Accessible education in the Digital Age Hannu Puupponen Planning Coordinator Admission and Student services University of Jyväskylä

About Accessibility “Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities.” “Accessibility is strongly related to universal design which is the process of creating products that are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations.” (Wikipedia) ”Accessibility means a learning and working environment where everyone can operate on an equal basis, irrespective of their personal qualities” (ESOK project).

About Digital age “Shift from traditional industry to an economy based on information computerization.” “In a commercialized society, the information industry is able to allow individuals to explore their personalized needs, therefore simplifying the procedure of making decisions for transactions and significantly lowering costs for both the producers and buyers.” (Wikipedia)

Discussion with blind students Two of the students study humanities, one studies IT. Mostly students are quite satisfied with University teaching and services It appears that the departments differ from each other in the use of IT – Papers and pencil vs. e-examination – Contact learning vs. on-line lectures and recordings However studying IT has turned out too visual with many graphs and images – ”More detailed infromation is needed on studying”.

Discussion with blind students (2) The new student is not interested in tactile map but wishes for: List of the most essential course books in good time to order them from Celia Lecture materials (.ppt files) in accessible format Information on Braille encoding of the phonetic alphabet.

Discussion with blind students (3) The international student haven´t got any support from exchange programs. It appears that: There isn´t any assistant available The buss timetable won´t work with screen reader The buss stop has been removed because of construction work University copy service user interface is not accessible Wireless printing is not possible There are inaccessible class assignments and materials on the learning management system There are inaccessible documents that are scanned images on webpages and websites Copy service and instructions do not support the use of OCR Inaccessible live chat and discussion board functions are uset IT support is not familiar with Assistive Technology.

Small steps towards accessible education Design for All network ”Accessible studies in universities” report by Ministry of Education 2005 Finnish Inclusive Higher Education (ESOK) project ESOK volunteer network 2011-

Small steps towards accessible education (2) ”Slowly but surely. Progress in the accessibility of university and polytechnic education in the 2000s.” Ministry of Education and Culture 2012 – need to work for accessibility as regards strategic planning and – the personnel’s pedagogical skills – electronic communication is still inaccessible at places – challenges of old and/or listed buildings – equality and inclusion of all members of the community.

Small steps towards accessible education (3) Accessible knowledge and communication environment (Stivi) recommendation – More flexible education for all vs. new barriers for some learners. New University policies and practices – E.g. Accessible education at the University of Jyväskylä. Rector’s decision, 24 June 2014

Small steps towards accessible education (4) Non-Discrimination Act (1325/2014) – Act will be applied to all public and private activities – 11 prohibited grounds of discrimination – public authorities, education providers, educational institutes and employers are required to draw up a plan to promote equality – reasonable accommodations to ensure that employees with disabilities have equal access to services, work or education and training – denial of reasonable accommodations and instructions or orders to discriminate are prohibited.

Current activities University staff training organized by Stivi project (accessible documents, web sites and multimedia) 2015 Equity in student mobility in the Nordic higher education project – based on Nordic Council of Minister's (NMR) invitation – NNDC Nordic network of disability coordinators Accessible education ESF application (16 different Educational organizations and NGOs) – Indicators – Training – Support for organizational development – Political activities – Benchmarking.

Some expectations Ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Accessibility of public sector bodies' websites Proposal for a Directive 2012 / National legislation.