Professor Announces “Project ENABLE” Workshops Featuring Robot Programming To Assist Disabled Persons With Mobility Impairments

Posted by: admin on August 16, 2012, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania is helping connect people with disabilities to careers in computing fields with a program being held this month in Philadelphia. A final workshop is scheduled for this weekend, August 16-18, at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital as part of Project ENABLE, a three-year program which aims to give people with disabilities more exposure to computer science, recognizing both the need for workers with computer skills and the need of the disabled to develop job skills. The program, sponsored through a grant from the National Science Foundation, is being conducted by ESU and New Mexico State University. The first workshop was held August 8-9.

Participants learn fundamental skills usingAlice, software that uses simple graphics to teach object-oriented computer programming, and learn basic computer science through LEGO Mindstorm robot kits. Students attending the workshop will build the robots and then build computer programs to make their robots move. Once the robots are mobile, students will program them to draw shapes, move around objects and follow line patterns in the classroom.

A third component of the training is in mobile phone application development.

The workshops are being led by Dr. Jyh-Hann Chang, an assistant professor of psychology at ESU. Dr. Chang is a clinical psychologist and is board-certified both in rehabilitation psychology and sports psychology.  Dr. Chang has a private practice as well as teaching, and sees clients at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital. Project coordinator is Kim Roselli, a graduate student at ESU pursuing a master’s degree in instructional technology.

To present this workshop, Dr. Chang will be joined by Dr. Heather Pfeiffer, curriculum developer and instructor for the ENABLE program, certified in assistive technology and an assistant professor at the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Mexico State University.

For more information about “Project ENABLE,” contact program coordinator Kim Roselli at 570-236-4591 or kmr5090@gmail.com.