonomous driving, lane-detecting vehicles. The students will learn about basic computer programming concepts, programming skills, computer vision and data science. Through these activities, students gain a glimpse of what it is like to work in the STEM fields of software engineering and data science.
In addition, each day a guest speaker working in STEM fields will be invited to interact with the students to discuss their STEM-related careers and their individual professional journeys. The program will culminate with online testing of their AI models on dash camera videos.
In higher education, it is estimated that about 20% of college students have a disability. However, among those that are enrolled, only 5% enter computer science fields.
“Promoting STEM careers to high school students with disabilities creates beneficial opportunities to everyone involved,” said Ewoldt, who will provide strategy training to tutors as well. “Students experience victory over challenges and build excitement about the numerous different careers that comprise STEM. The STEM fields benefit because the more diverse the workforce that brings multiple perspectives into a conversation, the more innovative the solutions that will be found.”
Last year, a blind student with some coding experience was able to successfully program AI for autonomous lane detection. The ExploreSTEM@UTSA teaching and learning experience revealed flaws that could only be encountered by people with complete blindness while using screen reader-assistive technology as a computer programmer. Revelation of these flaws has led UTSA researchers to some innovative possibilities that are currently being explored for research and development.
“This is a great example of how a computer scientist learned of a user-interface deficiency or problematic barrier that may not have otherwise been exposed,” Ewoldt explained. “It’s also a great example of how UTSA supports our local community and the next generation of cyber scientists.”
The UTSA program is a collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission, which helps refer students. The goal this summer is to expand enrollment to about 30 participants from middle and high schools.
Other UTSA faculty that will teach in the camp include Alberto Mestas-Nuñez, associate professor in practice in the Department of Geological Sciences, and Mimi Xie, assistant professor in computer science. ExploreSTEM@UTSA will have two separate sessions and is open to all San Antonio students with a disability. The camp starts August 2.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Each fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
