The ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) is the largest (more than 7 Mio. participants) and internationally recognized program for certification of IT competence. The ECDL barrierfree project achieved accessibility for people with special needs. Based on successful e-Learning material, all 7 Modules of the ECDL are now available as an interactive learning platform which meets the needs of people with disabilities. The goal is to enhance the education of people with disabilities and thereby ease their entry into the job market through the acquisition of the internationally recognised IT certificate ECDL and to rise public awareness.

Policy Context

The objective of our Society is the comprehensive and interdisciplinary promotion of information processing, with due regard to its effects on man and society. * It serves as an umbrella organization of associations, organizations, and institutions in Austria involved in information processing (32 institutional members at this time). * It represents Austria in the IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) and in similar regional associations (e.g. CEPIS - the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies - and IMIA - the International Medical Informatics Association). * It is affiliate member of ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) and of the IEEE Computer Society. * It provides members with services, information and consultation. * It promotes research and development projects, especially those of an interdisciplinary nature. * It has established several Working Groups dealing with specialized aspects in the field of information technology. * It organizes international conferences and congresses. At this time the Austrian Computer Society has more than 900 individual members and more than 100 supporting and institutional members - The Society is the National Operator of the Initiative "ECDL" (European Computer Driving Licence), the largest IT education program in Europe and has established a network of app. 300 ECDL Test Centers, 2000 IT Trainers and different courseware providers. The Society takes responsibility for people with special needs in many ways: - coordination of the Leonardo Project "ECDL PD" to evaluate accessibility of ECDL Test Centers and ECDL Syllabus for people with disabilities - organisation of the international conference "ICCHP -International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs" as a scientific forum - organisation of a national conference on "work and People with disabilities" for government stakeholders, organisations and experts

Description of target users and groups

6 different target groups: (1) blind, (2) visually handicapped, (3) deaf, (4) audible handicapped, (5) mobile handicapped, (6) cognitive limited. Furthermore people with lower education and of non German mother tongue will profit from the easy to read features of ECDL barrierfree

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The project partners in Austria are - Microsoft (main sponsor) - BmBWK (Federal Ministry for Education) - Bitmedia (Vendor of the eLearning Platform) - University Linz - Institut Integriert Studieren (Expertise with the target groups) - OCG Austrian Computer Society (national operator ECDL) The project partners in Switzerland are: SI- Swiss Informatic Society- implementation support and networking ECDL Switzerland AG- national operator for ECDL Microsoft Switzerland- main sponsor and public relations Access for All- Expertise and dissemination The project lead is situated with OCG in Vienna (Thomas Geretschläger), in national and international project meetings we define the targets, do the controlling and plan future development Multi-channel issues: The project results are available online via a eLearning portal and as aCBT Courseware (DVD). e-Learning is offered as a supporting tool to enhance IT training for people with disabilities and to enable learning independent of location and time. Regionally based Test Centers offer classroom training, assisted and blended learning in order to offer the best suitable learning method. The eLearning platform is offered with maximum flexibility that enables to find the best learning modus for each individual candidate out of the target groups

Technology solution

The project enables people with disabilities to become ECDL certified and helps them to enter the labour market. Based on a successful e-learning material, all seven ECDL modules in the project are available as an interactive learning platform which meets the needs of people with disabilities. The material is offered in 2 Versions, a multi-media Version including simple language text and a plain .html Version for blind people. The structure of the project follows a holistic approach to cover all special requirements of people with disabilities. The ECDL barrierefrei project is based on the ECDL standards. People with disabilities are provided with the same ECDL tests as any other ECDL Candidate. They are allowed to use assistive technologies and equipment, for example the tests are designed in simple language with short sentences and very clear structural sequences, so the requirements of deaf and cognitive impaired people are covered. Blind and visually impaired people can use Braille display and screen reader, special keyboard etc.

Main results, benefits and impacts

The project consortium follows a holistic approach to cover all requirements for people with disabilities to receive ECDL certification. This will comprise: 1. information phase: ECDL barrierfree info campaign informs target groups via different channels (website, folders, networking events) about the ECDL barrierfree approach 2. screening phase: Test Center infrastructure undergo assessment with specific checklist and capable institutes are referenced and recommended on the ECDL website 3. consultation for the target group at the Test Centers (concerning available tools and education systems) 4. training phase: eLearning with ECDL barrierfree Portal or blended learning at compatible ECDL Test Center 5. testing: all official ECDL Tests are compatible for people with disabilities 6. certification: the internationally valid ECDL certificate is issued. Facing the situation that there are just a few well equipped Test Centres for people with disabilities existing and a small number of fully qualified trainers for the target group, we needed to take action leading to a higher level of sensibility for the importance of accessibility matters. The project consortium addresses a network of education institutions and and IT trainers to rise awareness for requirements of people with special needs and implement results of ECDL barrierfree. 1. ECDL Test Centres OCG informs and updates all 300 ECDL Test centres on ECDL barrierfree at ECDL Test Centre meetings. OCG offers a specific ECDL barrierfree workshop comprising information about ECDL barrierfree, assisting technology, adaptation of operating System and social impact of IT training for people with special needs. 2. IT trainers IT trainers are obliged to attend a workshop to get certified as authorised ECDL Tester by OCG. By integrating information on ECDL barrierfree in these workshops we assure that all ECDL Testers are updated on the project. OCG organises app. 50 Workshops a year, 400 IT trainers are reached per anno. 3. School teachers Via national and regional organisations and school authority the results of ECDL barrierfree are distributed at the sector of public schools. 4. ECDL Testers in Schools ECDL Testers in schools take part in obligatory update workshops with app. 80 participants every year. Informations concerning ECDL barrierfree are integrated into this workshop. 5. Multiplication channels of project partners Organisations dealing specifically with people with disabilities are identified and updated on ECDL barrierfree. 6. web-based Platform for eLearning Software ECDL barrierfree at www.barrierefrei.ecdl.at Specific content for ECDL will be made accessible free of cost for the target group. This establish an initial group of users taking advantage of the eLearning content and encourage a larger number of users to register at the portal. Innovation: 1. wide spectrum of target groups the project results are not just for a small community of users, but will be inclusive also for elderly people, migrants and many other users that stilla re excluded of information society by the digital divide 2. holistic approach: the project is not dealing with just one issue, but covers the complete process of infoemation, Education, Certification an integration into job life for the target groups 3. international cooperation The project was adopted by Switzerland and an italian and french version are available 4. PPP project partners of business sector, government, education, NGO and university have contributed their specific know how and ressources to the project 5. "design for all" approach- non discriminatory The eLearning platform was designed offering all assisting features on one universal surface, the standard ECDL tests have been adopted and are used for the testing of all candidates, the level of the ECDL tests is completely similar for all candidates and the IT certification has the same value for employers.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Track record of sharing

Recognitions “Independent training platforms, such as the ECDL barrierefrei project, offer big support especially for people with disabilities. The Austrian Ministry of Education, Art and Culture has a natural desire to ensure access to education for those people, which results in equal employment opportunities.” Dr.Claudia Schmidt, Minister of Education, Art and Culture Two of the participants who were visually impaired gave a very inspiring presentation on how ICT has helped them to overcome their disability and to open up new employment prospects. Examples like this give credibility and relevance to the project. Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman Microsoft Europe Our initial idea was to support people with disabilities in helping them to access the Information Society. ECDL barrierefrei offers educational material and training to help people with disabilities gaining better job opportunities. Herbert Schweiger, General Manager, Microsoft Austria “Every ECDL Candidate needs an individual approach and different kind of support. The ECDL barrierefrei project is extremely valuable, since it offers support for people with special needs and value those who generally struggle with ICT.’’ Andreas Hellmann, Trainer in the ECDL barrierefrei project “Especially for blind people, the personal computer provides a very important access point for the information and activities which would otherwise remain unknown to this particular group of people. The ECDL barrierefrei project has an important impact on lives of people with disabilities, since it helps them provide with new or better career prospects. Some of my former students work as programmers and software testers for telecommunications companies or as ICT employees. And I believe that the basics for these success stories derive from the initiatives, such as the ECDL barrirerefrei project.” Professor Erich Schmidt, the ECDL trainer, blind since birth, a teacher for over 30 years.

Lessons learnt

1. Cooperation Communication with partners and experts is the key to meet the requirements of the target groups 2. Sustainability quick wins are nice, but not sufficient. 3-5 years are necessary to run and communicate a complex project 3. regional and international communication Establishing a network of experts and stakeholders is crucial to get informations and to spread the project results Scope: International