Amanda Meincke Melo

Accessibility and interactive TV: design recommendations for the Brazilian scenario

TV can be regarded as the most far-reaching media in Brazil. Its presence is noticed in 90% of Brazilian homes and it is the main source of information for a major part of the population. The moment of definition and consolidation of the digital TV technology provides us with a unique opportunity for analyzing and discussing this media accessibility. Making sure that TV contents and devices are flexible enough so that people are able to perceive, understand and interact with them is a main asset for its use and an essential requirement for the democratization of information via TV broadcasting. This paper analyzes interactive digital TV accessibility in informal, formal, and technical levels, considering the Brazilian context. In addition, it presents recommendations to design accessible interfaces by referring to the W3C guidelines 2.0 for Web accessibility and specific recommendations for iDTV.

Accessibility and interoperability in e-government systems: outlining an inclusive development process

The multidisciplinary nature of e-government demands a research agenda that includes issues related to social inclusion, universal accessibility, interoperability, privacy, security, and citizen participation, to name a few. Understanding the underlying cultural context, the involvement of citizens in the proposal and evaluation of services, and the promotion of quality in use are aspects that need special consideration in the development of systems to support government. This paper provides an outline for a process model for promoting the identification and specification of accessible e-government services with the participation of the interested parties. A socially shared perspective is adopted toward the comprehension of the involved problems and the elaboration of potential solutions. The proposed model is a result of practice in the domain, using organizational semiotics artifacts to stimulate participation and discussion.

Accessibility as a quality requirement: geographic information systems on the web

Web applications enable users with different profiles and necessities to access information from diversified locations and with different access tools. Besides the aspects that have already been discussed in works from the Software Quality domain, the accessibility to information and the Internet flexibility have been considered more and more important. Thus, considering accessibility as an important quality attribute for Web applications, in this paper we investigate the subject considering the context of Geographic Information Systems on the Web. Preliminary results of accessibility evaluation on some WebGIS applications show that this domain presents several challenges to be coped with in the design of their user interfaces.

Desafios para a Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação em Espaço Educacional Inclusivo

Webgrade is an on-line system for managing and publishing student grades on web. Webgrade provides: (1) to the teachers, features for managing grade plans, publishing student grades, and sending messages to the students by email; (2) to the students, access to their grades and number of absences to the classes, in a private and restrict page on the internet. All interactions between Webgrade and users are done by a web browser. Webgrade was developed with open-source technology and can be freely distributed under GPL.Resumo: Este artigo relata uma experiencia de inclusao digital (ID) do Programa de Extensao Onda Digital com 40 jovens carentes. O curso de Informatica Basica de 36 horas fez parte do programa educacional da ONG Eletrocooperativa. Este programa visa a formacao musical, melhoria das condicoes de trabalho e de cidadania de jovens afro-descendentes brasileiros. A experiencia de ID contou com a participacao de alunos do curso de graduacao em Ciencia da Computacao da UFBA, que atuaram como instrutores. O gerenciamento do curso, a elaboracao das aulas e do material didatico foram feitos com a utilizacao de ferramentas colaborativas livres. O proprio conteudo do curso de informatica foi baseado em solucoes livres, dentro do sistema operacional GNU/Linux. O resultado foi encorajador: dos 22 alunos que concluiram o curso com sucesso, 13 ja estao empregados em menos de 6 meses e 2 decidiram matricular-se em curso pre-vestibular. Acreditamos que iniciativas como esta despertam nos jovens a motivacao de engajar-se na universidade ou no mercado de trabalho. Abstract: This paper describes a digital inclusion (DI) experience of the OndaDigital Extension Program with 40 deprived teenagers. The IntroductoryInformatics Course had a total of 36 hours and was part of the EducationalProgram from the NGO Eletrocooperativa. Their program focuses on musicalformation, improvement of work condition and citizenship of afro-descendantsBrazilian youngsters. This DI experience counted with the participation ofstudents from the Computer Science undergraduate course of UFBA asmonitors and instructors. The management of the course, preparation oflessons and pedagogical material was done using a collaborative tool basedon free software. The course content was also based on free softwareapplications using GNU/Linux operating system. The results were veryencouraging: from the 22 students that successfully finished the course, 13found a job in less than six months and 2 decided to take preparatory coursesfor entering university. We believe that initiatives like this one motivateteenagers to aim for the university or enter the job market.

Ambientes virtuais inclusivos: desafios ao design para acessibilidade

In this paper, we describe an ongoing Project carried out in our University to investigate aspects of accessibility in the campus and to propose solutions towards the construction of an inclusive environment. Our focus in this Project is on promoting the accessibility to the information technology, especially through the Web.