PRESENTED BY Vashkar Bhattacharjee Focal Person DAISY, Bangladesh

YPSA Young power in social Action (YPSA) is the leading organization in Bangladesh dedicated to the promotion of accessibility of electronic and communication technologies and accessibility.

My role as a Focal Person of DAISY, YPSA Discussion with PM of ICT Accessibility Representing YPSA at digital World 2015 As a focal person of DAISY I have been engaged different National and international initiative to promote the rights of Accessibility for people with disability. Involved with different study and research on climate change, Disaster Management and ICT accessibility

My role as a focal person of DAISY, YPSA

Introduction Inclusive education involves focusing on the individual needs of learners, especially the students with disabilities, for helping them to overcome any barriers that may prevent them from reaching their potential as well as fostering an understanding of social equality. Through information and technology student with disabilities can go through smoothly of their study.

Books and other Printed Documents It is difficult to supply books and written information in a format that persons with visual or print disabilities can use freely by themselves. A few challenges should be considered, to overcome, when creating materials for such disadvantaged groups:

Few challenges should be considered ICT Time Cost

The alternative formats to print 1.Braille 2. Audio Books 3. E-text 4. Large Print

The alternative formats to print Braille production of the printed materials should be available for its accessibility. Audio Books: Digital recording provides numerous additional benefits compared to analog recording. e-Text: The screen reading software loaded on a PC can be an excellent reader of electronic text, and is easy to produce and distribute among persons with blindness or print disabilities. Large print: The electronic text can be viewed in large print on a PC and the large font printing of the book in e-Text has made large print production easier than ever before.

Electronic Documents All text should be in accessible format like: – UNICODE – Electronic Book (e-book) – EPUB – DAISY

UNICODE: One of the basic requirements for making e-books accessible to all, including print disabled and visually challenged users, is the use of Unicode supported e-Text when creating electronic documents. And with the use of ICT tools different electronic documents can be accessible to all the students. Electronic Book (e-book): An electronic book (e-book), also known as digital book, is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, which are readable on computers or other electronic devices. The electronic version of a printed book can also exist without any printed equivalent. Digital books form the source of all electronically readable formats including Braille, accessible e-Text and audio books. With the use of assistive technology such as a screen reading software these electronic books can be readable for all.

EPUB-3 EPUB 3: The EPUB® specification is a standard distribution and interchange format used for digital publications. EPUB can offer a way of representing, packaging and encoding structured and semantically enhanced Web content — including HTML5, CSS, SVG, images, and other resources — for distribution in a single-file format. The recommendations should abide by EPUB 3 standard for digital books. They should follow EPUB 3 accessibility guidelines published by International Digital Publishing Forum itself.

DAISY DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) standards are a set of globally accepted standards devised for the production and storage of reading materials in e-Text, audio or read-out-loud format. DAISY standard books can be usable and accessible for all children with disability. The government and NGO and other social development organisations should help schools and inclusive education institutions for availability of these formats and should provide necessary equipment and resources.

Websites and other On-Line Resources The set of guidelines, referred as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), can be used for making websites universally accessible, which are developed and being maintained by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Suitable screen reading software can be used for ensuring the accessibility of these web contents. It is important to identify the list of accessible websites which comply with w3c. For example, people who are blind and use screen readers can hear the alt text read out; and people who have turned off images to speed download or save bandwidth.

Film, Video and other Broadcast Resources Information in podcasts or other audio is not available to people who are deaf or some people who are hard of hearing, unless it is provided in an alternative format such as captions and text transcripts. Visual information in videos is not available to people who are blind or some people what have low vision, unless it is provided in an alternative format such as audio or text. (Text can be read by a screen reader or Braille display, or enlarged and reformatted for people with low vision).

Software and Hardware Considerations Inclusive education technologies are divided into six areas: Alternative Access Hardware, Alternate Access Software, Communication Hardware, Communication Software, Vision Hardware, and Vision Software.

Alternate Access Hardware Alternate access hardware is a class of high-tech tools that offer a student access to a computer in a non- standard manner. These tools include alternate key boards, key guards, alternate mice, touch screens, switches, switch interfaces, and more. Alternate Access Software Alternate access software is a class of high-tech tools that offer a student access to curriculum in a non- standard manner. These tools can include supports for reading, written output, organization, computer control, text-to-speech conversion speech-to-text conversion, and more.

Communication Hardware Communication hardware is a class of high-tech tools that allow a student to participate and communicate in the classroom during lessons. These tools include low-tech symbol/picture boards, eye gaze and eye pointing system, head pointing device, keyboards, touch screens, and high-tech portable and handheld computers equipped with AAC software (augmentative and alternative communication). Communication Software Communication software is a class of high-tech tools that can allow a student with a communication disability to communicate and participate in classroom discussions in a non-standard manner. These tools include supports for reading, written output, organization, computer control and more.

Vision Hardware Vision hardware is a class of high tech tools that can allow students with low vision or blindness to access written material in the classroom and on the Internet. These tools include Braille Writers, enlarged keyboards, CCTV, portable note takers and various magnifiers. Vision Software Vision software is a class of high-tech tools that can allow a student access to the curriculum in a non- standard manner. These tools include screen readers, scan and read systems, and digital book readers.

CASE STUDY Accessible books: A Dream Comes true For the first time in the history of Bangladesh government has arranged to distribute free book of primary school students which are accessible such as converted to Unicode-text, DAISY multimedia books, Digital Braille, accessible e- books. YPSA (a non government organization )along with a2i Access to Information Programme, prime minister office has been working to ensure accessible books. Hence the student with the disability are getting book of alternative format as they desire.

QUESTIONS YPSA website: