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Universal Access in the Information Society
Published in: Universal Access in the Information Society 4/2018

07-03-2017 | Long Paper

Bridging the accessibility gap in Open Educational Resources

Authors: Rosa Navarrete, Sergio Luján-Mora

Published in: Universal Access in the Information Society | Issue 4/2018

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Abstract

Open Educational Resources (OER) are being fostered as a global movement for providing educational opportunities to all. However, people with disabilities are still excluded from full participation because of the lack of accessibility of OER websites, as well as of the resources themselves. This work presents a proposal for the design of OER websites that would enable equitable access for all users. This design aims to bridge the accessibility gap through the personalization of the whole OER environment to facilitate an accessible User Experience (UX) based on a user profile that includes the self-identification of disability status. This profile configures not only the “look and feel” of the interface but also the delivery of educational resources suitable for this user profile. To achieve this purpose, the design goes beyond compliance with the ISO/IEC 40500 W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, since it includes the personalization of the accessible experience through usability considerations and adaptations of educational resources. The delivery of educational resources matches the user’s profile with regard to their sensory abilities, cognitive faculties and their requirements of functionality control, display layout and language. As a proof of concept, we have developed an OER website based on this design and have conducted a set of UX tests that include users with different disabilities. The test results confirm the feasibility and suitability of our design regarding accessible UX. Finally, the contribution of this document arises from the explicit recognition of the particular needs associated with the disability profiles to establish the response of the entire OER system which enables a truly inclusive experience by exempting the user from performing configuration tasks.
previous article MoocCast: evaluating mobile-screencast for online courses
next article Research challenges in accessible MOOCs: a systematic literature review 2008–2016

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Metadata
Title
Bridging the accessibility gap in Open Educational Resources
Authors
Rosa Navarrete
Sergio Luján-Mora
Publication date
07-03-2017
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Universal Access in the Information Society / Issue 4/2018
Print ISSN: 1615-5289
Electronic ISSN: 1615-5297
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-017-0529-9

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