Includ-ed, red europea de educación inclusiva

Summary

Cloud4all* is an international research project funded by the European Union (through the 7th Framework Programme) which is aimed at overcoming these barriers through automatic personalisation of devices, platforms and applications, activating the ATs suiting each person (if needed). The project advances the concept of “accessibility for all, anytime and for any device” envisioned by the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure  (GPII), in collaboration with the sibling project Prosperity4all. Cloud4all builds the knowledge base and algorithms needed to make it a reality.

The GPII is an international coalition of organizations and individuals which proposed the development of a platform and network technologies to create an infrastructure that would simplify the development, delivery and support of access technologies and provide users with a way to instantly apply the access techniques and technologies they need, automatically, on any computers or other ICT.

From the innovation perspective, Cloud4all/GPII aims to develop a complete new paradigm in accessibility, with automatic personalisation of any mainstream product or service users encounters, using cloud technologies to activate and augment any natural (built-in) accessibility or installed access features, based on the user’s needs and preferences. A person only has to carry with her/him the preferences (e.g. a USB) and plug it into the device she/he wants to use (having Cloud4all/GPII installed). The information appearing on screen will automatically change, according to the preferences chosen (e.g. activating a screen reader, increasing the font size, inverting colours, etc.)

New systems need to allow prospective users to access and use solutions not just on a single computer, but on all of the different computers and ICT that they must use (in different classrooms and laboratories, at home, at work, and the community, when traveling, etc.). Cloud4all pursues to open up access to products and services in general (whether eCommerce, eGovernment, eHealth, eCulture, or Internet banking) and make opportunities available for older people and for people with disabilities (i.e. to make online job applications, use job-matching platforms or eLearning applications).

*“This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement nº 289016.

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ILUNION Accesibilidad, Estudios y Proyectos (Coordinator)

ILUNION Accessibility, Studies and Projects (ILUNION AEP) is the brand of Fundosa Technosite SA, a company specialised in ICT solutions ranging from strategic consulting and technological development to hosting and graphical design. The portfolio of services of ILUNION Accessibility, Studies and Projects includes, among others, consulting services of accessibility in ICT, usability and social studies; design and development of web portals, mobile apps and digital content; Business Intelligence solutions; Accessibility and certifications of web portals, apps and digital documents.

Project object:

Cloud4all/GPII aim at the following objectives:

• > Simple Instant accessibility for ALL.
• > Anywhere, Any Device Access.
• > Supply and Demand better connected.
• > Affordable method to offer diversity needed.

Methodology

To achieve its goal the project concept is based on the creation of an explicit and implicit user profile (stored either locally or in the cloud; depending on user preference), that automatically matches mainstream products and services with necessary access features and configures them according to users preferences and context of use, anywhere (any device the person encounter in any location), on any device (PC, mobile, smart phone, iTV,…), seamlessly and holistically (configuring both content and user interface), including augmenting the accessibility of the product when needed (through special web applications, cloud based assistive technology (AT), cloud based desktops, run without AT installation or with download and AT installation).

Target

Cloud4all/GPII targets all segments of the population, specially disabled people and older people.

Cloud4all/GPII will tackle one of the main barriers of entry for many users when facing interactive systems: the configuration of the system’s settings.

Once the user has declared their needs and preferences (e.g., display in high contrast, using a screen reader, etc.) in an easy, platform-agnostic way, any Cloud4all/GPII-compatible device the user encounters will automatically adapt its accessibility features to accommodate the user’s needs and preferences (e.g., changing the theme to high contrast, launching any available screen reader, etc.), without any intervention from the user.

Good practice achievements

• Videos
• News
• Public deliverables
• Publications
• Presentations
• Solutions
• Installation

Cloud4developers blog

Project partners and other stakeholders

The Cloud4all Consortium brings together 24 Partners and 3 Collaborators, from 9 European Countries (Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium and Bulgaria) plus Canada and the USA:

• ILUNION Accesibilidad, Estudios y Proyectos (Spain)
• Raising The Floor-International Association (Switzerland)
• Centre For Research And Technology Hellas-CERTH (Greece)
• Hochschule Der Medien-HDM (Germany)
• Fundación Vodafone España (Spain)
• Ontario College Of Art And Design University (Canada)
• Technische Universitaet Dresden-TUD (Germany)
• Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus (Italy)
• Fundacio Privada Barcelona Digital Centre Tecnologic (Spain)
• Singular Logic-SILO (Greece)
• Universidad De Navarra-IESE (Spain)
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V (Germany)
• Universidad Politecnica De Madrid-UPM (Spain)
• Astea Solutions (Bulgaria)
• Enlogic (Greece )
• Texthelp United Kingdom)
• Omnitor (Sweden)
• Code Factory (Spain)
• Emergya Ingenieria (Spain)
• Höft & Wessel (Germany)
• Fundación ONCE Para La Cooperación E Inclusión Social De Personas Con Discapacidad (Spain)
• Stiftung Digitale Chancen-SDC (Germany)
• TP Vision Belgium (Belgium)
• Open Directive (United Kingdom)
• Microsoft (USA)
• Serotek (USA)

Mozilla (USA)

Good practice testimonial

• “I really liked the idea of being able to bring my own needs and preferences with me. I find it very useful when travelling”.
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• “This can help me to do things independently”
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• “It will be very useful to have the preferences stored in the University ID card (students and staff)!”
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“It is a great idea to have something you can take with you, and which can run on any device that has this system installed.”

Evaluation

Cloud4all and the GPIIis are conceived to be used by real users in the world. This is why we have decided to include users in all phases of the design and development of Cloud4all, in order to make sure that our work will have a real impact in their lives.

Within Cloud4all, we are conducting tests with users in three pilot sites: Athens (where tests are run by CERTH), Berlin (where tests are run by SDC) and Madrid (where tests are led by ILUNION), and comprise 3 iterations:

The first iteration took place from April 2013 to June 2013. In this iteration, we tested proof of concepts of the concepts, early versions of the user interfaces of the preferences management tools through Wizard of Oz, paper and pencil and/or other simulation/emulation tools (mainly qualitative oriented evaluation), as well as early version of the tools for developers that are being developed within the Sub-Project 2 of Cloud4all. The response of prospective users was highly positive, and most of them considered that the implementation of Cloud4all will have an impact on their quality of life, making it possible for them to perform some common activities that are currently difficult for them.

To sum up, the main results of this first evaluation were:

• - The validation of the Cloud4all concept.
• - Early detection of usability issues in the preferences management tools.
• - New improved versions of applications ready for 2^nd iteration testing, based on user feedback.
• - Lessons learned for the improvement of the experimental plan.

The second iteration took place from April 2014 to June 2014. During this second iteration, we tested low and medium-fidelity prototypes of the solutions (both qualitative and quantitative evaluation, incorporating a variety of techniques and tools) with real users, as well as the whole auto-adaptation from preferences process. The usability of the preferences management tools was also tested with real users. Plus, the tools for developers and vendors that are being developed within Cloud4all were tested both with internal and third-party developers.

The third iteration will take place on early 2015. During this last iteration, we will test the final auto-adaptation from preferences process, where users will be able to switch between devices that will adapt their accessibility features to their needs.

If you live in Madrid, Berlin or Athens and you are interested in participating in the 3^rd iteration of the pilots, please contact