Applications and Web Content Accessibility Training Erasmus Project

Project Title

Applications and Web Content Accessibility Training

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

This Strategic Partnership consisting of 4 partners, created four main outputs:
• a blended learning syllabus for ICT students that provides supplementary innovative training in the field of web content and application interfaces accessibility for people with disabilities and other special needs required by the European and national legislation. It is based on courses available at JKU and incorporate other high quality materials that have open licences. The elaborated course, updated and adapted to national systems had been tested at Polish and Bulgarian higher universities (Vistula University and Varna Free University).
• A guide for academic on methods and techniques in teaching with use of elaborated course and other available materials in area of accessibility, including possibilities offered by elaborated modules of the syllabus adapted to the needs of various audiences, not only HeIs students but also for other educational sectors.
• A code of good practices in conducting syllabuses and promoting accessibility content to various groups of stakeholders, mainstreaming Accessibility subject in the higher education institutions and other good examples.
• A set of recommendations elaborated by partners in cooperation with external bodies consultancy on the suggested professional fields that should have accessibility subject included in their educational curricula, strategic plan followed in order to advance its presence in the core curricula of university faculties and actions that needs to be undertaken to achieve real results in that area.
Web accessibility means that the service can be perceived, understood, navigated and interacted by all users, regardless of their disabilities or devices and software used. It refers especially to people with disabilities (particularly blind).
At the core of the project there are strong convictions that:
– The accessibility, especially web content and electronic information accessibility, is one of the key issues in EU strategy as well as in its legislation and is going to be further advanced,
– the national regulations recognise that issue in many countries and introduce legally binding requirements based usually on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0 – http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/)standards.
– competences in the area of web accessibility and universal design of internet services are very low and seldom and at the same time more and more demanded,
– higher education institutions are the best bodies to introduce the course on digital accessibility into their ICT studies as part of their formal scope,
– new and innovative curriculum will increase attractiveness and work-reference of available ICT courses.
This project will be based on the following steps in order to achieve its final outputs:
1. Blended course curricula developed in following phases:
a. Transfer from Austrian partner, exchange of expertise currently used in partner countries and internationally, detailed analysis and final selection of methodologies optimal for target groups,
b. Detailed elaboration of the methodology of the accessibility education on the basis of a previously made analysis,
c. Development of the draft version of the blended course (traditional “class room” and e-learning modules),
d. Testing phase and recommendations for the final version of the curricula,
e. Adjustment of the course content to the final version of the course.
The blended learning scheme was chosen as the most convenient and effective method of training for the target group used to that technique of knowledge acquisition. The course had been created in a way that enables teachers and professors to use it as an academic course and a part of the tertiary education curriculum for ICT students.
The learning course content include all basic issues that, according to our everyday practice and the opinion of experts and representatives of the professionals, are necessary to provide effective higher educational offer. It guarantees to equip the professionals in web development with competence and skills which will allow them to meet current employers’ requirements (especially in the public sector).
2. Guide for teachers elaboration with cooperation with experts from all partners organisations and other stakeholders identified.
3. Code of good practice development by analysis and collection of good examples
4. Intensive work on recommendations by inclusion of gathered expertize and reaching to influencing bodies on national and European level.
5. Dissemination and exploitation activities aiming to promote elaborated outputs and facilitation of their further advancement.
All materials and products elaborated within the project are available on open licences. Apart from national versions, a common English version will allow future easy transfer of all products to other countries.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 252743 Eur

Project Coordinator

AKADEMIA FINANSOW I BIZNESU VISTULAUCZELNIA NIEPANSTWOWA & Country: PL

Project Partners

• VARNA FREE UNIVERSITY
• UNIVERSITAT LINZ
• FUNDACJA INSTYTUT ROZWOJU REGIONALNEGO