Go to Content
Home
Description
Objectives
Expected Results
DfA curricula
Downloads
Deliverables
Partners
Contact details
link to European Design for All e-Accessibility Network
link to Information Society Technologies website
The e Inclusion: be part of it. Campaign is organised by the European Commission. More information on this action is available at http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/einclusion. The European Commission bears no responsibility for, nor is it involved in, the events, documents or other manifestations associated or claiming to be associated with the campaign, unless indicated otherwise
> Home > Description

Curriculum guidelines for teaching DfA (Masters level programme)

Overview

The DfA@eInclusion Coordination Action was set up to contribute towards the advancement of eInclusion in Europe through fostering Design for All. As part of this programme curriculum guidelines have been developed to support training and education at Bachelor and Masters level and to provide professional development.

The aim of these curriculum guidelines in Design for All in ICT is to assist academics defining new courses, students who are looking for courses and employers who are looking to recruit qualified graduates who have a solid grounding in Design for All in ICT.

Masters students are expected to work at the forefront of knowledge and research in Design for All and eInclusion, to show critical awareness of knowledge from different fields and to demonstrate specialised problem-solving skills leading to innovative solutions. The full Masters programme enables students to specialise in Design for All issues. Individual modules can be also be offered as part of mainstream teaching of information technologies, computing, and design.

For an extended overview of the Curriculum guidelines for the Masters level programme, please refer to the Overview document.

Core knowledge and skills in Design for All

The core knowledge and skills needed to enable students to understand and apply the key principles of universal design throughout the design process and to support the goal of equality of access was developed from the work of the IDCnet and D4ALLnet projects, and the EDeAN SIG on education (http://www.edean.org). This includes both generic awareness of Design for All, principles and guidelines, human rights, disability and ICT specific knowledge and skills in accessible interaction design, accessible content, user centred design and new paradigms.

Harmonisation of Higher Education in Europe

The curriculum guidelines set out the learning outcomes and course objectives in order to meet the varied requirements of Higher Education in Europe, and the European Qualifications Framework. The proposed curriculum guidelines in education and training have the following objectives:

  • To support academia, industry and user organisations develop professional qualifications that are recognised throughout Europe.
  • To introduce knowledge and skills to mainstream technology students as well as enable the development of specialists with the competencies of a Masters level programme.
  • To support the development of new programmes of study that offer best practice in education, will promote accessible learning and will enthuse and motivate the student.

A flexible learning experience

The Masters level Design for All in ICT programme is made up from a number of modules that can be adapted to meet European, national and local academic requirements. The full programme leads to a specialised qualification. Eight modules were developed in collaboration with the partners of the DfA@einclusion project and the first five have been used as the basis for establishing a Masters programme at Middlesex University, UK (see www.mdx.ac.uk/digitalinclusion):

  • Fundamentals of Design for All in ICT, develops a critical understanding of Design for All principles and the latest practices with respect to a range of current and novel ICT solutions.
  • Design for All Regulation, Legislation and Standardisation, develops a critical understanding of how the implementation of Design for All theory and practice is supported by the use of regulation, legislation and guidelines and affects the design of ICT equipment.
  • Inclusive Design and User Experience, develops a critical understanding of established tools and techniques supporting the design and evaluation of ICT products and services that are accessible to a broad range of users without the need for specialist adaptations.
  • Accessible Web Design, develops a critical understanding of the theoretical knowledge and current best practice on web accessibility which underpin the design, development and the evaluation of accessible Web content and services.
  • Design for All Research Project, provides the students with the experience of utilising Design for All principles to understand and solve a real world problem.

These three modules extend the scope of the programme according to local needs and opportunities for specialisation, and address requirements for a strong technology element: