Curriculum models notes IDCnet etc

The eEurope 2002 Action Plan in the e[1]Accessibility area concentrated mainly on actions to promote Design-for-all (DfA) approaches and the adoption of the Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines for public websites.

Certification for Digital Accessibility Professionals and Teachers – A Survey on Existing Options and Considerations for a Way Forward

In Europe, the EU-funded project IDCNet (Inclusive Design Curriculum Network, 2002- 2004) tried to identify core knowledge sets and skills for Design for All that should be included in design curricula for ICT (IDCNet 2005; Strobbe 2004). IDCNet defined a taxonomy of knowledge sets and skills that contained a general category (which also took interpersonal skills into account) and an ICT category. Efforts to define a curriculum were continued through the development of CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) 16266, “Curriculum for training ICT Professionals in Universal Design”, which was published in 2011 (CEN 2011). This document described a modular curriculum that could be adapted for various target groups, such as software developers, testers, designers and managers. Since the maximum lifetime of a CWA is six years, this document is no longer available on CEN’s website.

When planning for changing the landscape towards a more inclusive society, it is essential to build capacity for digital accessibility in various professional fields, including education, work, government and services.

In the curriculum guidelines for a Computer Science bachelor of the North American Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the topic of digital accessibility is scattered over three bodies of knowledge (Human-Computer Interaction, Information Management, and Social Issues and Professional Practice), but is not broken down into sub-topics (ACM/IEEE 2013).

ACM/IEEE. 2013. Computer Science Curricula 2013. Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Computer Science. https://www.acm.org/binaries/content/assets/ed ucation/cs2013_web_final.pdf

idcnet_inclusive_design_curriculum_network_first_results.pdf

In December 1999, the eEurope initiative was launched by the European Commission to bring the benefits of the Information Society to all Europeans. In June 2000, the eEurope 2002 Action Plan was agreed by the Heads of State and Government in Feira to set out a roadmap to achieve eEurope's targets. Among the goals of the Action Plan was “By the end of 2002 […]. Ensure the establishment and networking of national centers of excellence in design[1]for-all and create a European curriculum for designers and engineers.” With that objective in mind, IDCnet was born, as a joint effort of some European universities, research centres and user organisations.

The strategic goal of IDCnet was to integrate information and identify core knowledge sets and skills for model curricula in DfA for Information and Communication Products, Systems and Services. IDCnet situated its activities in the multidisciplinary area of design, especially design for, and supported by ICT. The Design for All or Universal Design philosophy embraces a wide range of design artifacts, including the built environment and landscape architecture, biomedical and rehabilitation engineering. IDCnet focused on the design of information & communication products, systems and services.

The objectives of IDCnet were to: • Integrate information to understand the ICT design education culture and the industry needs in Europe. • Identify knowledge sets and skills that should be part of a curriculum for DfA in ICT. • Influence education and research policies. • Mainstreaming DfA in the education sector.

Among the main results of the project, we highlight: • An overview of the needs of the industry in the area of ICT, a review of future technological landscapes, and how they can influence the optimal graduate profile. • A taxonomy of core knowledge and skill sets for model curricula based on the previous considerations and a survey of the present state of teaching DfA worldwide. • A proposal for an optimal graduate profile for DfA. • A set of recommendations on DfA-related higher education and research policies and strategies in EU countries.

As part of the project, the members of IDCnet, along with founding members of the EDeAN SIG on curriculum, documented a wide range of courses that were recently taught in various higher education institutes in Europe. The common link between these is the teaching of DfA and the use of the taxonomy to categorise the material being taught.

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Curriculum models notes IDCnet etc

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