Accessible and adaptive e-Learning materials: Considerations for design and development

Abstract

The aspect of accessibility and adaptivity is important for future of e-Learning applications. Creating e-Learning applications for everybody, including people with special needs, remains the question. The problem with development of e-Learning applications for everybody is that learner ability and weaknesses are usually neglected as important factors while developing applications. Most of nowadays applications offer lots of unclear information, unsuitable contents and non-adapted mechanisms. This paper suggests basic guidelines for successful design and structuring accessible and adaptive e-Learning applications that consider the requests and needs of people with special needs. It provides an example of design and realization of e-Learning application for receiving ECDL certificate, which includes easy adaptivity and basic accessibility factors. Experimental results of usability testing and pedagogical effectiveness have shown that material, designed following these guidelines, is appropriate and that there must be extra attention paid to learnability factor in the future. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.