Interoperability for individual learner centred accessibility for web-based educational systems

This paper describes the interoperability underpinning a new strategy for delivering accessible computer-based resources to individual learners based on their specified needs and preferences in the circumstances in which they are operating. The new accessibility strategy, known as AccessForAll, augments the model of universal accessibility of resources by engaging automated systems and builds upon the previous development of libraries of suitable resources and components. It focuses on individual learners and their particular accessibility needs and preferences. It fits within an inclusive framework for educational accommodation that supports accessibility, mobility, cultural, language and location appropriateness and increases educational flexibility. Its effectiveness will depend upon widespread use that will exploit the 'network effect' to increase the content available for accessibility and distribute the responsibility for the availability of accessible resources across the globe. Widespread use will depend upon the interoperability of AccessForAll implementations that, in turn, will depend on the success of the four major aspects of their interoperability: structure, syntax, semantics and systemic adoption

Do We Need Application Profiles? Reflections and Suggestions from Work in DCMI and ISO/IEC

In this paper, the authors question the role and naming of 'application profiles' (APs). It is not a research paper but aims to foster a discussion that the authors think is pertinent. Both have been involved in the development and use of application profiles for some considerable time. This paper does not provide answers but aims to raise issues for others' consideration. Essentially, the issues show that communities can share work easily through the interchange of APs but suggests that greater precision in their naming would be useful, and they may not always be necessary given the current state of RDF technologies

Web Accessibility 3.0: Learning From The Past, Planning For The Future

In this paper the authors think afresh about the problems of social inclusion and argue that "Web accessibility 3.0" must be very different from the WAI WCAG 1.0 and holistic accessibility approaches if it is ever to be effective. The paper provides a critical reappraisal of the limitations of the WAI approach to Web accessibility, arguing that its political successes have failed to be supporting by the development of practical, achievable and future-proofed guidelines for Web authors. The paper goes on to question whether the holistic approach to Web accessibility, which seeks to make use of WCAG guidelines in a pragmatic fashion, which acknowledges the importance of the context of use, the resource implications and the requirements to support a wide range of requirements beyond accessibility, provides a scalable approach which is capable of addressing accessibility in a Web 2.0 environment, in which many users exploit services which are no longer managed within the institution. An alternative approach to Web accessibility is described which seeks to exploit the scale of the Web. The approach, which has been labelled Accessibility 3.0, has parallels with the ideas surrounding 'Web 3.0' which seeks to build on the rich interactivity provided by Web 2.0 with deeper exploitation of the relationships between resources using Semantic Web approaches. The paper concludes by revisiting the lessons learnt over the decade in the approaches taken to seeking to enhance the accessibility of Web resources and argues the need to adopt a critical approach to the alternative approaches described in this paper

Visualising interoperability : ARH, aggregation, rationalisation and harmonisation

This paper proposes a visualisation of interoperability to assist real-world deployment of metadata. For some time, resource managers in many organisations have been acting on faith, creating 'standards compliant' metadata with the aim of exposing their resources to provide interoperability in discovery activities. In some cases, their faith has led them to miss the very essence of the work they are doing, and they have not got what they worked for. The authors report a case study involving government agencies in Victoria, Australia. A number of departmental agencies have implemented, more or less, the DC-based Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS) application profile, at least for their web resources. They have done this with care and precision, with the long-term aim of developing a fully interoperable system. In the case study, typical would-be records for seven government departments were studied and it was shown that the tiniest, and typical, variation in use of the standard can be expected to thwart the aimsof interoperability in significant ways. In the context of the government’s move to seeking interoperable metadata for all resources, including those within document management systems, the authors make visible how a small 'creep' can lead away from interoperability and how it might be contained in the future. They use a 3-step approach of 'aggregation, rationalisation and harmonisation' to expose the problems with 'nearly good enough' interoperability and the benefits of good interoperability, and encourage true harmonisation

Learner-centred Accessibility for Interoperable Web-based Educational Systems

This paper describes the need for an information model and specifications that support a new strategy for delivering accessible computer-based resources to learners based on their specific needs and preferences in the circumstances in which they are operating. The strategy augments the universal accessibility of resources model to enable systems to focus on individual learners and their particular accessibility needs and preferences. A set of specifications known as the AccessForAll specifications is proposed

Kinds of tags: progress report for the DC-Social tagging community

Apresentação efectuada na DC-2007 International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications - "Application profiles : theory and practice", Singapura, 27 - 31 Ag. 2007

DC Metadata is Alive and Well (and has Influenced a New Standard for Education)

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative [DCMI], as a community, has collaboratively developed 'standards' for twenty years. DCMI recommendations have become 'international standards' by being adopted, for example by the United States' National Information Standards Organization [NISO], and then by promotion by them to the International Standards Organization, [ISO/IEC JTC1]. This has led to wider implementation on one dimension, formally, still shepherded by the DCMI. Different dimensions have emerged from significant developments within other entities and communities, such as the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C], etc. The deliberately open nature of DCMI work has meant that people with no known connection to DCMI can nevertheless take advantage of the DCMI work. Further, it asserts that 'DC Metadata' is, as a result of work done by outsiders, in fact thriving in the global environment

Why is Accessibility Metadata Proving Difficult?

Accessibility metadata is simply metadata that describes the accessibility of resources and services, usually those on, or available through, the web. Awareness of widespread web content inaccessibility led to work being done to develop guidelines for authors and others to make sure that content would be more accessible to those with special access needs, especially those with disabilities who were being disenfranchised by their lack of access to the web. Currently, work is being done to find ways of signalling the degree of accessibility of resources, and ways of matching resources to searches and people. In addition, accessibility metadata could be used to repair some inaccessibility problems on the fly. This paper describes some of the work being done and the problems that have contributed to make the progress comparatively slow