Getting digital accessibility onto high school and college curriculums

Improving accessibility by educating creators

Digital accessibility is a very broad subject. It's about enabling everyone to get online information, use digital services, and do all the things that the internet makes possible. Everyone, including people with impaired vision or hearing, people with poor literacy skills, and those with conditions such as ADD and ADHD. And, of course, elderly people, many of whom have difficulty navigating the digital world. The Accessibility Foundation's aim is the creation of a society where everyone can participate equally, regardless of any disability they may have. For several years, the foundation has pursued that objective by sharing accessibility-related knowledge with schools. "Our Accessibility on the Curriculum project is about more than knowledge dissemination," says Arja. "We're exploring ways of getting digital accessibility integrated into school and college curriculums. We're working to improve accessibility by influencing future creators."

Figure 1: Students discuss the theme of accessibility.

"We do that in a number of ways. We bring in people with experience-based expertise to test students' websites and apps live, for example. That's usually a real eye-opener for students, being able to see for themselves how real people interact with their digital products. We often give guest lessons as well. We've also developed a digital accessibility game and set up an online course that students can follow for free. Another example of our practical approach is the Perceptions workshop, where students can experience for themselves what it's like to have a disability. Spectacles of various kinds are passed around, which mimic the effects of colour blindness and other visual disabilities. A previous grant from SIDN Fund also enabled us to buy a device that imitates a hand tremor. It's wonderful to see how students' awareness grows through such experiences."

Digital accessibility as an exit qualification

"In partnership with the Appt Foundation, we previously developed a toolbox for teachers. The platform that Appt built with support from SIDN Fund forms part of that toolbox. Ultimately, the intention is that teachers will be able to use the toolbox independently. Another objective is to ensure that digital accessibility receives ongoing attention. One way of doing that is to get accessibility knowledge included in the exit qualifications for relevant courses. Exit qualifications are the nationally defined competences that students should possess by the end of a course. So, as well as engaging with students and teachers, we'll be talking to umbrella organisations such as the Vocational Secondary Education Council and the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences."

Support from SIDN Fund

The Accessibility on the Curriculum project started in November 2022 and will run until the end of 2025. "SIDN Fund has given us a grant to cover the first year," says Arja. "During that time, the emphasis will be mainly on IT-related technical courses. In the second year, we'll widen our focus to take in academic courses and non-IT courses. The intention in that second phase is to make intensive use of the toolbox, which we want to be easy to use and available to teachers in the public domain. SIDN Fund's financial support is obviously important, but having access to the Fund's network is valuable too. For instance, through the Fund I came into contact with a lobbyist, who is going to help me push for digital accessibility to be put on the curriculum of as many courses as possible." Mieke van Heesewijk, Programme Manager at SIDN Fund, explains why the Fund is pleased to back the initiative. "It's now really important that digital accessibility is added to school and college curriculums, so that society has a growing pool of professionals capable of developing digitally accessible products and services. Then everyone will be able to participate properly in digital society. The Accessibility Foundation's project supports that goal by giving real momentum to the campaign for inclusion on the curriculum. In due course, we hope that the sector itself will assume responsibility for further implementation."

Figure 2: Representatives of the Accessibility Foundation and Hogeschool Utrecht sign a contract for a partnership in the context of digital accessibility in the curriculum of MBO, HBO and WO.

Working together to build an inclusive society

"In January 2023, we're starting a partnership with Utrecht University of Applied Sciences," continues Arja. "We hope it'll be the first of many. Ultimately, we want all professionals involved in the development of websites, apps and other online services encounter the topic of digital accessibility one way or another while they are studying and training. And we'd like to see all courses on the relevant learning pathways being required to cover digital accessibility. So that we get all the stakeholders working together to build an inclusive society, in which everyone can participate equally." For more about the Accessibility Foundation and its Accessibility on the Curriculum project, contact Arja Boer by mailing info@accessibility.nl or visit www.accessibility.nl.