Objective

The objective of this effort is to develop an online course that implements the first Introduction to Web Accessibility module of the open WAI Curricula currently under development by the W3C Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG). This online course will be provided as part of the W3Cx Training program. The online course will be provided free of charge for everyone, with optional purchase of course completion certificates. In addition to the openly provided WAI Curricula, also all course materials, such as speaker slides, videos, and speaker notes will be made freely available for everyone, so that the course can be replicated by others (eg. in other languages etc.).

Purpose

The purpose of this effort this three-fold:

Provide free training for potentially a large number of audiences
Provide an exemplar course that can be replicated by other entities
Implement the WAI Curricula, to refine and improve the guidance

Approach

The course will be fully based on the Introduction to Web Accessibility module of the WAI Curricula, and follow related guidance provided by W3C/WAI. This is to make sure that the course is as closely aligned as possible with the guidance provided by W3C/WAI. Observations made during the implementation of this guidance will be fed back to W3C/WAI to improve this guidance.

The course will showcase different trainers from a variety of organizations for different parts of the course, to promote a collaborative approach within the community. Trainers will be selected by W3C staff based on several criteria including expertise and reputation, geographic distribution and diversity, W3C membership and contribution, overall trainer compatibility, as well as other aspects.

Trainers will develop the course materials for their parts based on the WAI Curricula and related guidance provided by W3C/WAI, with feedback and input from W3C staff. W3C staff will work together with the trainers to record the course presentations and for post-production (eg. animations and effects etc.). Compensation for the trainers as well as the cost for recording, post-production, and W3C staff will be covered by sponsorship.

All course materials, including presentation slides, video recordings, and speaker notes will be made freely available, to allow other entities to re-run the course through other channels or to replicate it (eg. in other languages). Exercises and assessments will only be made available after the first run of the course or on a limited basis to avoid misuse. Input and feedback from the W3C Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) will be sought.

Outline

The course outline will follow the Introduction to Web Accessibility module. Currently this consists of the following units currently under development:

Acknowledgements

This course is developed in cooperation between W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). The underlying WAI Curricula are developed with support from the EC-funded WAI-Guide Project.