Andrea Petz

Easy to Read on the Web – State of the Art and Research Directions☆

Abstract “Easy to Read on the Web” aims at raising awareness and collecting/deriving concise and up-to-date recommendations, guidelines, standards and tools for enhancing the web experience for users with cognitive disabilities and other groups facing problems with “standard” information on the Web. Although a large and most diverse user group is concerned, the state of the art in web accessibility research, development and practice shows only little efforts and progress in this domain. Following a symposium initiated and put in place by the W3C/WAI “Research and Development Working group” [ http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/ ] in December 2012 on this topic, this paper discusses the state of the art in Easy to Read on the Web and in related domains and outlines areas of research which should help to better address the needs of people with cognitive disabilities and other groups in using web based information as well as the web itself and its applications.

ECDL-PD: International Co-operation to Keep the Syllabus and MQTB Open for Everybody

The ECDL, a world wide accepted standard certificate on the basic skills in using computers, offers opportunities for people with disabilities to support their vocational integration. By focusing on the accessibility of the certificate for four target groups of people with disability, the ECDL-PD project will create a forum for all involved in ECDL to understand the needs, issues and solutions in order to accommodate people with disabilities to achieve the certification without changing the standard.

ECDL® PD - Using a Well Known Standard to Lift Barriers on the Labour Market

In September 2001, the European Commission decided to fund a pilot project called ECDL® PD which aims at adapting the widespread and well known ECDL® /ICDL® certificate to the needs of people with disabilities. The ECDL®/ ICDL® should not only become a tool for people with disabilities, but also for the increasing number of other underprivileged people on the labour market (e.g. older people, people with poor education, people with a weak social background, immigrants...)This paper consists of two main parts: Part I introduces the certificate ECDL®/ICDL® in general; Part II explains the idea ECDL® PD and presents first results.

People with Specific Learning Difficulties: Easy to Read and HCI

Off the beaten tracks of technically focused accessibility and usability regulations lies a field of research - almost undiscovered by mainstream accessibility and usability discussions that has the potential to serve people with Specific Learning Difficulties as well as other possible target groups best: How to provide information, tools, services and structures that is readable, understandable and usable for the biggest possible user group.

Analysis of Implicit Didactics in Math Schoolbooks for Interactive Non-visual User Interface Development

Most math schoolbooks consist of practical and theoretical parts where the theoretical parts guide the students and explain the strategies on how to solve a given problem. These theoretical parts contain visual didactic information where the problem solving processes are explained using pictorial and spatial representations. So far, there is no workaround for non-visual user interfaces such as refreshable braille displays to represent this implicit visual information. This affects learning ability of visually impaired and blind students. In this paper, we present the results from analyzing these implicit notations and the possible strategies to help visually impaired and blind students benefiting from visual didactic information in math schoolbooks.

CAPKOM --- innovative graphical user interface supporting people with cognitive disabilities

Most research activities on web accessibility focus on people with physical or sensory disabilities, while potential users with cognitive disabilities still lack adequate solutions to overcome barriers resulting from their disability. The innovative graphical user interface to be developed within the project CAPKOM intends to change this. In a novel approach, this user interface shall be instantly adaptable to the very different demands of people with cognitive disabilities. Iterative user tests will feed results into practical software development, first exemplified by a community art portal for people with cognitive disability.

Developing Academic Skills among Print Disabled Students: IT Based Austrian-Wide Network for Service Provision

This paper presents the service provision system for print disabled students at Austrian Universities. An institute with full research and teaching tasks is established which in addition networks all small support units or centers at universities to enable a full scaled service provision.Students with print disabilities can decide whatever course they want to attend and wherever they want to study - a freedom which society basically guarantees to everybody.

Easy Reader – or the Importance of Being Understood

With current advancements in technologies like natural language processing engines and image recognition software the development of a tool that would automatically translate content, that is too difficult to understand for the individual person with cognitive disabilities, into an easier to understand, alternative format seems possible. In this paper we want to describe the idea to create a flexible extensible framework that would help people with cognitive disabilities to better understands and navigate web-content.

ECDL® PD: 15 Years Later

The EU funded pilot project (funding scheme “Leonardo da Vinci”, fostering lifelong learning and promoting further vocational education) ECDL® PD (ECDL® for People with Disabilities) was carried out from 2001–2004. It aimed at adapting the widespread and renowned ECDL® certificate (European Computer Driving License) to the needs of people with disabilities. This adaptation of a mainstream standard certificate was meant to support people with disabilities and other people at a disadvantage (e.g. older people, people with weak social or educational background, or people from minorities or immigrant groups not ready for using their second/new mother tongue at a satisfying level) and to foster their chances at the labor market. What remained from this work? Is ECDL® the ultima ratio for including people at risk of exclusion or with fewer opportunities into the labor market and into society or is it a certificate amongst others without reaching its full potential?

Roadmap to eAccessibility

Within three main topical areas, the eAccess+ network identified and consulted relevant stakeholder groups, analyzed and discussed the state of the art in eAccessibility, supported stakeholders in working on key issues to foster eAccessibility and disseminated experiences and knowledge all over Europe. Finally, all findings were connected and combined within a roadmap document to find appropriate future actions to support eAccessibility and its uptake.