Download pdf - Aegis ETNA NTU

AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

ETNA – European Thematic Network on Assistive Information and Communication Technologies Lindsay Evett, David Brown, David Colven, Andrew Lysley, Renzo Andrich ISRG NTU, ACE centre, Polo Tecnologico Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus


Introduction

The overall goal of the ETNA thematic network is to establish a European Web Portal able to provide

information on assistive products based on ICT (information and communication technologies) and e-

accessibility solutions which are available in Europe, and on related organizations and services

To give access to repositories of freeware, open source software products, tools for developers of assistive

solutions, and for mainstream developers to make their products accessible

Platform to share expertise, ideas, views, resources and experience


Introduction (contd.)

European Assistive Technology Information Network (EASTIN) portal is the start

Will take advantage of existing repositories such as SpeechBubble, OATSoft, OAEG

Will be maintained through a collaborative effort of the partners

Full multilingualism for all EU languages; integrate range of various different Info Systems resources (EASTIN features)


Six main stages

1. Identify information needs of all stakeholders, to specify requirements of the portal

2. Inventory of existing EU resources, deciding what to

include

3. Classify the key features of ICT AT products through appropriate ontologies

4. Classify authoring systems and developers tools through appropriate ontologies

5. EASTIN portal upgraded to ensure unified and efficient access to all resources

6. Field-test the portal, to evaluate effectiveness in

meeting the identified needs, fine-tune the portal


Consortium

Partners (23) chosen to represent the range of commitment and expertise, at national and international

level, across the AT domain – academic/research, industrial/development, service delivery, health/social

services, AT usage/user organisations across Europe:

Organisations committed to public information provision in AT and educational technology, many part of EASTIN

Organisations specialised in research, development and

application of ICT accessibility and assistive solutions

Organisations of people with disabilities with significant experience of research and promotion of social inclusion through ICT

Professional networks supporting the advancement of AT


ETNA collaborates with ATIS4All

ATIS4All: European Thematic Network to facilitate access to the most suitable AT or accessibility

device and service according to needs, preferences and contextual characteristics (lead: Technosite)

Open, collaborative portal offering reliable information on AT and inclusive products and services, and cutting-edge technological

Together involve 42 leading institutions in 16 European countries


ETNA, ATIS4All, complementary focus

ETNA: focus on search engine application, enabling all the stakeholders to access the data and resources available

through a multilingual interface.

ATIS4All: focus on building Web 2.0 applications to create an active online

community, enhancing dialogue, sharing and participation among users, researchers and developers.


Aspirations

Make information on available AT and accessibility products and services across Europe more transparent and easily

available to users

Connect developers, providers and suppliers of ICT AT solutions across Europe, to advance solutions

Connect researchers, developers, professionals with end-users

Enable mainstream developers to create more accessible products

Overcome fragmentation in ICT AT and accessibility

markets, to improve and support performance in the market


Challenges

Pace of development – ICT AT fastest developing in AT world, adaptive, can be mainstream, don’t

fit easily in to existing classifications

Specialised knowledge of needs can be isolated – needs connecting

Knowledge of ICT assistive products can also be fragmented

Wide range of stakeholders have different information needs – unified access to all resources for all stakeholders


Progress so far

WP2: Map of information needs – identify ICT AT domains, stakeholders and their search needs (search profiles),

types of information to be covered to meet those needs, challenges (dynamic, mainstream, pervasive,

accessibility, inclusion, social participation, digital natives)

WP3: Map of resources – exploring and classifying useful, varied, internet resources concerned with various

aspects of ICT AT; inventory; analysing criteria for inclusion/exclusion and strategies for linking to the ETNA

portal search engine; possible quality indicators; review of newly reengineered EASTIN portal; ISO 9999:2011

WP4: Ontology of ICT-based assistive products (Jan 2012)


Examples of Resources from Initial List

Name of the provider (in English)

TOPIC

Pro

duct

record

s

Soft

ware

applications

Soft

ware

sourc

e o

odes

Art

icle

s

Case S

tudie

s

Ideas

FAQ

s

Pro

jects

Foru

ms

Regula

tions

New

s

Brief description of the resources provided

Language

SIVA Portal on assistive technologies

AT general X X X X X X X Public searchable databases of products, companies, centres, ideas, case studies, fact sheets; online advice; forum

IT EN

SpeechBubble AAC products X X Public searchable databases of AAC products EN

Open Source Assistive Technology Software (OATS)

AT software repository; resources for development

X X X X online repository of open source AT software; platform for open source AT developers

EN

AEGIS Open Accessibility Everywhere Group (OAEG)

AT software repository; resources for development

X X X X X Repository of open source AT and resources for development; information on accessibility standards; blog aggregator

EN

Online-database accessible

communication

ICT AT and related

equipment

X X Product and supplier database DE

EN

AppsForAAC AAC applications X A listing of iOS apps in the area of AAC – with short descriptions, and links to more

detailed information, reviews and ratings. Supports comments from site visitors etc.

EN

iPhone/iPad Apps for AAC

AAC applications X Comprehensive list of apps with concise information and links to further information,

maintained in three categories: Apps with Symbols/Pictures only, Apps with Symbols

and Text-to-Speech, Text based apps only. Comments and ratings based on a defined

list of criteria.

EN



Selection by Characteristics Quick Search


Search results - comparisons


OATS – www.oatsoft.org

OATSoft is dedicated to improving Assistive Technology and computer accessibility through the power of Open Source development techniques. OATSoft makes the best Open Source Assistive Technology Software (OATS) easy to find. Users and developers meet at OATSoft to create better software.

Users, find useful free software and discuss and work with developers to get the features that you want.

Developers, work with users and other projects to develop new features and shared re-usable components.

Open Source Software is free and the 'source code' that makes the software is freely available. It is developed by international communities operating on-line.

Assistive Technology Software allows people with disabilities to overcome some of the disabling effects of society and technology, including computer and web accessibility.


Open Accessibility Everywhere Group

OAEG Mission Statement:

The Open Accessibility Everywhere Group (OAEG), co-ordinated effort of the AEGIS consortium, to bring together all open source accessibility communities, the techniques and approaches they use; exchange and share; open source s/w, learning objects, knowledge base of them

Thus, the OAEG aspires to be “the community of the communities” in the open accessibility world


Summary

Aim to establish European Web Portal to provide information on ICT-based assistive products, e-

accessibility solutions, related organisations and services. So far, the project has considered:

information needs of all the stakeholders;

classification of resources;

definition of a linking strategy;

definition of inclusion and exclusion criteria of providers and resources;

identification of relevant quality indicators for the resources;

initial detailed list of resources and providers.


Sources

ACE centres (2011). ACE Centre Advisory Trust, http://www.ace-centre.org.uk/, accessed 22/8/11

AEGIS (2008). AEGIS: Open Accessibility Everywhere:

Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards, http://www.aegis-project.eu/, accessed 22/8/11

ATIS4All (2011). European Thematic Network on Assistive Technologies and Inclusive Solutions for All, http://www.atis4all.eu/, accessed 22/8/11

EASTIN (2005). European Assistive Technology Information Network, http://www.eastin.eu/en-GB/whatIsEastin/index accessed 21/11/11

http://www.ace-centre.org.uk/



http://www.aegis-project.eu/



http://www.atis4all.eu/

http://www.eastin.eu/en-GB/whatIsEastin/index




Sources (contd.)

ETNA (2011). European Thematic Network on Assistive Information Technologies, http://www.etna-project.eu/,

accessed 22/8/11

International Organisation for Standardisation (2011). ISO 9999:2011 Assistive products for persons with disability - Classification and terminology, http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=50982 accessed 20/11/11

OAEG (2008). Open Accessibility Everywhere Group. http://www.oaeg.eu/ accessed 31/8/11

OATSoft (2009). OATS – Open Source Assistive Technology

Software. http://www.oatsoft.org/ accessed 30/8/11

SpeechBubble (2010). SpeechBubble: technology that gives you a voice, http://www.speechbubble.org.uk/ accessed 22/8/11

http://www.etna-project.eu/



http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=50982

http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=50982

http://www.oaeg.eu/

http://www.oatsoft.org/

http://www.speechbubble.org.uk/