Accessible lifelong learning at higher education:outcomes and lessons Learned at two different PilotSites in the EU4ALL Project

[EN] The EU4ALL project (IST-FP6-034778) has developed a general framework to address the needs of accessible lifelong learning at Higher Education level consisting of several standards-based interoperable components integrated into an open web service architecture aimed at supporting adapted interaction to guarantee students' accessibility needs. Its flexibility has supported the project implementation at several sites with different settings and various learning management systems. Large-scale evaluations involving hundreds of users, considering diverse disability types, and key staff roles have allowed obtaining valuable lessons with respect to "how to adopt or enhance eLearning accessibility" at university. The project was evaluated at four higher education institutions, two of the largest in Europe and two mediumsized. In this paper, we focus on describing the implementation and main conclusions at the largest project evaluation site (UNED), which was involved in the project from the beginning, and thus, in the design process, and a medium-sized university that adopted the EU4ALL approach (UPV). This implies dealing with two well-known open source learning environments (i.e. dotLRN and Sakai), and considering a wide variety of stakeholders and requirements. Thus the results of this evaluation serve to illustrate the coverage of both the approach and developments.The authors would like to thank the European Commission for the financial support of the EU4ALL project (IST-2006-034478). The work at aDeNu is also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (TIN2008-06862-C04-01/TSI “A2UN@”). Authors would also like to thank all the EU4ALL partners for their collaboration.Boticario, JG.; Rodriguez-Ascaso, A.; Santos, OC.; Raffenne, E.; Montandon, L.; Roldán Martínez, D.; Buendía García, F. (2012). Accessible lifelong learning at higher education:outcomes and lessons Learned at two different PilotSites in the EU4ALL Project. Journal of Universal Computer Science. 18(1):62-85. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/37117628518

LDL particle size and composition and incident cardiovascular disease in a South-European population: The Hortega-Liposcale Follow-up Study.

The association of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle composition with cardiovascular risk has not been explored before. The aim was to evaluate the relationship between baseline LDL particle size and composition (proportions of large, medium and small LDL particles over their sum expressed as small-LDL %, medium-LDL % and large-LDL %) and incident cardiovascular disease in a population-based study. Methods: Direct measurement of LDL particles was performed using a two-dimensional NMR-technique (Liposcale®). LDL cholesterol was assessed using both standard photometrical methods and the Liposcale® technique in a representative sample of 1162 adult men and women from Spain. Results: The geometric mean of total LDL particle concentration in the study sample was 827.2 mg/dL (95% CI 814.7, 839.8). During a mean follow-up of 12.4 ± 3.3 years, a total of 159 events occurred. Medium LDL particles were positively associated with all cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke after adjustment for traditional risk factors and treatment. Regarding LDL particle composition, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for CHD for a 5% increase in medium and small LDL % by a corresponding decrease of large LDL % were 1.93 (1.55, 2.39) and 1.41 (1.14, 1.74), respectively. Conclusions: Medium LDL particles were associated with incident cardiovascular disease. LDL particles showed the strongest association with cardiovascular events when the particle composition, rather than the total concentration, was investigated. A change in baseline composition of LDL particles from large to medium and small LDL particles was associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, especially for CHD

Accessibility and MOOC: towards a holistic perspective

In order to address the increasing demand on MOOCs, which considers the personal interaction needs of every student, including those with disabilitie,; here we offer a framework of services, standards, quality procedures and related issues that should be taken into account. Firstly, in this work we review related literature, where there is an apparent contradiction between current standards and developments versus a low level of accessibility in MOOCs. To this end, we have already developed an open and standards-based architecture of services for Higher Education students with and without disabilities (which can be integrated into different learning platforms), that has already been evaluated in EU4ALL, a European research project. Secondly, we adopt a user-centred design approach to devise a set of scenarios to illustrate the needs of any MOOC user. In these scenarios we identify a set of barriers for learning which are mainly caused by the lack of support that disabled students receive. Thirdly, we discuss the applicability of the EU4ALL service architecture, as well as of other initiatives from the literature to remove the identified barriers. To conclude, we highlight the main issues involved and introduce our present and future developments, which focus on detecting and using the affective state of the student, which, for example, can be used in reducing the high dropout rates of current MOOCs

Accessible mathematics videos for non-disabled students in primary education.

Our work applies Universal Design criteria for producing and using Mathematics videos for primary education students, at a time when many countries are shifting towards inclusive education policies. We have focused on how the accessibility criteria used for students with visual impairments might affect non-disabled students. For this, we reviewed applicable Universal Design principles as well as best practices in multimedia learning. We took into account the roles, procedures, tools and standards involved in the multimedia lifecycle. We then undertook an experiment consisting of producing two videos about prime numbers with the same pedagogical contents; one video was accessible for students with visual impairments and the other one was not accessible to them. We conducted a trial in real world school settings with 228 non-disabled children, who were randomly assigned a version, either accessible or not accessible, and were then asked to take a test to measure objective aspects of their learning concerning retention and transfer as well as several subjective aspects, including the attractiveness of the videos. Results indicate that there were no significant differences in the scores obtained by students using either video, although the group who watched the accessible video obtained higher score medians in the retention questions. Moreover, students found the accessible video significantly more attractive (p = 0.042). Our study provides recommendations for different stakeholders and stages within the process of producing multimedia mathematics materials that are accessible to primary students with visual impairments, as well as evidence demonstrating that everybody can benefit from the recommendations for developing good quality, accessible multimedia material

Apoyo adaptativo basado en IMS-LD y estrategias psico-educativas para la familiarización de estudiantes con discapacidad con su entorno virtual de aprendizaje

Este trabajo se enmarca en las investigaciones realizadas en los proyectos EU4ALL (IST-2006-034778) y A2UN@ (TIN2008-06862-C04-01/TSI y TIN2008-06862-C04-00/TSI) centrados en el soporte a instituciones de Educación Superior en las actividades que deben llevarse a cabo para garantizar la participación de alumnos con discapacidad. Tanto la accesibilidad como la usabilidad de los contenidos y actividades académicas a desarrollar en el ámbito de los estudios superiores son temas abordados en las etapas de la investigación. Desde una perspectiva inclusiva que considere las necesidades específicas del estudiante se han desarrollado diseños instruccionales que tienen en cuenta distintos tipos de estudiantes, que presentan diferentes necesidades de apoyo, utilizando estándares tecnológicos educativos como la especificación IMS-LD (Instructional Management System- Learning Design) e implementándola a través del soporte proporcionado por la plataforma aprendizaje dotLRN. Dichos diseños se convierten entonces en unidades de aprendizaje ejecutadas por la plataforma en las que se adaptan recursos, contenidos y flujos de aprendizaje a las características y necesidades específicas de los estudiantes con discapacidad y/o dificultades de aprendizaje en Enseñanza Superior (dislexias, deficientes auditivos, problemas atencionales, etc.). En el diseño de actividades, contenidos y recursos se integran estrategias de aprendizaje dirigidas a mejorar las competencias del usuario para conseguir atender sus necesidades de forma interactiva, a través de distintos caminos de aprendizaje prediseñados. Así, la atención a la diversidad se integra con la ofrecida al resto de sus compañeros, consiguiendo resultados idóneos que pueden ser reutilizados en diferentes contextos y cursos