Improving accessibility of The Programmer's Field Guide

Primary supervisor

Charlotte Pierce

Co-supervisors

Access to education is an important issue. A major factor preventing access can be the cost of textbooks, which is a significant barrier for some students. Open Education Resources (OERs) are a popular option for reducing this financial burden, as they are free to any person with an internet connection. 

The Programmer’s Field Guide is an OER for learning introductory programming which has already been used by thousands of students. Written by experienced university educators, it is a resource for learning programming from the bottom-up, focusing on the concepts underpinning programming rather than the syntax of a specific language. 

In this project we aim to improve accessibility of The Programmer’s Field Guide (https://programmers.guide/). Possible activities include:

  • improve the accessibility of the digital edition based on best practice recommendations for readers with vision or related impairments
  • develop an automated way of converting the digital edition to a print on demand edition for readers who need or prefer physical materials

Our aim with this project is to allow a wider variety of readers to use the resource, which will continue to be updated and distributed freely. We also hope to engage with you as a person, and to help you develop in the areas you are wanting to focus on.

Student cohort

Double Semester

Required knowledge

The most important requirement is a willingness to learn and be challenged.

Ideally, you will also a strong interest in education, and skills in:

  • Programming
  • Version control
  • LaTex and Markdown documentation