Abstract: Advancing Inclusive Design for Arts and Computing Education The barrier to entry for novices to make compelling music and art with technology has never been lower. Yet, creative technologies can prevent access among individuals with diverse abilities, interests, and values, perpetuating cycles of exclusion. For example, music notation and production environments use highly visual interfaces that limit engagement among Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) people. Payne's work advances inclusive design through developing interactive systems that leverage multiple modalities (e.g. audio, tactile, visual), and machine learning (e.g. pose detection). Payne uses an iterative, participatory approach to research: conduct formative studies, co-design prototypes with educators and learners, and deploy creative systems in learning environments that culminate in original art and performance. In this talk, Payne will discuss working with The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Community School for BVI musicians (aka the Fil'). Together they built SoundCells, an accessible web application used to compose braille and large print music, and formed FiLOrk (Fil' Laptop Orchestra), a collaborative music coding ensemble made up of five BVI high school students. Payne will conclude by outlining future plans to broaden participation in both the arts and computing.

Bio: Willie Payne is a PhD candidate in Music Technology at NYU. Across his Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research, he uses iterative, participatory methods to co-design and deploy creative technologies with community partners. Willie has published at highly selective computing venues and his work has been honored with a Best Paper Award at Web4All and an Honorable Mention at CHI. During his graduate studies, Willie co-taught the undergraduate course Creative Learning Design at NYU Shanghai, mentored undergraduate researchers for more than three years, and taught high school students with his research partners FMDG Music School and STEM From Dance. Willie holds degrees in Music Composition and Computer Science from the University of Colorado where he was the Outstanding Graduate of Engineering.