Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines ‘accessibility’ as follows:

To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas (United Nations, 2006, p. 9).

Accessibility is a right to be ensured in all areas. These include education and the right to appropriate education and active citizenship through access to a flexible curriculum through personalised learning approaches.

‘Can be reached, entered, used, seen’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

Within the i-access project, ‘accessible information’ is understood as information provided in formats which allow every learner to access its content ‘on an equal basis with others’ (United Nations, 2006, p. 9). 

Equipment, devices, apparatuses, services, systems, processes and environmental modifications used by people with disabilities to overcome social, infrastructural and other barriers to learning independence, safe and easy participation in learning activities, and full participation in society (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

‘Enabling technologies’ is another term for ‘assistive technologies’. However, these focus more on creating opportunity than overcoming a deficit.

Captions are intended for audiences who cannot hear the dialogue. In contrast to subtitles, captions include a description of who is speaking, as well as sounds.

Captions that can be selected to be visible or not versus captions that are visible by default.

‘(as in digital content, digital devices, digital resources, digital technology) – essentially, another word for computers and computer technology. (Computers store and process information by converting it all to single-figure numbers – digits.)’ (UNESCO and Microsoft, 2011, p. 90).

… refers to the ease of use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, by people with disability. Web sites need to be developed so that disabled users can access the information. For example:

• for people who are blind, web sites need to be able to be interpreted by programmes which read text aloud and describe any visual images;
• for people who have low vision, web pages need adjustable sized fonts and sharply contrasting colours; and
• for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, audio content should be accompanied by text versions of the dialogue. Sign language video can also help make audio content more accessible.

Internationally, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, prepared by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provide standards for web accessibility (World Health Organization, 2013).

E-inclusion refers to the situation where everyone in society can participate in the information society.

This requires affordable access to technologies, the accessibility and usability of ICT tools and services, and the ability and skills of all individuals to use these tools (‘E-inclusion’ in Eurostat, no date a).

E-learning, or electronic learning, also referred to as web-based or online learning:

… encompasses a broad range of knowledge transferred through digital technologies, sometimes as a complement to traditional education channels. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools is especially powerful for reaching individuals with no access to traditional education and training, either because they live in remote areas or because of their socioeconomic situation or special needs (‘E-learning’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Adapts ‘the functionality of the EPUB 3 format’, which is specific to electronic or e-books, ‘to the unique structural, semantic and behavioral requirements of educational publishing’ (International Digital Publishing Forum, 2015).

Materials that are accessible by a computer or other digital devices. It may include text, images, audio, video or a combination of these.

A format of electronic or e-books. More specifically, the ‘.epub is the file extension of an XML format for reflowable digital books and publications’. EPUB is composed of three open standards produced by the IDPF (International Digital Publishing Forum) (DAISY, 2015).

A typography used in text-editing software. A sans serif font is a font without curls or strokes at the end of each character. Times New Roman is an exception of a sans serif font.

How information is converted or packaged – such as text-editing programs or presentations – and delivered or presented to the user. The ending within file names usually shows the format it is saved in, such as .doc, .docx, .rtf, .xls, .csv, .jpg, .pdf, etc.

Inclusion is both a principle and a process: ‘Inclusion and equity in and through education is the cornerstone of a transformative education agenda […] No education target should be considered met unless met by all’ (World Education Forum, 2015, p. 2).

It can be seen as: ‘A process consisting of actions and practices that embrace diversity and build a sense of belonging, rooted in the belief that every person has value and potential and should be respected’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 419).

The term was often associated with disability, but now extends to wider groups as ‘a response to increasingly complex and diverse societies. It treats diversity as an asset which helps prepare individuals for life and active citizenship in increasingly complex, demanding, multi-cultural and integrated societies’ (Soriano, Watkins and Ebersold, 2017, p. 7).

‘Facts or details about somebody/something’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries).

The ICT4IAL Guidelines focus on the aim of sharing messages to inform and build knowledge in a learning environment. Within the ICT4IAL Guidelines, the different types of information considered are text, image, audio and video (European Agency, 2015c).

[W]ithin the i-access project the term ‘information’ is extended to information in any given format – print or electronic, audio or visual – and is also extended to communication and interaction to cover, for example, the possibility of contacting an organisation to get relevant information. The project focus is on information relevant for lifelong learning. However, the recommendations of the i-access project will be equally valuable for any form of information provision (European Agency, 2012a, p. 48).

ICT ‘covers all technical means used to handle information and aid communication. This includes both computer and network hardware, as well as their software’ (‘Information and communication technology (ICT)’ in Eurostat, no date a).

Any individual or organisation that creates and distributes information.

Information society is ‘a society in which the creation, distribution and treatment of information have become the most significant economic and cultural activities’ (United Nations University, 2016, p. 8). The information society is ‘considered as a necessary previous step to build Knowledge Societies’ (ibid., p. 9).

Learners with disabilities may have a limitation in one or multiple functional domains (e.g. walking, seeing), on a spectrum from minimal to severe. The limitation arises from the interaction between a person’s intrinsic capacity and environmental and personal factors that hinder their full, effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Learners with special educational needs may have a ‘learning difficulty and/or disability that may require special education support. Countries define these needs differently’ (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 420).

A channel through which information can be shared. Media usually contains different types of information simultaneously. Examples include electronic documents, online resources and online learning tools.

A digital label given to information. It is machine-readable and aids the search and categorisation of information, thereby improving searchability.

Open educational resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. OER form part of ‘Open Solutions’, alongside Free and Open Source software (FOSS), Open Access (OA), Open Data (OD) and crowdsourcing platforms (UNESCO, 2021b).

Persons who ‘are not able to use the printed books, newspapers, and magazines – including those with dyslexia, motor disabilities or age-related macular degeneration’ (DAISY, 2015b).

The ability to change the size and zoom of information according to the needs of the user/learner or the device used.

A software program designed to give access from a computer, tablet, mobile or other digital device by reading the presented information with the use of a synthetic voice. In addition to reading text, a screen reader also allows a user/learner to navigate and interact with the content using their voice. For Braille users, a screen reader can also supply the information in Braille.

‘Connected with the meaning of words and sentences’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries). When giving information, this term stresses the need to provide a meaningful structure.

Text information which has been organised with an established reading order and headings using software functions such as applying styles or tagging.

Are intended for audiences that do not understand the language used in a dialogue.

Process which embeds information about the reading order, flow and organisational structure within an electronic document.

Technology is ‘often used as another word for ICT, although strictly speaking “technology” can mean almost any type of tool or applied knowledge. For example, pencil and paper, slates, blackboards and whiteboards are all types of writing technology’ (UNESCO and Microsoft, 2011, p. 92).

‘Extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use’ (International Organization for Standardization, 1998).

A design approach that focuses on making systems and tools usable. The goal is a high degree of usability.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally (World Wide Web Consortium – W3C, 2012).

Web 2.0 refers to:

… web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site gives its users the free choice to interact or collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (consumers) are limited to the passive viewing of content that was created for them. Examples of Web 2.0 include social-networking sites, blogs, wikis, video-sharing sites, hosted services, web applications … (Wikipedia, 2010).

The term ‘Web 2.0’ can be traced back to Tom O’Reilly and the O’Reilly Media Conference in 2004.

W3C is:

… an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. Led by Web inventor and Director Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C’s mission is to lead the Web to its full potential (World Wide Web Consortium, 2015).