:barrierefreiesweb_design Postgraduate Course on Accessible Web Design Klaus Miesenberger

Motivation People get aware of necessity: Potential of ICT/AT/web obvious Public sector: Law Industry and business: Procurement, more clients Web designers  Increasing demand for education, consulting and support BUT: No complete teaching offer

Idea Post-graduate course on Accessible Web Design Submission of proposal to develop course Project funded by: ESFEuropean Social Fund bm:bwkMinistry of Education, Science and Culture

Key Dates April 2003: Proposal submission June 2003: acceptance August 2003: kick off Funding: 46% (ESF, bm:bwk), own recourses: 54% Development August January 2005 Start of post-graduate course: October 2005 Duration of post-graduate course: 4 semester (2 years)

Course Layout 4 semester Designed for participants „on the job“ E-Learning based – only minimum attendance Degree: „Academic Expert in Accessible Web Design“ (accreditation by the University of Linz) Course language: German Fee: €1300 pro Semester

Target Groups Private persons –Web designers and developers in general –Web designers and developers in special institutions Special target groups –People with disabilities –Persons living in border regions –Parents who have to take care of their children –People trying to achieve reengagement –University students and graduates Companies: –Better public relations –Bigger market –New clients –General: better usability

Curriculum Modules: 1.Basics in IT 2.Assistive Technologies (AT) 3.Legal Requirements and Organizational Frameworks 4.Accessibility 5.Design and Usability 6.Application

Curriculum 1. Basics in IT –HTML, CSS and XML –Accessible Document Development –Web-Programming –Internet/Web/Technology and Security

Curriculum 2. Assistive Technologies (AT) –Basics in AT –Man-Machine-Interaction (MMI)

Curriculum 3. Guidelines and Legal Requirements – Web Accessibility Guidelines – National and International Laws and Standards

Curriculum 4. Accessibility –Techniques for Accessible Design –Evaluation and Repair Tools –Basics in Software-Accessibility –Accessible Multimedia on the Web –Authoring Tools and User Agents

Curriculum 5. Design and Usability –Usability Engineering –User Interaction Design

Curriculum 6. Application –Examples of Best and Worst Practice in Accessible Web Design –Design or Redesign of a Web Application in Practice

Teaching Tool Moodle Online handout Slides Audio and video files Training examples and tasks Communication via , forum, chat Multimedia: SMIL for captioning and synchronization

Face to Face Meetings To get to know the teachers To build up groups To develop a common course goal To get to know the online learning system To develop and to agree on rules … motivation

Entrance Prerequisites University entrance prerequisites –Graduation from secondary school –Special university entrance exam Specific Knowledge in the Field –From education –From job –Interview at university

Expected Effects Pro active answer to accessibility legislation More accessible and usable websites Economic advantage for content provider: more clients, increased satisfaction Awareness raising New vocational field – especially for people with disabilities Modular approach => easy adaptation Integration into regular courses of studies

Participants 21 students 17 in the job, 4 unemployed 11 sent by their employer 4 with a disability Germany and Austria