EATT
Equal Access to Technology Training
A project aimed at increasing computer literacy among people with vision impairments.
EATT is part funded under the
EU Leonardo da Vinci Programme
This report is available in English language only.
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The overall aim of the EATT project is to increase computer literacy among people with vision impairments aged over 35 years. This project recognises that people with vision impairments of this age group tend to be inhibited in their participation in social, cultural and economic life due to limited access to IT training and lack of computer literacy. Many older people with vision impairments are unaware of the benefits and opportunities created by assistive technology. Assistive technology enables someone with a disability to use a piece of technology which might otherwise be inaccessible to them, for example a screen reader. People with vision impairments are also disadvantaged by the fact that they need assistive software to use a computer and current mainstream training opportunities do not cater well for this group. Acquiring IT skills is likely to lead to increased social inclusion, job security, employability and better prospects for advancement in the workplace.
This research was conducted under the remit of the European project called "Equal Access to Technology Training" (EATT) (Leonardo Da Vinci Programme). The authors of this research consist of five organisations, which provide a service to people with vision impairments in Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom (see authors). These five partner organisations undertook a literature review and a questionnaire-based study of older people with vision impairments and IT trainers.
This research found that access to computers in the workplace and the family setting were the two most important factors that raised awareness of the benefits of computer literacy and provided an opportunity of acquiring computer literacy skills for older people with vision impairments.
There needs to be better availability of assistive technology and more specialist trainers not only within the higher education sector but also within community education. Training providers were found to need an increased level of awareness of the opportunities posed by assistive technology, appropriate equipment and support before and during training. Some of the more successful initiatives examined, which encourage people with vision impairments over 35 into IT training, are those that are delivered at community level and are designed to meet the needs of older and vision impaired learners. The successful attributes of these courses can be applied to other mainstream training courses.
The ability to use a computer is rapidly becoming the basic source of job security, employability, access to mainstream training, and social inclusion. It is only in the last decade that information technology has been taught as part of the mainstream curriculum at primary, secondary and, third level education. People with vision impairments, who left the education system prior to computers being taught on the mainstream curriculum, or who have a lower level of education, tend to be less familiar with IT. This group is also disadvantaged by the fact that they need additional assistive software to use a computer. Assistive software enables someone with a disability to use a piece of technology which might otherwise be inaccessible to them. Many older people with vision impairments are unaware of the benefits and opportunities created by assistive software. This effectively prevents people with vision impairments from access to inexpensive and widespread information and communication tools such as e-mail and the Internet.
This research was conducted under the remit of the European project called "Equal Access to Technology Training" (EATT) (Leonardo Da Vinci Programme). All EATT project partners have noted that people with vision impairments aged over 35 years may be limited in their participation in social, cultural and economic life due to lack of access to IT training and lack of computer literacy. Current training opportunities do not cater well for this group. This may be due to lack of awareness of their particular needs, lack of awareness of the benefits to them, and practical barriers to inclusion in mainstream training opportunities. Acquiring IT skills is likely to lead to increased social inclusion, more access to training, better employment opportunities and better prospects for advancement in the workplace.
The overall aim of the EATT project is to increase computer literacy among people with vision impairments aged over 35 years. The research report of the EATT project assessed the degree of awareness of IT benefits and opportunities among people with vision impairments aged 35 and over and it identified the needs of this group in relation to accessing IT and achieving computer literacy. The EATT partners each presented an analysis of current thinking at Government level and local initiatives at a practical level, which have been designed to encourage older people with vision impairments into IT training. The research report examined the extent to which lack of computer literacy for this group leads to social exclusion due to lack of access to information, communication or consumer goods. It also attempted to reveal whether increased computer literacy skills among people with vision impairments would enhance access to mainstream training and employment and improve their chances of promotion. The report examined the needs and difficulties of this group in relation to obtaining computer literacy in mainstream courses and also identified the features that have made specialised IT courses successful. This study not only identified the needs of people with vision impairments in relation to IT Training, it also explored the level of awareness of the needs of people with vision impairments among IT training providers. The needs of IT training providers were also assessed in order to support them in encouraging and facilitating older people with vision impairments to participate in mainstream IT training courses.
The EATT partnership involves five organisations that work in the field of vision impairment. These partners are Synscentralen of Aarhus AMT in Denmark (AMT), SIADV in France, I.Ri.Fo.R in Italy, NCBI - National Council for the Blind of Ireland (Project Managers) and RNIB, the Royal National Institute of the Blind, United Kingdom. The EATT partners undertook a literature review and a questionnaire-based study of people with vision impairments over 35 years and IT trainers.
Computer literacy is today almost as essential as ordinary literacy and numeracy skills. The population of Europe is getting older. By 2015, the 50-64 years age group will increase by 16.5 million, more than a 25 per cent increase on today's population (Eurostat, 1995). There is no doubt that older people are being left behind by the Information Society. A joint research report entitled 'The Current Barriers for Older People in Accessing the Information Society' published by European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf and the Netherlands Platform for Older People in Europe, Utrecht warns that we must "ensure that the older community is not isolated through the development of the Information Society" (Campbell et al, 1999; 42).
One of the necessary prerequisites for access to mainstream training and employment is the ability to use a computer. It is only in the last fifteen years that Information Technology (IT) has been included on the curriculum of the mainstream educational system. Therefore, those people who left the educational system prior to its introduction will be less likely to have been introduced to IT.
"The potential of the Information Society is to create a much more inclusive society and indeed disabled people stand to gain disproportionately from effective participation. But without basic accessibility rules there is a danger that the information revolution will result in a new and more disabling barrier to full integration and contribution to society" (European Disability Forum's Response to the European Commission's e-Europe Initiative) (European Disability Forum, 2000).
There is a scarcity of people with vision impairments aged over 35 using IT, as the majority of this group do not have access to it. People with vision impairments are also disadvantaged by the fact that they need additional assistive software to use a computer and moreover, many older people with vision impairments are not aware of benefits and opportunities presented by assistive software.
This lack of access to IT and an absence of computer literacy skills limits participation in social, cultural and economic life as almost every occupation today expect applicants to have at least rudimentary computer skills and because email and the Internet have become a common and inexpensive means of communication and means of accessing otherwise inaccessible information (RNIB, 2001).
The Joint report produced by the European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf and the Netherlands Platform for Older People and Europe, Utrecht, mentioned above, also highlights that with the current barriers for older people in accessing the Information Society, "it is obvious that older people and ICT is an area that needs to be further researched in the future" (Campbell et al., 1999; 41).
This report is the result of research, which was conducted within the framework of the European project called "Equal Access to Technology Training" (EATT) supported by the Leonardo Da Vinci Programme. The authors of this report represent five organisations that are partners in the project. Synscentralen of Aarhus AMT in Denmark (AMT), SIADV in France, I.Ri.Fo.R in Italy, NCBI - National Council for the Blind of Ireland (Project Managers) and RNIB, the Royal National Institute of the Blind, United Kingdom. All of these organisations work closely with people with vision impairments on a daily basis and recognise that the target group must be encouraged to engage in training to become computer literate. This partnership was formed through collaboration on a highly successful EMPLOYMENT HORIZON project, Employment Support Practices for Visually Impaired People (ESP).
The ESP transnational project conducted research on the employment support practices in existence in the five partner countries and produced a report, which included recommendations for suggested good practice that would optimise the inclusion of people with vision impairments at all levels in the labour force.
The report, published in November 1999, "Innovative European Employment Practices: Employment Support Practices for Visually Impaired People", found that limited access to training and lack of computer literacy were major contributing factors to high unemployment rates among people with vision impairments. The ESP report concluded that in order to stimulate job creation and improve job retention among people with vision impairments certain measures were required to overcome this lack of access to IT by this group. The findings of ESP project intended to influence practitioners, funding providers, and health service strategists in their policy development with regards to people with vision impairments and employment or training.
The overall aim of the EATT project is to increase computer literacy among people with vision impairments aged over 35 years. The project partnership informally identified the barriers encountered by people with vision impairments of this age group in relation to accessing and using a computer. These barriers include:
Campbell et al. (1999) also found similar barriers which prevented older people generally from accessing the Information Society. The common recognition of these barriers within the EATT partnership led to the decision to undertake a research study on the subject, to formally identify the barriers which prevent people with vision impairments aged over 35 from obtaining computer literacy skills.
This research report of the EATT project will assess the level of awareness of the benefits and opportunities created by computers among people with vision impairments aged over 35 and examine the needs of this group in relation to accessing IT and obtaining computer literacy in mainstream training centres. It will also identify the successful features of specialised IT training courses. For each EATT partner country, the research study will describe current thinking at government level and local initiatives at a practical level that have features designed to encourage older people with vision impairments into IT training.
In addition, this research study will examine the extent to which lack of computer literacy among older people with vision impairments leads to social exclusion due to lack of access to information, means of communication and consumer goods. Research also will be undertaken to analyse whether increased computer literacy skills among people with vision impairments will enhance their level of access to mainstream training and employment, and improve their chances of job promotion.
This study identified? the needs of people with vision impairments in relation to IT. It assessed the level of awareness among IT training providers of the needs of older people with vision impairments. The related needs of IT training providers were also explored in order to support them in encouraging and facilitating people with vision impairments to participate in mainstream IT training courses. This was done by identifying the existing initiatives that promote the professional development of trainers and best practices for training providers.
This report presents the findings of the research. Part one presents a review of literature undertaken by the partners from the five participating countries in the EATT project. The literature will describe and analyse the current thinking at government level and local initiatives at a practical level that have features designed to encourage people with vision impairments aged 35 and over into IT training as well as examining existing initiatives that promote the professional development of trainers and best practices for training providers. It will also identify some of the more successful features of specialised IT training courses.
Part two sets out the methodology developed in order to implement a questionnaire-based analysis of older people with vision impairments and IT trainers.
Parts three and four offer an analysis of the results from the questionnaire-based studies of the vision impaired participants and mainstream IT training providers. In the final chapter, conclusions are generated from the findings that have emerged from the research.
All partners to the EATT project in their respective countries, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom, conducted a review of literature. The review is divided into five sections reflecting the findings of the partners in the five member states. In all countries, there was a notable absence of literature on this subject, therefore the literature will concentrate on policies and initiatives aimed at meeting the IT training needs of older people of all abilities. This study includes an investigation into Information Society policies and initiatives aimed at creating an IT society for everybody.. The review on policies aims to provide an insight into the current thinking at government level on making IT accessible to older people and people with disabilities. The section on Encouraging older people of all abilities into IT training (including a subsection on older people with disabilities/vision impairment) outlines some of the courses, innovative ideas and strategies adopted to facilitate older people and people with disabilities into IT training. The literature included in this study has been restricted as much as possible to people within the 35 plus age group. Initiatives aimed at encouraging people over the age of 35 years back into education and training are also included.
This report contains selected excerpts from the detailed individual literature and policy reviews conducted in each of the partner countries to the EATT project. The full text of each review can be found in Appendices 1 - 5 to this report.
The spread of Information Technology is quite advanced in Denmark. During the last five to six years, National Danish IT policies tend to focus on making Denmark one of the leading IT nations and creating an IT community for everybody. In the year 2000, close to 90% of Danes under the age of 55 years had access to a personal computer at home, at work or through the educational system (Denmark's Statistics, 2000). However, a considerable imbalance still exists in terms of age. Only one in four Danes over 60 years had access to the Internet (Ministry of Research, 2000).
There is no central registration of the number of people with vision impairments in Denmark. According to the Visual Impairment Knowledge Centre (Videnscenter for Synshandicap), it is estimated that well over 25,000 people who are blind (visual acuity of less than or equal 6/60) and between 25,000 and 50,000 partially sighted persons (visual acuity of between 6/60 and 6/18) reside in Denmark. The large majority of people with vision impairments in Denmark are over the age of 60 years which seems to be a common trend within each of the EATT partner countries. As older Danish people generally run the risk of being excluded due to a lack of computer literacy, older people with vision impairments are also more likely to be late adopters of IT.
The issue of disability and IT has played a central part in the Danish political IT strategy ever since its first IT action plan. In 1993, the Danish government decided to establish the Equal Opportunities Centre for Disabled Persons under the Danish Disability Council and in 1996, a Multi-disciplinary Committee of Ministers (Regeringens tværgående ministerudvalg for handicap-området) was given the responsibility of making the Information Society accessible to people with a disability. Consequently, a plan of action was produced in the report "Freedom to Choose - Action Plan for Disabled Persons' Utilisation of IT" (Ministry of Research and Information Technology, 1996; 36). This report outlines the Danish government's plan of action for increasing IT access and usage among people with a disability. As recommended within this report, research and development centres in the field of industrial design were established, an artificial speech development project was launched, guidelines were produced to make government and voluntary sector websites accessible and in addition, financial support was granted to a number of projects, which promoted the development of IT skills among older people outside of the workforce and offered more flexible withdrawal from the workforce (Ministry of Social Affairs, 2000; 32). Some of these projects fell under the heading of "Utilisation of IT Among Older People" some of which are outlined below.
"Digital Denmark - Conversion to the Network Society" (1999) is also a contribution to the general Danish government's future e-policy strategy. Digital Denmark does not single out people with a disability for special treatment but aims to include lifelong learning for everyone though increasing the affordability of IT, the provision of IT Lighthouses and a mainstream Internet awareness campaign all of which can relate to older people with vision impairments (Ministry of Research, 1999).
The Danish "National Action Plan for Employment" (2001) emphasised that further education across all age groups, all socio-economic backgrounds and all trades is a crucial condition for economic growth and employment (National Action Plan, 2001; 6). Legislative provisions were put into place in 2001 to reform the provision of further training and education. Under the VEU reforms, action programmes were developed and initiatives launched in order to improve participation by people with a disability in mainstream labour market training courses provided by AMU, the National Labour Market Education Authority. These action programmes have taken the form of implementing the AMU technical aids service and developing good teaching material and pilot projects for groups of people with disabilities (National Action Plan, 2001; 9). The Danish Institute for Technical Aids (HMI) (Hjælpemiddelinstituttet) handles the AMU Technical Aids Service. The HMI assists AMU centres to make individual technical aids assessments, to supply and install equipment and to offer an after sales support service. Moreover, it is the HMI's responsibility to provide support upon completion of a course. A pool of technical aids is being built up, so that equipment and expenses are exploited as efficiently and rationally as possible. For further information refer to http://www.ams.dk/handicap/amu/.
The AMU pilot project for groups of people with disabilities mentioned above was carried out from 1998 to 2002. This project enabled people with a disability to participate in the mainstream AMU training courses. The findings from this pilot project by the County Resource Centre for the Vision Impaired in Aarhus concluded that, in addition to the provision of appropriate equipment, support was necessary for people with vision impairments' ability to take part in AMU labour market education courses and also in mainstream educational training.
Similar reforms have also occurred in Ireland under the National Disability Authority Act, 1999. The participation for people with a disability including people with vision impairments within mainstream labour market training courses have been overlooked in Ireland until recently. Since the year 2000, FÁS, the Irish National Training and Employment Authority, has had responsibility for the training and employment of people with disabilities. As a consequence, it has had to make its courses accessible to people with disabilities, and trainers and other employees are undergoing disability awareness training. While FÁS do not provide IT training courses specifically designed for adult learners with disabilities, they offer a range of IT courses (including online IT courses at www.fas-netcollege.com adopting the principle of lifelong learning), which can be adapted to meet individual needs in an integrated setting. Other provisions offered in Denmark and Ireland promote personal assistance at work, grants for the adaptations to the workplace and subsidies to employers for employment of people with disabilities. In Denmark, these provisions are reinforced through legislation. The Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment Act (Lov om Kompensation til Handicappede i Erhverv), states that provisions should be in place to provide personal assistance at work and a technical aids grant for equipment in the workplace and in accordance with the Social Services Act (Lov om Social Service), a technical aids grant is available to assist a person with a disability to retain their occupation.
Legislation in most of the EATT partner countries tends to broadly require that "reasonable adjustments" be made to cater for the needs of people with a disability within educational institutions and often require changes to higher education policy and practice. Again, more specific legislative requirements have been put in place in Denmark and are set out in the Special Education for Adults Act (Lov om Specialundervisning for Voksne), 2000, where every Danish County Council must ensure that specialised provisions are made to facilitate people with a disability to attend mainstream courses and in accordance with the Open Education Act (Lov om Åben Uddannelse) adjustments must be made for people with disabilities who participate in further and vocational educational training.
Unlike some the other EATT partner countries, the Danish Government from 1999 to 2002 allocated 33 million Danish Crowns (€4,442,491) in order to develop initiatives which promote the development of IT skills among older people outside of the workforce and which promote more flexible withdrawal from the labour market (Danish Research Agency, 2001). The Danish Research Agency's programme "Utilisation of IT among Older People - Halfway Evaluation" (Ældres brug af informationsteknologi - Midtvejsevaluering) consists of 11 projects, which can be studied in detail at www.dst.dk/forskpro/aeldre-it/projekt or www.aktive-seniorer.dk.
Six of the projects are local initiatives, which attempt to encourage older people to use IT by teaching it in a way that makes it relevant to their everyday lives. For example, the project "Support and Strength - IT as a Background for the Social Life of Older People", set up by the Institute for Future Research, seeks to inquire how IT can preserve older people's identity at work, as active political players, as consumers and as private citizens (Danish Research Agency, 2001; 17). Randers Reb established a similar project called "Utilisation of Multi-media Technology among Senior Employees" which aims to connect senior employees' home workstations to their workplace at the time of their gradual withdrawal from the workforce in order to consequently provide a consultancy role.
There have been a number of initiatives specifically aimed at encouraging people age 55 plus to access computers in the community. For example, in 1988, the Danish Association of Senior Citizens (Ældremobiliseringen), a community and voluntary organisation for older people, received a grant of 1.64 million Danish Crowns (€220,778) from the Ministry of Social Affairs for the project 'Older People and Technology - Bringing the Senior Generation into the 21st Century' (Ældre og teknologi-at bringe ældregenerationen ind i det 21 Århundrede). Under this project more than 45 cyber cafés were established across Denmark. Educational and informative material were produced. A number of services were provided including training and guidance for older people. The project is described in the report "Computer cafés", as a very successful training project (Danish Association of Senior Citizens, 2001). In Ireland, St. Ann's Senior Cyber Café was set up. This initiative was partly funded by the government. It is a free, sociable and user-friendly cyber café solely for over-55's and opens on a daily basis. With the support of a tutor, users can surf the Internet or use email (Jones, No Date). Similarly, throughout the UK, there are now many local community and college initiatives, all designed to introduce older people to computers and the Internet. These initiatives have become known as Silver Surfer Groups. As well as colleges, training venues can include libraries, community centres and residential homes. An example was featured in the Times Educational Supplement (9 November 2001) which refers to the "MaturITy" initiative created by the Rotherham Council in England. The "MaturITy" initiative was aimed at older people in residential homes and day care centres, where they were encouraged to learn computer literacy skills.
As part of the Danish Research Agency's programme "Utilisation of IT among Older People - Halfway Evaluation" (Ældres brug af informationsteknologi - Midtvejsevaluering), the Danish Institute for Technical Aids (Hjælpemiddelinstituttet) set up a project called "IT Skills in Older Disabled People" which attempted to develop a comprehensive educational programme which would generate IT competence among older people with a disability. The project aimed to do this by researching relevant equipment, methods of installation, programs, educational principles, teaching instructions, and ultimately compiling it in a manual for IT trainers (Danish Research Agency, 2001; 20).
The different counties in Denmark offer various IT training courses for people with vision impairments, for example, in the county of Aarhus, the Educational Association for the Blind (Blindes OplysningsForbund, BOF) provides specialised IT training in assistive technology. The County Resource Centre for the Vision Impaired (Synscentralen), also in the County of Aarhus, offers IT installation and training to people in their own homes whenever IT equipment for home use is granted under the Social Services Act. When applying for IT equipment as a working tool in accordance with the Active Social Policy Act, 1997, the municipality has to pay for a few hours of consultancy service for installation and instruction, if needed.
The private sector such as sales outlets that sell specific technical aids for people with vision impairments also provide IT training in the use of their products at a charge. In cooperation with the County Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired, a private firm, the PC Group, ensured that their IT courses were accessible to people with vision impairments by providing training in small groups, using appropriate IT equipment and providing teacher support
It became clear in 1997 that France had fallen behind other European countries in terms of acquisition of computer equipment, Internet access, and mastery of basic IT skills (IDC France, 2001). However, since then, France has made significant strides (Etude Kosmos, 2001).
It can be estimated that the French blind population consists of about 300,000 people or 0.5% of the population (visual acuity less than 3/60 in the better eye) and the partially sighted population is estimated to consist of 2.8 million people or 4.7% of the population (visual acuity less than or equal 6/60 in both eyes or NIL in one eye and less than or equal 6/30 in the other eye) (INSEE, 2000). In France, the large majority (76%) of people with vision impairments are over the age of 60. Bearing in mind that older people generally in France have categorised as 'late adopters' of IT, older people with vision impairments will also fall into this category.
Similar to findings noted by other EATT project partners, there seems to be a correlation between level of educational achievement, degree attainment, involvement in the labour market and access to computer technology (Cézard, 2000; 22). Nearly half of the French vision impaired population are unemployed which will reduce their exposure and familiarity with IT (INSEE, 2000).
It was not really until 1997 that the French government announced that France lags behind other countries and therefore an ambitious overall policy was developed in order to make IT accessible to everyone (Pierret, 1997; 1 - 4) (refer to Appendix 2). The French government's strategy was outlined in its "Program of Government Action for the Information Society" (Site du Programme d'action Gouvernementale pour la Société de l'Information) (PAGSI), 2001. To help design and implement PAGSI, the government commissioned several expert studies one of which is a report that examines the accessibility of IT for people with vision impairments in France (Descargues, 2000).
Descargues issued a report on the accessibility of new technology for people with vision impairments (Descargues, 2000), which is unique to France in comparison to other EATT partner government policies. In this report, Descargues points out that people with vision impairments will only be fully able to take advantage of the Information Society if they have access to assistive technology and an accessible interface, as well as effective professional guidance to assist them.
Descargues criticises assistive technology providers for their after sales policy and their training programs, which the report claims are not of a general nature, but specific to the product purchased.
'In view of the evident weaknesses of the 'hot line' system and technical services, the user had better be able to rely on family and friends to adapt these tools to the information technology environment; and it is absolutely necessary to acquire a fair amount of technical knowledge to face the inevitable problems posed by systems which remain much more complicated to use than consumer-oriented products. It is also difficult to find people who are satisfied with training in the use of these assistive technologies and of the office software programs that can be used with them. The training is rather often seen as poorly adapted to the learners, poorly taught, too short, and generally of mediocre quality' (Descargues, 2000; 17).
The Descargues Report (2000; 45 - 47) also includes a list of recommendations designed to facilitate access to IT training by people with vision impairments. One of the proposals suggests that a framework of accessibility in IT training should be created to ensure that more professional services are provided. This can be created by a technical guide to assistive technology, guidance and support services and by establishing specialised training in assistive technology.
The recommendations and policies outlined in the Descargues report have yet to be evaluated in terms of implementation. However, it is quite evident that although, the Descargues report has developed policies, no national framework has been developed. Local initiatives have emerged on an ad-hoc basis leading to obvious gaps between different geographic areas in terms of the spread and quality of IT training. On a practical level there seems to be a long way to go as yet.
Lifelong learning policy
In the year 2000, the French Ministry of Education for Research and Development developed a "Program of Government Action for the Information Society 2" (PAGSI 2, 2000), which aims to improve IT training in the education sector. This would involve ensuring that all schools, vocational and professional training courses and universities provide IT training. A recommendation of this report was to develop new applications of IT for people with a disability in the educational system and to promote open and distance learning and self-teaching software. PAGSI 2 also recommended increased acquisition of computer equipment by reducing the cost of Internet connections. This recommendation might make IT more affordable to more people including late adopters of IT.
In an attempt to increase economic participation, Government efforts on providing IT training appear to have mainly concentrated on the national training centres such as AFPA, the French National Association for Professional Training for Adults, which operates under the remit of the Ministry for Labour and Solidarity and GRETA, which provides mainstream adult education courses under the Department of Education. AFTA has the responsibility of providing training to people with a disability that are of working age. Agefiph provides funding to AFTA if it offers training to a person with a disability. In Bretagne, in the year 2000, AFTA provided training to 4,500 people of which 385 people had a disability. In Pas de Calais for 2001, 15,360 people received training from AFTA. Of this number, 651 people had a disability.
GRETA the association of public educational institutions offers further training courses at a local level by using college resources and equipment. Training provided by GRETA accounts to 6 per cent of all further professional training provided in France. It offers training to all members of the public within the age group 20 to 60 years, including people who have a disability. SIADV, a community and voluntary organisation, has often offered support and guidance to GRETA, when a vision impaired person requests training, by sourcing local assistive technology resources and by offering guidance on the appropriate adjustments that should be made to a course. It is important to point out that in order to access AFPA or GRETA courses, applicants must pass interviews and placement tests in which previous formal schooling plays a major role. This could present a barrier to some people with vision impairments who may have a lower level of educational attainment.
Training opportunities are also offered locally by voluntary and community organisations. A number of computer clubs have been created at a local level offering beginners' and advanced courses in IT. Older people often obtain personalised, local, and affordable IT training from these kinds of sources, rather than from courses offered in cooperation with the French government, such as AFTA or GRETA. However, the quality of computer club training can vary enormously from place to place.
The Descargues Report (2000; 20) recommends setting up:
'training in assistive technologies and in the software applications that can be used with them. This training should come from occupational therapy institutions or from recognized resource centres. It should not be aimed solely at the computer and office occupational sectors, but should represent a way to help the person genuinely compensate for visual impairment. It must be continuous; that is, refresher courses must be offered on a regular basis to integrate changes in information and communication technologies'.
A number of community and voluntary organisations that provide a service to people with vision impairments have set up initiatives which provide introductory training in assistive technology as part of the rehabilitative process. The Association of Blind and Visually Impaired Intellectuals (GIAA) in Toulon and FIDEV in Lyon offer introductory training in assistive technology for people with vision impairments who would like to obtain basic computer literacy skills and increase their chances of progress onto further mainstream training. Both of these training courses are successful because they are short, customised, and are offered individually or in small groups. Trainers are familiar with assistive technology options available. FIDEV also offers support to participants who follow-up this basic training with mainstream training. An evaluation of the FIDEV course found that 12 per cent of the participants were satisfied and 85 per cent expressed Total satisfaction with the course.
In France, distance learning seems to be the way forward (Dehais, 2000; 44). The Interregional Support Service for Visually Impaired People (SIADV) have noted that it is often difficult to set up training courses using assistive technology for the vision impaired population because the population is so scattered, participants may have limited mobility and there is also a dearth of specialised IT trainers. SIADV suggests that e-learning may help to solve some of these difficulties. For the last number of years, SIADV have been working in partnership with the National College of Telecommunications in Brest to set up a distance learning course for vision impaired adults in Braille and assistive technologies. SIADV are attempting to adapt a video-conferencing system by developing one-to-one teaching using a 'teacher site' and a 'pupil site'. SIADV suggests that the advantage of this method of teaching is that people can learn from their own homes, it can be quickly moved from place to place, it is relatively inexpensive and it will enable people with vision impairments to participate in mainstream training courses.
PROJET ETAPE is a new national project directed by the Braille Net association (Braille Net, 2001). Teachers and vision impaired students exchange computerised documents, such as classroom notes, homework and corrections via the Internet. The aim of this project is to allow pupils to get hands-on experience of new technology and to make it easier for them to access the information they need (Refer to appendix 2). Although, this project is currently aimed at the younger population, it could be adapted to further training of vision impaired adults generally.
In general, there has been a rapid growth in IT usage in Ireland (White Paper on Adult Education, 2000), although a considerable imbalance still exists in terms of age. According to a survey conducted by the Work Research Centre (2000), 64% of Internet users are aged less than 35, yet under thirty-fives make up only 44% of the adult population.
In Ireland, the number of people on the blind person's register amounts to approximately 7,000 (visual acuity less than or equal 6/60 in the better eye or where a field of vision is limited, the widest diameter of vision subtending an angle of 20 degrees or less). Of this number, 6.5% fall within the 0 - 18 years, 40.7% fall within the 18 to 65 years age group and over half (52.8%) of the vision impaired population in Ireland are over the age of 65 years. Overall, there is a lack of data on the level of usage of computers among the older vision impaired population. However, it may be safe to assume that older people generally, as well as older people with vision impairments are 'late adopters' of the Information Society.
There also seems to be a divide between those who are in education and employment and those who are not. Results of the ISC survey (2000a) show that only 30% of unemployed people are familiar with a personal computer, whereas 87% of students and 64% of the Total workforce are computer literate. The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (1996) found that 'participation by people with disabilities in education at all levels is significantly below that of the population in general' and the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is approximately 70 per cent. Therefore, older people who have retired from the workforce and people with disabilities, who have generally been found to have a higher level of unemployment and a lower level of education, will tend to have more limited exposure to computers.
When Information Society policy was beginning to develop in Ireland, government policy was criticised in the 'Report of the Information Society Steering Committee' for its strong focus on the economy and much less on how digital information and services could meet the needs of marginalised groups (NESC, 1999; 101). In 1997, the Information Society Commission was established and it consequently published a number of reports which set out a strategic framework for the development of the Information Society in Ireland, some of which attempt to equalize access to technology by all members of society. Initiatives can be developed through these equal access polices, which will relate to older people and people with vision impairments. Recommendations in the Commissions reports include a need for investment in lifelong learning, provision of IT training for older people and increased access to technology by people with disabilities (Information Society Commission, 2000c). The ISC also clearly recognises the role of community and voluntary sector in developing Information Society policy and it has created an advisory group, Connected Communities that includes representatives of people with disabilities and older people. However, in comparison to some of the other EATT partner countries none of the ISC reports focuses specifically on the specific needs of older people or people with disabilities in the Information Society.
An Irish Government Green Paper on Adult Education (Department of Education and Science, 1998) highlighted that failure to provide access for adults to education and training in Information Technology "...can reinforce exclusion from economic participation and impact directly on competitiveness" (p.23). While over 25% of all third level places in the OECD are available to mature students (aged 26 plus), in Ireland, this figure is less than 5%. The Green Paper lists the strategies needed for increased third level mature student access as the development of outreach strategies, access programmes, counselling and mentoring systems, flexible accreditation and provision in community settings. Albeit indirectly, such initiatives encourage adults with a disability to undertake IT training courses or take up further education courses, which generally incorporate acquisition of computer literacy skills as part of the curriculum.
This Green Paper was followed with an Irish Government White Paper on Adult Education (2000), which set out the blueprint for the future development and expansion of adult education. The White Paper outlined some of the compelling reasons as to why computer literacy should be integrated into education and training systems for adult learners. The first reason is for vocational and educational reasons as "knowledge and familiarity with new technologies will be an important dimension of employability in the information society" (p.99) and secondly for social reasons because "it is important that all people, regardless of social or economic background, should have equal access to new technologies" (p.100).
The White Paper recognised the rapid growth of the Internet in Ireland. Such growth inevitably means that increasing numbers of adults will seek access to education and training opportunities through IT. The White Paper recognised the many advantages of using IT as a medium for learning for adults in Ireland. IT provides an opportunity for adult learners to overcome distance; to access information and learning environments from one's home or workplace; for pursuing accredited learning programmes as more and more institutions adapt their programmes for electronic delivery and for interaction with other learners in a virtual classroom environment (p.99). In addition, the Information Society Commission recognised that new technology can be used as a way of overcoming obstacles, such as physical access by people with disabilities, enabling a higher degree of equity (Refer to Third Report of the Information Society Commission, 2000c; 119).
Although the White Paper acknowledged the benefits of distance learning programmes, it was also concerned with the limitations of IT in educational applications and concedes that it is better to look at the virtual learning environment as supplementing rather than replacing the actual one. It nonetheless stated that the application of IT in adult education practice is still in its infancy and a vast potential remains to be realised. 'If this potential is to be tapped, and indeed if Ireland as a society is to maintain its position vis-à-vis other countries in the information revolution, it is imperative that the learning blocks in accessing IT are removed' (p.99).
In recognition of the growing importance of computer literacy for adults generally, the Irish Government has planned a National Adult Basic IT Skills Programme as part of its Back to Education Initiative. This was the first national campaign in IT training for Irish adults, which provided training up to NCVA Level 2 standard. Technical support was provided for adult education providers to enable them to maintain, upgrade and network their IT facilities and provide curriculum support arrangements. The French Inter-ministerial Committee for the Information Society (CISI) has offered a comparable initiative (refer to appendix 2).
The ISC has organised a number of awareness-raising activities to target late adopters of new technology including establishing an 'Internet Venues Directory' accessible through a lo-call number, showing the nearest point of public Internet access; an IT road show which comprised of a mobile computer training unit providing basic email and Internet training to groups at local community level; awareness evenings, distribution of information packs and attendance at exhibitions such as the National Ploughing Championships, and a television and radio series to persuade people of the benefits that computers can bring. Denmark produced a similar project entitled "Senior IT", where a number of television programs were produced in an attempt to illustrate the positive experiences of older computer users (Danish Research Agency, 2001; 22) (refer to Appendix 1).
In its report entitled 'IT Access for All' (2000b), the ISC identified a number of potential public sector strategies to encourage access to IT by socially marginalised groups. Amongst its suggestions is that libraries (including mobile libraries) should become key access points to the Internet for the general public and should offer self-learning computer and cyber skills programmes (ISC, 2000b). Under the EU funded Testlab project, in conjunction with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, six libraries were selected by the Department of the Environment and Local Government to pilot accessible Internet access and library catalogues for people with vision impairments (The United Kingdom and Italy also participated in the Testlab project and set up a similar pilot project). This project was very successful in Ireland and it reported that there has been 'significant levels of demand for services of this nature' (Department of the Environment and Local Government, 1999; 54). The 'Branching Out' report recommends financial investment by the government for the provision of optical scanners and for the development of accessible facilities in more public libraries.
The ISC also proposes that Government offices should host access points and that new Government offices should be built in such a way that allows twenty-four hour access for citizens to use the Internet. One particularly forward-looking suggestion is that the community and voluntary sector should themselves become Internet access points, which will allow their own community to access the Internet through them. However, the ISC also recognises the barriers encountered by people with vision impairments when accessing the Internet as a number of websites remain inaccessible (ISC, 2000b; 36). The idea of providing an email address for every single citizen has also been considered in Ireland. Again, the ISC recognised that some 'web-based e-mail services currently available have proved difficult to use especially those with visual impairments who need to make use of screen readers' (2000b; 74). Under the French Program of Government Action for the Information Society (PAGSI 2) (2000)digital public spaces were set up, including Internet access in public libraries, Post Offices and since 2000, the Post Office in France offered a free, permanent email address to all citizens (Refer to appendix 2). The ISC also suggests that school facilities should be open to their communities after hours, at weekends and out of term enabling local people to access their IT facilities.
With the development of bodies such as OSCAIL, the national distance education centre, there has been an increasing usage of distance and flexible models for educational delivery in Ireland. In particular, the Adult Education Centre in University College Dublin is experimenting successfully with online delivery of courses including courses on computing, using the Internet. DeLLTTi (Lifelong Learning Online) at www.ucd.ie/~delltti/intro.htm is a virtual teaching environment. Among other things, students are given the opportunity to participate in class discussions, e-mail their tutors or other class members, self-test, or take part in group work. The course attempts to reduce a sense of social isolation by students by providing an interactive element to the course.
While the IT training needs of people with vision impairments over the age of 35 years have been overlooked in Ireland until recently, there have been several developments which go some of the way in addressing this void. Some initiatives for encouraging people over the age of 30 years into IT training have focused on long-term unemployed people who are in search of employment. Such initiatives also encourage unemployed people with a disability within this age group to take up mainstream IT courses. Fast Track to Information Technology (FIT) was one such initiative, established in 1999 to provide computer training for long-term unemployed people including people in receipt of a disability payment from the State. This course offered an IT training programme which focused on preparing participants for return into the workforce. It sought to provide 3,500 people with training and full-time employment within the IT industry in the Dublin area by 2002 (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 2000). It was highly successful, with many participants obtaining well-paid employment. Its success was attributed to the high quality of the computer training and its provision of a supportive environment, sensitive to the personal and financial demands placed on its trainees. In addition, FIT was offered in local employment services which are scattered throughout the Dublin area which ensured that no participant had to travel very far in search of information and assistance.
The National Training and Development Institute (NTDI), part of the REHAB group, provides training and development of services to people with disabilities in Ireland. Its courses are designed to prepare participants for the workplace and include various IT courses, such as 'Computer Skills for the Vision Impaired' (Level 2) and 'Information Technology by Distance Learning' (Level 2).
The National Accreditation Committee (NAC) was set up in 1996 to manage the development and implementation of accreditation for centres providing training to people with disabilities. This Committee provides a means to ensure that training, including IT training, provided to people with disabilities complies with certain standards.
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) has an NAC approved training centre which offers a rehabilitative course and work-skills programme for people with vision impairments between the ages of 16 and 65 years. The aim of this course is to facilitate trainees to make a successful transition to independent living and occupational integration. Participants can sample training courses in a wide range of subjects including mobility, daily living skills, Braille, literacy and numeracy as well as basic IT and word processing skills. This course has been very successful often leading to further training and employment.
NCBI also operates a technology service, providing equipment, assistive technology and a regionalised technical support service to people with vision impairments on a national basis. In 2002, under the CAIT programme, funded by the Department of Public Enterprise, the NCBI has put into place a national infrastructure of trained volunteers who are available to visit the homes of people with vision impairment, providing whatever technical support is needed. NCBI is also recognised as a clearing agent for the Technical Aids Grant, which is funded and operated, by the Department of Health and Children through some of the local area health boards. By means of this grant, assistive devices and software can be provided to people with vision impairments for their personal use at home. However, some health boards stipulate that recipients of the grant must be under the age of 65 years.
In addition, a European funded course entitled 'IT for People with a Visual Impairment' has adopted a lifelong learning approach and has been operating successfully for the past number of years in a rural area of County Kerry. Tailored to meet the individual needs of the participants, it is designed to provide practical skills in computer literacy often leading to further training, education or employment. The successfulness of this course can be attributed to the way in which the training is provided. The course offers the opportunity for social interaction and attempts to provide training in a relaxed environment. The transport arrangements of the participants are considered and course hours are made flexible. One of the course modules focuses on personal development where an initial assessment of the person's needs and expectations from the course are examined. The level of education of the participants' is also assessed in order to ascertain their level of literacy and numeracy. The course caters for all age groups. A life-long learning approach is offered for those over the age of 60 years whereas for others training has the specific goal of obtaining employment. The course offers an opportunity for participants to attain NCVA level 1 Certification and European Computer Driving Licence Certification (ECDL) (National Council for the Blind of Ireland, 2001). This initiative is very successful, with a number of graduates obtaining full-time employment.
In the past number of years, an IT training course was set up for people with vision impairments of all age groups in the Open Learning Centre at Colaiste Ide Senior College in Dublin (Ryan, 1998). The Centre has become a recognised ECDL test centre. The IT course being offered has proven to be extremely popular (Visually Impaired Computer Society, 2002) and has illustrated that community education in an open learning environment is an effective way of offering computer literacy skills to those who are outside of the formal education system. In 2001-2002, 7 students participated in the course of which, 4 completed all of the seven ECDL modules successfully. Currently, 9 students are undertaking the course.
In 1999, according to the former Minister of Education, Tulio De Mauro, half of the adult Italian population, found themselves at a de facto level of illiteracy, not capable of taking an active part in the Information Society. The spread of digital technology places Italy in next to last place, somewhat on the same level as France, but still distant from the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries (Bocconi University, 2001). In general, the number of Internet users has increased in Italy. At the same time, however, the gaps between Italy's different geographic areas are widening, with northeast Italy showing continuous growth in IT usage, while southern Italy remains at extremely low levels (Roncati & Cicchetti, 2001; 8). The Total number of people with vision impairments amounts to 370,000 the majority of whom reside in northern Italy. The definition of blindness in Italy requires a person to have a visual acuity less than or equal 3/60 in both eyes after correction. Although, Italy does not have a legal definition of partial sight, it is generally accepted that partially sighted people are those with a visual acuity of between 6/60 and 3/60 after correction. Limited field of vision is not taken into account in the Italian definition of vision impairment. Statistics show that 92 per cent of the vision impaired population are over 35 years of age, of this number, 65 per cent are over the age of 65 (I.Ri.Fo.R., 1995). In Italy, most policies and initiatives in relation to the provision of IT training opportunities seem to focus almost exclusively on those under the age of 35 years. There is an undeniable need to develop lifelong learning initiatives for the 92% of people with vision impairments who are older than 35 years of age.
Among the numerous projects intending to promote the development of the Information Society, which were launched by various ministries from 1996 onwards, it was noted that the co-ordination and construction of a general, unitary and systematic policy was greatly needed. To achieve this aim, the Prime Minister's Office instituted the following structures in 1999: the Committee of Ministers, the Inter-departmental Study and Working Group, the Information Society Forum and Office for Technological Innovation (refer to appendix 4). The Italian government consequently drew up a Plan of Action for the Information Society. The purpose of the plan was to facilitate and accelerate the process of IT assimilation through policies of training and inclusion. The Information Society Forum (2000) issued a report entitled "e-Italy - A Project for Italy and Europe: a Contribution to the International Community", which provides a framework for the policy actions that needed to be taken. In the plan, the numerous references to young people and to areas in southern Italy stand out as points of particular interest. Less evident are references to adults, older people and people with disabilities.
Despite the fact that a legislative framework in relation to the right to lifelong learning and to training by people with vision impairments has been put into place in Italy, people with vision impairments in the 35 to 65 year-old age group generally still tend to have a lower level of education in comparison to the sighted population. A large number of people over the age of the 65 years did not have adequate educational opportunities available to them in the post-war period, which has reduced the level of literacy and numeracy generally among this age group. On average, the percentage of people with vision impairments with a poor educational attainment is higher in southern Italy (with peaks reaching 90%) and on the islands (Sicily and Sardinia) and consists of more women than men (Dryden, Garner & Tillsley, 2000; 43). It is evident therefore that It is not only necessary to adapt the contents and training methods of computer literacy training, the level of numeracy and literacy of the vision impaired population is also an important consideration. Personal development skills as well as technical skills are consequently of equal importance (Meister, 2001).
In Italy, significant attention is given to the use of IT in schools. This focus only targets a small portion of the vision impaired population (8%). For the remaining 92% of people with vision impairments, as age increases, the percentage of people who use a computer declines (CE, 2001; 15).
All of the EATT project partner countries offer access to the ECDL qualification where some adjustments are provided for vision impaired participants. However, in Italy, the Italian Association of Informatics and Automated Calculation (Associazione Italiana per l'Informatica ed il Calcolo Automatico - AICA), which is a member of the Information Society Forum and the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies, manages and issues the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) qualification to people with a disability.
Since 2001, on behalf of the AICA, ASHPI (Association to Develop Information Technology Projects for Handicapped People - Associazione per lo Sviluppo di Progetti Informatici per gli Handicappati) has become the only organisation, on a national level, that provides information to every IT training centre and to individuals with all forms of disability on adjustment that can be made to the ECDL.
I.Ri.Fo.R (Istituto per la Ricerca la Formazione e la Riabilitazione) was created by the Italian Union of the Blind, the main organisation of people with vision impairments in Italy. I.Ri.Fo.R. and ASHPI have been set up as recognised ECDL test centres where a person with a disability can take their examinations. In addition to I.Ri.Fo.R., Professions of Milan in Support of Solidarity (Le Professioni Milanesi per la Solidarietà) offers specific courses to prepare people with vision impairments for the ECDL (http://www.corsi-zotti.it/indice-i-Inglese.html). At present, no information is available on the profiles of individuals who have undertaken an ECDL course.
From 1994 to 2000, I.Ri.Fo.R. held 194 specific IT training courses for approximately 1850 individuals with vision impairment. Many of these courses were introductory, while others were more advanced or specialised. Between 1998 and 2000, Le Professioni Milanesi per la Solidarietà, in collaboration with Retinitis Pigmentosa Italia, held courses in IT for approximately 340 people with vision impairments. These special courses were either free of charge, or required a small fee. A number of sales outlets that sell specific technical aids for people with vision impairments also offer courses at different levels at a charge. Unfortunately, there are no data available on the age of the participants in the courses.
There has been a radical increase in Internet usage over the past number of years in the United Kingdom. However, a recent report (National UK Statistics, 2001) reveals that access to the Internet tends to decrease considerably with age with only 11 per cent of the 65 plus age group with access to the Internet in comparison to 69 per cent of 25 to 44 year olds.
In 1997, 193,956 people were registered as blind and 160,197 as partially sighted. The definition of blindness in the UK has a visual acuity of less than 3/60, or visual acuity between 3/60 and 6/60 and a considerable contraction of the field of vision or visual acuity > 6/60 and the field contraction covering majority of the field. For partially sighted people, their visual acuity is between 3/60 and 6/60 and a full field of vision, or visual acuity between 6/60 and 6/24 and a moderate contraction of field of vision or visual acuity up to 6/18, or even better, with a gross field defect (RNIB, 2001). Eighty per cent of people with sight problems in the UK are 65 or over. Overall, there is a lack of data on the level of usage of computers among the older vision impaired population. It may be safe to assume that older people generally, as well as older people with vision impairments have more limited expose to IT and computer literacy skills.
UK government level policy on making IT accessible to older people is the responsibility of the e-government part of the Cabinet Office. Some of the more general policy statements are found within the policy documents "UK Online" (2000) and "UK Online Strategy" (2001). These documents merely spell out an overall e-policy framework. They never mention specific groups, however, inclusive access issues which relate to older people and people with a disability can be developed through these policies. Community and voluntary organisations have also been to the forefront in influencing inclusive Information Society policy at Government level and lobbying towards its development and implementation.
Of the UK government policy documents produced, ensuring that older learners are confident with IT skills and training falls best within the overarching theme, "Confident People". One of the "Confident People" UK government goals is to "embed information and communication technology skills in the education system and throughout lifelong learning". The UK Government acknowledged that "the elderly" and disadvantaged have often developed resistance to learning IT skills, sometimes because of unsuccessful attempts to learn in the past and sometimes because of a basic lack of confidence and opportunity. However, research by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (2000a) showed that if they want to and chose to learn, older people aged over 50 years are more likely to pursue IT skills acquisition than any other learning activity.
The Department for Education and Employment Working Group has recognised some of the problems encountered by people with disabilities in their report 'Freedom to Learn: Basic Skills for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities'. After a wide ranging investigation of the basic skill needs of adults with disabilities, the DfEE (2000b) reported that more funding should be made available for people with disabilities to improve materials and provide computer equipment for teaching and learning. The Working Group also pointed out that people with a disability could participate in mainstream courses as long as support was in place. It is worthwhile quoting directly from the Report:
Freedom to Learn: Basic Skills for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (DfEE, 2000b; 6): "If they are to participate in classes, many disabled learners require specialist or individual support Most would benefit from access to information technology where the software is appropriate. Many teachers are unfamiliar with the range of software available" (emphasis added).
Freedom to Learn(DfEE, 2000b) also highlights the learning and assistive technology needs of two groups who are often neglected: adults who experience sight loss later in life and people with vision impairments who have additional learning difficulties and/or hearing impairment. Poor access to technology is reported as one of the greatest barriers to learning by these two groups because some courses fail to provide for their needs and because the whole field of community education does not adequately provide accessible technology. It therefore advocates better availability of assistive technology to "meet individual needs", and more specialist support staff familiar with the assistive software options available. One of the recommendations in the report specific to vision impaired learners is that:
'Information Technology training for the teachers and technical staff involved in continuing education should include information about, and instruction in the use of, the main types of specialist hardware and software that learners require for access' (DfEE, 2000; 16).
Relevant UK legislation, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (SENDA) 2001, requires changes to college and university policy and practice. These have clear implications for meeting the needs of students with vision impairment who require equal access to the curriculum through assistive technology. Under this act, all students with a disability have a right to reasonable adjustments, access to services and should not be treated 'less favourably' because of their disability. Some of the specific requirements which make IT accessible to students are summarised in Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) (2001) policies which advocate for the provision of text enlargement software, large screens and screen-reading software for vision impaired learners and accessible faculty intranets and websites.
The British Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education set out a Code of Practice on Students with Disabilities (1999) that explicitly outlines accessibility standards which colleges and universities are obliged to meet. Some of the standards are particularly relevant to vision impaired learners. Supports include access to appropriate computer facilities, training for staff to provide accessible electronic course material, support for students' use of assistive equipment and personal support for students with a disability (including those that are not in receipt of disabled student's allowance). The provision of supports will be based on an assessment of individual need. Most EATT partner countries have already noted similar guidelines which would enhance lifelong learning in the higher education sector however, a code of practice has not been outlined in as much detail as in the UK.
The main entry point in the UK to online learning is through learndirect - www.learndirect.co.uk but most learning centres are, generally speaking, not accessible to people with vision impairments. Currently, the community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, have been attempting to influence inclusive Information Society policy at Government level by lobbying for the development and implementation of accessible distance and open learning environments.
The UK online Computer Training initiative ran throughout England from 2000 until 2001 and offered free, basic IT training to approximately 50,000 people. The initiative's aim was to offer people on state benefits, including those in receipt of disability benefit and UK State pension, the chance to develop confidence and skills in IT by providing a taster session in computers and gauging potential suitability for more in depth training. All participants with a disability "had to be actively seeking work and have little or no IT experience". People on the UK State pension were also seen to have a need for IT skills because many were remaining in paid and unpaid employment beyond the official retirement age. Participants could also receive a skills assessment to establish any specific or additional learning needs and could be enrolled on courses, which could lead to qualifications, such as the European Computer Driving License. The UK government contracted out the training to a variety of training providers such as commercial training companies, voluntary organizations, further education colleges, and in remote rural locations. Some providers delivered IT courses in community settings by means of laptop computers. Over 70% of the learners were aged 35 plus while over 10% were classed as retired. An initial evaluation revealed that 'over 85 per cent of participants rated their training as good or excellent, many later found work using IT, and most reported an increase in confidence, both with IT and in general' (Leatherbarrow, 2001). Vision impaired learners were supported through this initiative but precise figures are not available. However, not all of the training centres had access to assistive technology particularly in rural training centres.
The Technology for Disabilities Information Service (TechDis) initiative was formed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in 2001 (see Phipps, 2001). This initiative acts as a means of awareness raising on ways to increase access for learners with a disability in the further and higher education sector. Information is distributed on the main types of assistive technology options that can be used by vision impaired learners and illustrates them briefly with case studies from students with vision impairment. This initiative is located on the Internet at http://www.techdis.ac.uk/ where training providers easily access an inexpensive source of information.
The National Organisation for Adult Learning (NIACE) is one of the key organisations in the UK which campaigns on and influences public policy in the area of adult learning. It is predominantly concerned with learners' aged 35 plus (see http://www.niace.org.uk/). It provided briefing sheets, which related public policy in practical ways to older learners with disabilities. For example, it recently produced a briefing on the government's "Joint Investment Plans (JIPs)" for older people (NIACE, 2001). NIACE has also produced a briefing sheet entitled 'Visually Impaired Older Learners' (NIACE, 2000) which emphasises the point that the needs of older vision impaired learners often go unrecognised. The briefing sheet also contains useful contact details for the main UK organisations that will provide support. NIACE attempts to encourage colleges and community education services to ensure that they are involved in the drawing up of JIPs and in providing lifelong learning opportunities.
In recognition of the lack of any formal standard set on the provision of training to people with vision impairments in computer literacy skills using assistive technology, the British Computer Association for the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certificate Scheme was set up in 2001. The community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), resourced this scheme. Consultation was made with the suppliers of assistive technology and those who provided training in their use. National standards were set which would measure a trainer's professional competence. Arrangements were made with the Institute of IT Training (IITT) to adopt an accessible version of their refresher course for training providers.
People with vision impairments, product suppliers and government bodies and so on can use this standard as an assurance that they will be able to source a suitably qualified trainer in their area. In addition, the DfEE will be able to ensure that training provided for students or training provided under the Access to Work Scheme has the BCAB certification. This scheme has been found to be effective and workable and is recognised and supported by independent bodies and Central Government. The BCAB schemes distinctiveness lies in the very wide range of products in which trainer's competence is assessed and certified.
The spread of Information Technology has increased substantially over the past years although each country involved in this project has made different amounts of progress towards an Information Society. Nordic countries such as Denmark have focused on making Denmark one of the leading IT nations and creating an IT community for everybody. The level of advancement made by the United Kingdom and Ireland is slightly lower than Denmark but the spread of digital technology in Italy and France is still quite distant from what has been achieved by the other partner countries. Despite these differences, a common trend has emerged among all of the EATT project partners. A considerable imbalance still exists in terms of age and social economic status. Although, the definition of legal blindness varies from country to country, a common trend found within each of the partner countries is that a large proportion of the vision impaired population are within an older age category. Older people with vision impairments run the risk of being excluded due to a lack of computer literacy. People with disabilities, generally, tend to have a higher level of unemployment and lower level of education, which tends to influence their opportunities of accessing computer technology. Italy has additional problem of having half their adult population finding themselves at a de facto level of illiteracy. Many older Italian people must first overcome illiteracy difficulties before computer literacy can be achieved. There are also gaps between different geographic regions in terms of the spread IT usage and access to IT training.
A persistent finding by all of the partner countries is that most of the Information Society policies attempt to offer IT access to all generally. Initiatives can be developed through these equal access polices, which directly relate to older people with vision impairments. Overall, the differentiated needs of specific groups such as older people or people with disabilities do not appear to have been given adequate consideration in all countries, although, some governments have given more consideration to the needs of people with vision impairments in the Information Society. In Denmark, the issue of disability has played an important role in Information Society policy since its first action plan. The Danish government set up a multidisciplinary committee of Ministers who had responsibility of coordinating government policies on disability, to consider the barriers to integration of people with a disability and to propose priorities for initiatives. The French government commissioned a number of reports in order to make the Information Society accessible to all, one of which specially examines the needs of people with vision impairments. The report points out that people with vision impairments will only be able to fully take advantage of the Information Society if they have access to assistive technology as well as having effective professional guidance to assist them. It recommends the professional development of trainers through, for example, creating a technical guide to assistive technology, the provision of guidance and support services and the availability of specialised training in assistive technology.
British Information Society policy acknowledges that the needs of adults who experience sight loss in later life and those who have additional disabilities are not catered for within community education. It recommends better availability of assistive technology and more specialist trainers in community education.
Most government policies attempt to ensure that all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds have access to IT training at work and within the educational system in an attempt to increase economic growth, human capital and employment and also to increase social inclusion by full participation in society.
The number of innovative ways Government strategies have attempted to encourage adults into lifelong learning policies has been most encouraging. Ireland's Green Paper on Adult Education suggested strategies needed for increased mature student access to the higher education sector as the development of more flexible accreditation, access programmes and increased community education. In the United Kingdom, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education set out a code of practice which explicitly outlines accessibility standards which the higher education sector are obliged to meet. Some of the standards are particularly relevant to people with vision impairments such as access to appropriate computer facilities and support to students in the use of assistive equipment. Most EATT partner countries have developed policies to enhance lifelong learning in the higher education sector however a code of practice has not been outlined in as much detail as in the United Kingdom.
Legislation in most of the EATT countries tends to broadly require that 'reasonable adjustments' be made to cater for the needs of people with a disability within educational institutions. Legislation in the United Kingdom requires changes to college and university policy and practice in an attempt to ensure a right to education by people with disabilities under the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (SENDA), 2001. 'Reasonable adjustments' made to the higher education sector are informed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education code of practice and the TechDis initiative formed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which acts as a means of awareness raising within the further and higher education sector on ways to increase access for learners with a disability. In Denmark, the legislative provisions set out to ensure that specialised provisions are made to facilitate people with a disability to attend education and further training courses are quite specific under the Open Education Act and the Special Education for Adults Act (2000).
Overall, the whole area of community education does not appear to adequately provide for the lifelong learning needs of many older people with vision impairments. Poor provision of assistive technology seems to be the greatest barrier. There needs to be better availability of assistive technology and more specialist trainers who are familiar with the assistive technology options available at community level.
In most countries, a great deal of government effort on providing IT training has concentrated on the National Training Centres for labour market education, such as AMU, the Danish National Labour Market Education Authority; FÁS, the Irish National Training and Employment Authority and AFPA, the French National Association for Professional Training for Adults.
In Denmark and Ireland, these policies have been supported by legislative provisions to improve participation of people with a disability in these mainstream labour market training courses by ensuring that the appropriate equipment and support is provided. In Denmark, in accordance with the Active Social Policy Act, 1997, when applying for assistive equipment as a working tool, the municipality has to pay for a few hours consultancy service for installation and instruction. Other grants offered in both Denmark and Ireland offer personal assistance at work, grants for the adaptation of the workplace and subsidies to employers for employment of people with disabilities.
In recognition of the growing importance of computer literacy for adults generally, national campaigns have attempted to raise the level of awareness among adults and to provide IT training to adults generally, so that they can see the practical benefits of IT to their daily lives. A particularly successful initiative, UK Online Computer Training initiative ran throughout England offering free, basic IT training. The initiative's aim was offer people on state benefits, including those in receipt of disability benefit or the UK State pension, an awareness of the opportunities presented by IT. Older learners were targeted. Learners could also receive a skills assessment to establish specific learning needs and could be enrolled on a computer course. This initiative has shown that many learners later found work using IT. Many retired and vision impaired learners also benefited greatly although not all of the training centres had access to assistive technology.
Some of the more successful initiatives encouraging older people with vision impairments into IT training appear to be those that are delivered by the community and voluntary sector at a local level. These courses are successful because they adopt a holistic approach, tailoring courses to meet the individual needs of trainees and incorporating personal development skills as well as technical skills. Consideration is given to producing a supportive environment, sensitive to the personal and financial demands placed on trainees. The training courses are affordable, the transport arrangements as well as level of literacy and numeracy of the participants are taken into account. Trainers are familiar with the needs of people with vision impairments and of the assistive software options available. Teaching is either individual or in small groups. A lifelong learning approach is often offered for those over the age of 60 years and for people below this age, training can increase employment opportunities.
Due to financial limitations of the community and voluntary sector, the number of training courses on offer is far below the ever-increasing level of demand for them. The Danish government, in particular, did financially invest in a number of successful projects in order to promote IT skills among older people who are outside of the labour market. Training was provided locally in a way that made it relevant their daily lives. One of the projects funded, 'IT skills in Older Disabled People' delivered by a community and voluntary organisation is particularly relevant to the EATT report. This project hoped to develop a comprehensive training course, which would offer computer literacy skills to older people with a disability. It did this by selecting the relevant equipment, methods of installation, assistive software, adjustments to teaching instructions and ultimately compiled it in a manual for IT trainers (Danish Research Agency, 2001; 20). In 2002, under the Irish CAIT programme, funded by the Department of Public Enterprise, National Council for the Blind of Ireland, a community and voluntary organisation, was also given the financial opportunity to put into place a national infrastructure of trained volunteers who were available to visit the homes of people with vision impairments, providing whatever technical support was needed.
In some countries, the community and voluntary sector is believed to be the key to providing IT training as it would enable this sector to assist their target group with becoming more computer literate. The French Descargues report reinforces this by recommending that IT training to people with vision impairments should be delivered by organizations that provide a service to this group as part of the rehabilitative process in order to cater for individual needs. A number of rehabilitative courses are offered primarily by the community and voluntary sector, which facilitate trainees in making the successful transition to both independent living and occupational integration, provide computer training as part of the rehabilitative process.
Voluntary and community organisations have also set up a number of IT training opportunities through local computer clubs and cyber cafés. The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs provided funding for a project that successfully established forty-five cyber cafés across Denmark where older people could receive training in computer skills. Many older people with vision impairments (over 65 years) very often obtain personalised, local and affordable IT training from these kinds of sources.
In some of the EATT partner countries, for those wishing to have access to computers for daily living they very often have to acquire equipment out of their own money. In Denmark, legislative provisions have been put into place to ensure that a technical aids grant is available to all people with vision impairments to facilitate everyday life in the home. In Ireland, people with vision impairments can apply to obtain a government grant for IT equipment for their disposal at home although, some local area health boards stipulate that recipients of the technical aids grant must be under the age of 65 years.
As previously noted the professional development of trainers is central to providing appropriate IT training to older people with vision impairments. As previously mentioned, under the "IT Skills in Older Disabled People" project, the Danish Institute for Technical Aids (Hjælpemiddelinstituttet) compiled a comprehensive guidance manual for IT trainer which will facilitate the acquisition of computer literacy skills among older people with a disability.
In the United Kingdom, under the TechDis initiative developed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in 2001 information was made available to the further and higher education sector in an attempt to assist access by learners with a disability. A website was developed as a way of accessing and disseminating information on best practices.
New national standards in training skills were also established to ensure the professional development of trainers. The British Computer Association for the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certificate Scheme was set up in 2001 and resourced by the community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). It sets out standards for trainers of people with vision impairments in the use of assistive technology. The BCAB schemes uniqueness lies in the very wide range of products in which trainer's competence is assessed and certified. This scheme has been found to be effective and workable. People with vision impairments of any age, product suppliers and government bodies will be able to source a suitably qualified trainer in a particular area. The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) will use this standard to ensure that training provided under the Access to Work Scheme will have BCAB certification.
In most of the EATT partner countries, people with disabilities have access to mainstream ECDL courses, where adjustments can be made to both training and examinations. However, since 2001, the Italian organisation ASHPI disseminates information on adaptations to the ECDL for people with a disability to every IT training centre. This initiative attempts to ensure that ECDL trainers are aware of the different types of assistive software and supports available.
I.Ri.Fo.R, a community and voluntary organisation that provide a service to people with vision impairments in Italy, and Colaiste Ide Open Learning Centre in Ireland have both become recognised as an ECDL test centres for people with vision impairments. The trainers are familiar with assistive technology and can make the appropriate adjustments to teaching material and equipment. Individual needs and teacher-student ratio are taken into consideration. The courses were open to all age groups. The features which make these training courses accessible to people with vision impairments could be applied to mainstream IT training courses in the future.
It is often difficult to set up training courses using assistive technology for the vision impaired population because the population is so scattered and there is a dearth of specialised professionals. Distance learning can overcome some of these obstacles as it is relatively inexpensive and it can enable people with vision impairments to participate in mainstream training courses. Teachers and vision impaired students can exchange computerised notes, and students can easily access information. Despite the benefits of distance learning, there are major issues around e-learning environments being inaccessible and remaining so. The United Kingdom has a nationwide IT-based learning service "learn direct", which is simply not accessible. In addition, many older vision impaired learners may consider the personal development element of learning to be as important as the development of technical skills and hence, distance learning can be viewed as supplementing rather than replacing traditional methods.
In some countries, the private sector, such as sales outlets that sell specific technical aids for people with vision impairments, charge a fee for training. Affordability can be an obstacle to access. The French Descargues report highlights the importance of family and friends in offering support and training in computer skills and in the use of assistive software equipment as the report claims that after sales technical support and training courses offered by the private sector are very specific to the product purchased and requires a fair amount of technical knowledge. Nevertheless, the private sector can be a useful source of IT training when the courses offered make the necessary adjustments for people with vision impairments. In Denmark, the private company, PC Group offered tailor-made IT training courses for people with vision impairments with the cooperation of the Danish County Resource Centre for the Vision Impaired (Synscentralen) who provided trainer support and advice on assistive technology.
The suppliers of assistive technology can also often offer training courses to IT trainers in the use of their products, as noted by the British Computer Association for the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certificate Scheme in the United Kingdom.
There are only a few training courses targeted at people with vision impairments, and in particular the older members of this group have not yet been targeted. Information Society policies have recognised the difficulties encountered by older people with vision impairments in accessing IT training and recognise that professional development of trainers in assistive technology is essential. Putting such policies into practice requires financial investment and political commitment, and therefore it remains to be seen how successfully they will be implemented.
Some of the more successful initiatives encouraging older people and people with disabilities into IT training are those that are delivered by the community and voluntary sector. However, due to financial limitations of this sector, the number of training courses on offer is far below the ever-increasing level of demand for them.
Local initiatives have emerged on an ad-hoc basis leading to obvious gaps between different geographic areas in terms of the spread of IT usage and access to IT training. The successful attributes of specialised IT training initiatives that have emerged locally by the community and voluntary sector can be applied to mainstream IT training courses in the future.
This chapter provides an outline of the research design employed for this study and of the various issues involved in the selection of respondents. There will be a description of the approaches used in analysing the hypotheses posed and a discussion of some of the limitations on data collection.
This research study was an empirical effort to assess the level of awareness among people with vision impairments aged over 35 years of the benefits and opportunities that IT can bring and to identify the particular needs of this group in relation to accessing computers and acquiring computer literacy. The study examined the extent to which lack of computer literacy for older people with vision impairments leads to social exclusion as a result of more limited access to information, communication and consumer goods. It also revealed whether increased computer literacy among people with vision impairments would improve employability, chances of job promotion and access to mainstream training opportunities. This study identified the successful features of specialised IT courses so that these features could be applied to mainstream training opportunities. In addition, this study explored the level of awareness among IT training providers' of the needs of people with vision impairments aged over 35 years and assessed the related needs of IT trainers in order to support them in facilitating older people with vision impairments participation in mainstream IT training courses.
The nature of this research study was quantitative. Two questionnaires were designed whose purpose was to prove or disprove a number of working hypotheses. The different participating countries put these hypotheses forward, all of which have worked closely with vision impaired adults and who were aware of the needs of their target group.
The three principle hypotheses, which were considered in this research study, are outlined below.
In order to understand the remit of this study, it is important to define the terms used. The term 'Information Technology' includes assistive technology, personal computers and the Internet. The term 'older people with vision impairments' is defined as people with vision impairments within the 35 plus age group.
Two samples were used in this study, one of which represented people with vision impairments and the other represented IT training providers. The vision impaired population sample size was set at a minimum of twenty and a maximum of fifty respondents per country. The sample was all over the age of 35 years. Half of the sample was male and the other half was female. An attempt was made to ensure that the sample consisted of twenty per cent of people who are blind and eighty per cent of people who were partially sighted as this representation would reflect the number of people registered as legally blind and partially sighted in the EATT project countries. Every effort was made to achieve a national geographical representation in the sample from both urban and rural areas, and representation of people from different socio-economic areas and backgrounds. Half of the sample represented people who had experience of using a computer whether for personal or professional use and the other half of the sample had no experience of using a computer. Half of sample was employed or in a training course while the other half of sample was unemployed and who had not participated in a training course.
The IT training providers sample size comprised of twenty respondents from each country. For the purpose of analysis, two sub-samples were formed. One sample consisted of non-specialised IT training providers who had experience of teaching people with vision impairments. The other sample had no experience in working with people with vision impairments. Both of these samples had a maximum of ten respondents. Quota sampling was used at the first stage to identify a 'starting' sample. Consequently, non-probability snowball sampling was used to identify and obtain the cooperation of the other IT training providers in this study. 'A few persons having the requisite characteristics are identified and interviewed. These persons are used as informants to identify others who would qualify for inclusion in the sample' (Bailey, 1982; 100).
There were two questionnaires designed for use this study. The first questionnaire attempted to measure the attitudes of the vision impaired sample. The purpose of the second questionnaire was to measure IT trainer's attitudes towards the provision of IT training to people with vision impairments. Closed questions (yes, no, multiple choice, value choice) and semi-opened questions were employed in the IT training providers questionnaire. The questionnaire was conducted over the telephone.
In order to obtain a representative sample of the population that included people with vision impairments over the age of 35 years in their various capacities as well-educated and poorly-educated, older citizens and employees, the questionnaire included questions that acquired data in relation to the social and personal background of respondents.
The frame of reference of the respondents should always be considered in questionnaire design (Bailey, 1982). Hence, vocabulary had to be suitable for the group, particular bias within the group had to be taken into account and consideration of how informed the group were, was all relevant in the design of a workable instrument. The two questionnaires used in our study, one for people with vision impairments, and the other for training providers, can be found in Appendices 6 and 7.
Data processing software called Sphinx (Sphinx: http://www.lesphinx-developpement.fr/) was used to assess the correlation between the different qualitative variables of the hypotheses.
Semi-opened questions were employed in the IT training providers questionnaire, in particular question 30 - "According to you, how could people with vision impairments benefit from participating in an IT training course?" This question gathered qualitative data on the set of perceptions and experiences, common to most IT training providers. In analysing this question, the method of content analysis was employed using Sphinx software, which involved analysing the frequency of terms used by respondents. The position of terms in sentences, synonyms, and the overall meaning were investigated. This method identified the reasons for access to IT training by people with vision impairments which were perceived by IT trainers.
A scale to evaluate respondents' level of computer literacy was developed to determine whether the initial hypotheses are proved or disproved.
The six working hypotheses of this study all make reference to "levels" of computer literacy. Therefore, it was necessary to define exactly what was meant by "levels". In order to achieve this, twelve questions were designed to ascertain the amount of computer literacy and usage of each respondent. Depending on the responses to these questions, points were awarded on a scale of 0 to 4. Refer to appendix 8 for a list of the questions. The maximum of points that could be reached was 68. With the assistance of the table below, the respondents were classified into four categories which increase according to degree of computer literacy skills attained.
| Scale | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Less than 2 points | Interviewees having no access to a computer at home, or at work. Is unemployed and had no training. |
| From 2 points to 12 points | Interviewees that are non-users but with computer access. |
| From 12 points to 35 points | Users with a level less than average: uses only one application program. Partial mastery of keyboard. |
| 35 points and more | Users with level higher than average: able to customise the computer for their own needs - use several application programs - very strong use of email and Internet. Acquisition of skills through over 40 hours training. |
The scale employed is presented below (NR = "No response").
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NR | Does not own a PC | Owns a PC | ||
| 2 | NR | Does not have PC at work | Has PC at work | ||
| 3 | NR | Someone else uses it, my work colleagues use it | My children use it | My spouse uses it | Use it myself |
| 4 | NR | Training by colleagues | Training by friends | Training by trainer | |
| 5 | NR | Uses mouse if vision impaired | Uses keyboard (few fingers) | Uses entire keyboard (10 fingers) | |
| 6 | NR | Uses DOS | Uses Windows | Uses Linux | |
| 7 | NR | Only gets data | Uses one software package | Uses several software packages | Can customise the computer to own needs |
| 8 | NR | Uses CD ROM/ games/ scanner | Uses word processing | Uses a spreadsheet program | Uses a database program |
| 9 | NR | Cannot send emails | Sends emails | ||
| 10 | NR | Does not use the Internet | Uses the Internet | ||
| 11 | NR | Training by other people | Training by a sales person | Training in mainstream centre | Specialised Training for people with vision impairments |
| 12 | NR | Length more than 10 hours | Length less than 40 hours | Length less than 80 hours | Length more than 80 hours |
Sphinx software enabled comparisons between the responses to the twelve questions (listed in appendix 8) classified according to this scale, which ultimately, verified the validity of the six working hypotheses. This method, in turn, revealed the degree of correlation between computer literacy and access to information, means of communication and consumer goods, improved access to mainstream IT training opportunities, improved employability and chances of promotion.
This study intended to obtain a sample of people with vision impairments that represented 20% blind people and 80% people with vision impairments. However, the questionnaires returned showed a distribution closer to 50% blind people and 50% vision impaired a person which did not meet the criteria set out in the methodology. This is partly due to the fact that were more blind people than people with vision impairments were represented in the Italian and British samples. In order to increase the reliability of this study, Sphinx software was employed to make a random selection of questionnaires until the desired distribution was reached. The data of 152 completed questionnaires were entered into Sphinx software. A sample of 100 responses were selected, which met the vision impairment criterion discussed above, and also the other criteria which would obtain a representative sample including gender, computer experience, and job status (see Research Sample section above). Consequently, a number of questionnaires were removed from the initial sample. The valid questionnaires were called the modified sample.
The table below shows the breakdown of the initial 152 completed questionnaires.
Table 3: Breakdown of completed questionnaires
| Country-Category | Male | Female | Sub-Total | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France Blind | 4 | 5 | 9 | |
| France Vision impaired | 14 | 13 | 27 | 36 |
| Denmark Blind | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Denmark Vision impaired | 9 | 9 | 18 | 23 |
| UK Blind | 6 | 5 | 11 | |
| UK Vision impaired | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 |
| Italy Blind | 17 | 6 | 23 | |
| Italy Vision impaired | 3 | 4 | 7 | 30 |
| Ireland Blind | 16 | 7 | 23 | |
| Ireland Vision impaired | 7 | 14 | 21 | 44 |
The initial sample consisted of 47% blind people and 53% people with vision impairments whereas, the modified sample represented 20% blind people and 80% people with vision impairments, which met the desired representation. The procedure of sample modification reduced the number of blind respondents' questionnaires by 26.7% in order to meet the distribution criteria. In relation to gender distribution, both the initial and modified sample consisted of 50 male and 50 female respondents, which met the sample distribution requirements.
The initial intention was to represent half of sample as employed or in a training course and half as unemployed and not participating in a training course. The distribution of the variable 'employed' is adequately represented as half of the respondents (49%) in both the initial and modified samples were in employment or training.
In order to obtain a meaningful age classification, ages were divided into groups the following categories: 35 to 45 years, 45 to 54 years, and 55 to 65 years and over. The average age in both samples was 47 years, regardless of gender. In the initial sample, 38% of respondents were aged between 35 to 45 years, 38% were aged between 45 to 54 years and 24% were aged between 55 and over. Within the modified sample, 41% of the sample was aged between 35 and 44 years, 39% were aged between 45 to 54 years and 20% were aged 55 and over.
There was also an effort made to represent people who were computer users and non-computer users. Within the initial sample, 55% of the sample stated that they used computers themselves. The modified sample had a more representative level of distribution as 49% of the respondents declared that they used computers themselves.
There was also an attempt to achieve a representative distribution of nationalities in the sample. There was over-representation of blind respondents in the initial sample, which led to a removal of blind respondents from the nationalities that occurred most frequently. The table below demonstrates representation of the different nationalities within the initial and modified sample.
| Nationality | Initial Sample % | Modified Sample % |
|---|---|---|
| Danish | 15 | 21 |
| French | 24 | 28 |
| British | 12 | 11 |
| Irish | 30 | 28 |
| Italian | 19 | 12 |
The findings from the research study produced valid data which can be used to orient the EATT project towards increasing computer literacy among people with vision impairments aged over 35 years and can be used to direct future investigation. More reliable data may have been gathered if the type of vision impairment, the different interests and different age groups and backgrounds of the respondents were clearly represented. Consideration should also have been given to whether the respondents received formal company organised training before the onset of their vision impairment. For the respondents who have not had exposure IT, it may have been difficult for this group to imagine how their daily life could change as a result of developing their computer literacy skills. More reliable data may have been collected when respondents have already experienced the benefits created by computer literacy to their daily life.
For training providers who had not provided training to vision impaired person, may have been difficult for them to realise if a vision impaired person could be integrated into their course as they may have been unaware of the adaptations that can be made. This study employed a sample of 20 people with vision impairments and 20 IT trainers in each of the country. Further investigation, which takes all of these variables into consideration and examines a larger sample, will verify the results to be reliable, valid and can be more easily generalised.
The following chapter presents the findings of this study and an analysis of the data is provided.
This chapter will begin by outlining the distribution of the vision impaired respondents sample employed. It will then assess the level of awareness among people with vision impairments aged 35 plus of benefits and opportunities computer literacy can bring and it will identify the needs of this group in relation to accessing IT and achieving computer literacy. There will also be an analysis of the extent to which lack of computer literacy leads to social exclusion due to lack of access to information, communication or consumer goods and whether computer literacy can improve employability, chances of job promotion and access to mainstream training.
The level of computer literacy skills found among the respondents is presented according to a scale that was developed for this research study. This scale uses the following scoring: less than 12 points represents very little or no IT knowledge, from twelve points up to over 35 points ranges from very inexperienced users at the lower end of the scale to those with an excellent knowledge and extensive experience with of using a computer. Please see methodology for a full explanation of the scoring used in this section. The findings produced according to this scale will determine, through the use of interrelated tables, whether the initial hypotheses were proved or not proved.
All of the 100 respondents were over the age of 35 years. Of this, 41% were aged between 35 and 44 years, 39% were aged between 45 to 54 years and 20% were aged 55 and over. The mean age of the respondents was 47 years. There were 50 male and 50 female respondents. The respondents comprised of 28% Irish and 28% French, 21% Danish, 12% Italian and 11% British. The respondents represented 20% blind people and 80% people with vision impairments. Half of the respondents had experience of using a computer whether for personal or professional use and the other half had no experience of using a computer at all. Half of the respondents were in employment or in training while the other half were unemployed or seeking work.
In this section, the living arrangements of the respondents are revealed, such as their family setting, independence in terms of mobility and access to public transport. These variables may have an influence on access to mainstream IT training and employment opportunities as well as exposure to computer technology.
In order to ascertain whether the family setting may influence access to a computer, all of the participants involved in this research were asked whether they lived alone and if not, who they lived with. The majority of respondents (63%) shared their household with a spouse or partner and 41% lived with their children. A quarter (25%) of the respondent's lived alone and the remainder resided with their parents, relatives, or other people.
All of the respondents were requested to indicate the number of inhabitants residing in the area in which they lived as this variable may have influenced respondents' access to IT training and employment due to limited mobility and provision of IT training in their locality. Eighteen percent of respondents stated that they lived in an area with between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants and 16% had more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area that they lived. Fourteen percent of the respondents live in an area that had 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants and twenty percent of respondents lived in an area with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents lived in an area with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, which means that most of the respondents resided in small towns and rural areas. This is an atypical result that may create a lack of opportunity for access to IT training for these respondents.
All of the participants were asked whether they had access to any form of public transport close to their home as limited mobility may reduce access to IT training courses and employment. Table 1 below demonstrates that most of the respondents (82%) had public transport accessible to them. No significant correlation was found between computer literacy and local access to public transport, as those with access to public transport near to their home did not generally have a higher level of computer literacy.
| IT literacy | NR | Access | No Access | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 25 |
| 2 - 12 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 25 |
| 12 - 35 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 26 |
| 35 + | 0 | 20 | 4 | 24 |
| Total | 1 | 82 | 17 | 100 |
For those who did have access to public transport, when asked whether they used it, over half (51%) of the respondents travelled independently on public transport, 8% used it with some assistance and 18% used public transport with a companion. As shown in Table 1 above, there is no significant correlation between access to public transport and computer literacy. However, further analysis in Table 2 highlights that people who have the highest level of computer literacy are also those who are most likely to travel alone. Although, 18% of the respondents had access to public transport but did not use it independently, a number of the respondents did not find this inhibiting as they relied on taxi services to remain independently mobile.
| IT literacy | NR | Alone | No | With a friend | With some help | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 - 12 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 25 |
| 12 - 35 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 26 |
| 35 + | 2 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Total | 9 | 51 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 100 |
All of the participants were asked what level of education they had attained as access to the educational system might have presented an opportunity of being introduced to IT. Table 3 reveals that nearly a quarter (22%) of the respondents had no qualification and only 9% had a college or university degree.
| Educational qualifications | % |
|---|---|
| No qualification | 22 |
| GCSE | 18 |
| GNVQ/SVQ (technical training) | 17 |
| SCE Higher/A Levels | 18 |
| Vocational (post second level) qualification | 11 |
| First Degree (3 or 4 years) | 9 |
| Masters Degree or similar (postgraduate) | 5 |
In Table 4, there appears to be a significant correlation between education and level of computer literacy as people who had the lowest levels of computer literacy were most likely to be those with no qualifications. Similarly, people with the highest levels of computer literacy were most likely to have attended at least second level education. However, it is important not to conclude that access to IT and development of computer literacy skills is totally dependent on level of educational attainment as later findings in Table 19 found that the family setting and the workplace were also an important means of receiving initial IT training.
| Level of Education | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No qualification | 14 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| GCSE | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| GNVQ/SVQ (technical training) | 2 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| A Levels | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Vocational training certificate | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| First degree | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| Masters degree | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 25 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 100 |
All of the respondents were asked to state their employment status as employment status was considered to be another variable, which may have influenced access to computers and IT training. Table 5 demonstrates that half of the respondents were unemployed. Of this, 9% were looking for employment, 6% were seeking vocational guidance and 13% were not in search of employment.
| Level of Education | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not in Employment | 23 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 50 |
| Unemployed | 10 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 22 |
| Looking for a job | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Looking for vocational guidance | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Not looking for a job or a training course | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| Total | 23 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 100 |
The results in Table 6 point out that of the 50% of the respondents who were in employment or training, 41% were in employment, 8% were participating in training.
| Level of Education | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Employment | 1 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 49 |
| Employed | 1 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| In training | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| No response | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 50 |
Further analysis revealed in Table 6 demonstrates a significant correlation between employment and computer literacy. Those who were in employment or training tended to have a higher level of computer literacy than respondents who were unemployed. The employment rate appears to increase with the level of computer literacy.
All of the respondents were asked about the source of their monthly income. Several answers were possible. Table 7 illustrates that the majority (69%) of the respondents were dependent on state benefits and over a third (39%) of the respondents received a supplementary state benefit payment in addition to their income.
| Income sources | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 2 |
| State benefits | 69 |
| Earnings (salary) | 39 |
| Others | 13 |
All of the respondents were asked what their monthly income amounted to. It is evident from Table 8 that most of the respondents earned between €750 and €1500 a month. Those with a higher level of computer literacy did not tend to have a higher monthly income. It appears from the findings below that advancement of computer literacy skills does not seem to have an influence on the respondent's level of income.
| Monthly income | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No response | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| No income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| less than €750 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 25 |
| €750 - €1500 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 46 |
| €1500 - €3000 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| Don't know | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 25 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 100 |
When respondents were asked where they sourced information, the results outlined in Table 9 found that television and radio were the principal sources of information used by respondents. Regardless of respondents level of computer literacy these sources continued to provide an easily accessible means of obtaining information.
Table 9: Sources of information
| Source of information | % |
|---|---|
| Television | 23 |
| Teletext | 3 |
| Radio | 23 |
| The Internet | 7 |
| Audio tapes | 13 |
| Newspaper, booklets | 11 |
| Books | 9 |
| Letters | 11 |
| Others | 0 |
| Nothing | 0 |
| Total | 100 |
Further analysis outlined in Table 10 reveals that no significant correlation was found between computer literacy and improved access to information. Access to a computer and level of computer literacy among respondents will determine Internet usage.
| Source of information | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Television | 20 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 90 |
| Teletext | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| Radio | 23 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 90 |
| Internet | 0 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 28 |
| Audio tapes | 15 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 50 |
| Newspaper, booklets | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 45 |
| Books | 6 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 36 |
All of the respondents were asked which means of communication they used. There were several answers possible. The results presented in the Table below demonstrate that the respondents used the telephone as their principle means of communication. Email usage did not seem to have reduced use of the telephone. Handwriting and Braille also continued to be an important means of communication regardless of computer literacy levels.
| Means of communication | % |
|---|---|
| Telephone | 27 |
| Mobile telephone | 17 |
| Handwriting | 14 |
| Using a typewriter/word processing | 11 |
| Braille | 3 |
| Meeting with people | 17 |
| 7 | |
| Internet (chat rooms) | 2 |
| Total | 98 |
Although, further analysis outlined in Table 12 shows that email, typing and word processing, are used more frequently as a means of communication by people who were more computer literate and who feel most comfortable with it.
| Means of communication | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone | 23 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 98 |
| Mobile telephone | 7 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 61 |
| Handwriting | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 52 |
| Using a typewriter/word processor | 5 | 2 | 17 | 17 | 41 |
| Braille | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Meetings with people | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 62 |
| 1 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 26 | |
| Internet (chat rooms) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Total | 66 | 77 | 102 | 116 | 361 |
All of the respondents were asked which means of information and communication they would like to access in the future. There were several answers possible. Table 13 reveals that a large proportion of the respondents had a desire to have access to the Internet including respondents who had limited and more advanced computer literacy skills. This result may illustrate awareness among people with vision impairments of opportunities and benefits that the Internet can create.
| Means of communication | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No response | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| Mobile telephone | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Television | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| Radio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Internet/email | 16 | 14 | 21 | 13 | 64 |
| Newspaper/ magazine subscription | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Audio tapes | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 21 |
| Other | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nothing | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 40 | 41 | 40 | 34 | 155 |
Table 13 above found that although, respondents with the highest level of computer literacy made the most frequent use of email, the traditional means of communication (telephone, written correspondence, and interpersonal interaction) were still considered to be the main means of communication, and continues to be used even when people with vision impairments have alternative communication options available to them, such as email.
All of the respondents were asked how they accessed written documents at home. There were several answers possible. Table 14 indicates that independent reading seems to be common at home, either using assistive technology (51%) or using standard or enlarged print (52%).
| How do you read documents at home? | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 1 |
| With assistive technology | 51 |
| With somebody's help | 44 |
| Alone, standard print | 26 |
| Alone, enlarged print | 26 |
| Alone, Braille | 10 |
| I don't read | 5 |
Further analysis shows no significant correlation between accessing written documents and computer literacy skills. Table 15 indicates that when reading written documents at home, most respondents had similar levels of usage of assistive technology and usage of enlarged or standard print, irrespective of their level of computer literacy.
| How do you read documents at home? | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No response | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| With assistive technology | 12 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 51 |
| With someone's help | 9 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 44 |
| Alone, standard print | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| Alone, enlarged print | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
| Alone, Braille | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| I don't read | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 35 | 42 | 45 | 41 | 163 |
For those respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50), they were asked whether their computer was equipped with assistive technology. The results in Table 16 found that approximately one third (36%) of respondents had access to assistive technology at home. Those with the highest level of computer literacy also had access to assistive technology at home. The correlation between computer literacy and the provision of assistive technology at home is very significant.
| IT literacy | NR | Yes | No | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 2 to 12 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 25 |
| 12 to 35 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 26 |
| 35 + | 3 | 19 | 2 | 24 |
| Total | 48 | 36 | 16 | 100 |
Of those respondents who were in employment (N=50), they were asked how they accessed written documents at work. There were several answers possible. Of this group, Table 17 reveals that most respondents (41%) read documents at work with the assistance of a person or by using assistive technology.
| How do you read documents at work? | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 4 |
| With assistive technology | 23 |
| With somebody's help | 18 |
| Alone, standard print | 12 |
| Alone, enlarged print | 12 |
| I don't read | 5 |
| Alone, Braille | 2 |
The respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50) were asked when they started using a computer. On average, the year respondents began to use a computer dates back to 1994. Table 18 also indicates that there has been a major increase in computer usage in more recent years.
| Date of first use | Number of Respondents |
|---|---|
| No response | 1 |
| Prior to 1979 | 1 |
| From 1979 to 1989 | 7 |
| From 1989 to 1991 | 7 |
| From 1991 to 1993 | 3 |
| From 1993 to 1995 | 3 |
| From 1995 to 1997 | 4 |
| From 1997 to 1999 | 5 |
| 1999 and later | 19 |
| Total | 50 |
The respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50) were asked where they had obtained their skills to use a computer. Several answers were possible. As shown in Table 19 only 37% of the respondents received formal IT training and nearly half (46%) of the respondents developed their computer skills either by themselves or with the assistance of family, friends and colleagues.
| Training | % |
|---|---|
| Formal Training | 37 |
| Self-trained | 17 |
| From children | 11 |
| From colleagues | 11 |
| From friends or relatives | 7 |
The respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50) were asked what input devices they were able to use. Several answers were possible. Table 20 illustrates that 36% of the respondents were able to use a mouse and 27% were able to use the entire keyboard.
| Input devices | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 2 |
| Mouse | 36 |
| Keyboard (touch type) | 27 |
| Keyboard (few fingers) | 18 |
The respondents who had experience of using a computer at home were asked which operating system they were able to use. Several answers were possible. Table 21 shows that 47% of the respondents who had access to a computer at home used a Windows environment.
| Operating system | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 1 |
| Windows | 47 |
| DOS | 18 |
| Others | 2 |
| Linux | 0 |
Table 22 reveals that nearly half (45%) of respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50) stated that they have used a word processor and a quarter (25%) stated that they have used a spreadsheet program.
| Software | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 1 |
| Word processing | 45 |
| Spreadsheets | 25 |
| CD-ROM Games | 21 |
| Optical Character Recognition with Scanner | 19 |
| Database management | 14 |
Respondents who had experience of using a computer (N=50) were asked if they had used the Internet to search for information and for those who stated that they had not, they were asked to explain why they had not used it. In Table 23, respondents whose level of computer literacy was classified as scoring between 12 and 35 points on the scale, they did not use the Internet due to practical reasons, for example, lack of a connection to it.
| Internet usage | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No response | 25 | 25 | 12 | 21 | 83 |
| No interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I don't know how to use it | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| I'm not connected | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 25 | 25 | 29 | 24 | 103 |
All of the respondents were asked if they had attended vocational training or participated in further education. Table 24 shows that nearly two-thirds (71%) of the respondents attended vocational training or further education.
| Attended vocational training or further education | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 1 |
| Yes | 71 |
| No | 28 |
| Total | 100 |
Table 25 reveals that there is no significant correlation between the level of computer literacy and access to vocational training. However, the age of the respondents must be kept in mind as, on average, attendance at vocational training by most of the respondents began before the onset of computer skills being taught as part of the curriculum on most vocational and further training courses.
| IT literacy | NR | Yes | No | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 25 |
| 2 to 12 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 25 |
| 12 to 35 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 26 |
| 35 + | 0 | 19 | 5 | 24 |
| Total | 1 | 71 | 28 | 100 |
All of the respondents were asked if they would like to attend an IT training course, initial or additional. As shown in Table 26, the majority (59%) of the respondents expressed a desire for introductory IT training. These findings point out that there is a high level of demand for introductory and additional IT training courses among older people with vision impairments.
| Training wanted | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 16 |
| Yes | 59 |
| No | 25 |
| Total | 100 |
The respondents who were in employment (N=50) were asked if they believed that better IT skills would help them in their workplace. Several answers were possible. As revealed in Table 27 below, the respondents' believed that increased computer literacy skills would make their jobs easier, improve access to other employment and enhance their chances of promotion. However, it is interesting to note that the respondents seemed to be less certain that improved computer literacy skills would increase their integration into the workplace.
| Area of impact | NR % | Yes % | No % | Total% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In your place of work | 24 | 56 | 20 | 100 |
| Access to other employment | 22 | 50 | 28 | 100 |
| For career development | 26 | 46 | 28 | 100 |
| For further integration into the workplace | 32 | 32 | 36 | 100 |
The respondents who were in employment (N=50) were asked whether an IT training plan was developed in their workplace and whether they had the opportunity to participate in it. For those with a medium level of computer literacy (scoring from 12 to 35) and those with an advanced level of computer literacy (scoring 35 or more) tend to have more availability and access to IT training at work than those who have limited computer literacy skills (scoring less than 2).
| IT literacy | NR | Yes | No | Don't know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 to 12 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| 12 to 35 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| 35 + | 8 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| Total | 13 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 49 |
Participants were asked if they would like the opportunity to attend an IT training course with a particular focus, for example, focus on the Internet or email. Several answers were possible. The respondents preferred training options include, firstly, the Internet (87%), followed by email (79%) and an introductory course in computer literacy (77%). This finding seems to substantiate the need for appropriate IT training on the part of older people with vision impairments.
The participants who were in employment were asked (N = 50) which employment category did they fell into. The majority of respondents (56%) selected the term employee to describe their employment status rather than a particular category of employment such as manager or manual worker. Only 8% categorised themselves as management, and a mere 6% as a white-collar profession, 8% as manual workers, another 8% as self-employed, 2% suggested that they did not fall into any of the above categories and 6% did not respond.
Those in employment (N = 50) were asked in which sector they are employed. The results in Table 29 point out that the majority (58%) of the respondents were employed in the public sector in public administration, education or health and social work.
| Type of employment | % |
|---|---|
| No response | 18 |
| Agriculture, hunting, and forestry | 2 |
| Fishing | 0 |
| Mining and quarrying | 0 |
| Manufacturing | 6 |
| Electricity, gas and water supply | 0 |
| Construction | 2 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods | 4 |
| Hotels and restaurants | 2 |
| Transport, storage and communication | 2 |
| Finance | 2 |
| Real estate and renting | 4 |
| Public Administration | 22 |
| Education | 12 |
| Health and Social work | 18 |
| Other community and social service activities | 6 |
| Other organisations and bodies | 0 |
| Total | 100 |
All of the participants were asked how they purchased consumer goods other rather than their everyday food shopping. The large majority of respondents shopped in the traditional way, by themselves or with assistance, and Table 30 illustrates that most of the respondents seem to be satisfied with this method.
| Method of shopping | NR | Yes | No | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I do it by myself | 1 | 30 | 8 | 39 |
| I do it with somebody's help | 2 | 53 | 16 | 71 |
| Somebody does it for me | 0 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| I order by telephone | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| I order by email | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| I order by the Internet | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 102 | 31 | 136 |
Further analysis presented in Table 31 indicates no significant correlation between computer literacy and access to consumer goods. However, it is interesting to note that respondents with the highest level of computer literacy were generally more likely to shop independently.
| Mode of shopping | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 52 |
| Web | 5 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 29 |
| Telephone | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Mail order | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Others | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 27 | 27 | 34 | 23 | 111 |
All of the respondents were asked if they would like to improve access to consumer goods through other forms of shopping. Results revealed in Table 32 show that respondents with the highest level of computer literacy were aware of provision of Internet shopping services, although there was not a high demand for access to this service.
| Mode of shopping | less than 2 | 02 to 12 | 12 to 35 | more than 35 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 52 |
| Web | 5 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 29 |
| Telephone | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Mail order | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Others | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 27 | 27 | 34 | 23 | 111 |
This research attempted to investigate the particular IT access needs of people with vision impairments aged 35 years and over and it examined the level of awareness among people with vision impairments within this age group of the benefits and opportunities that IT can bring in terms of increasing access to means of communication, information and consumer goods.
The first hypothesis examined the extent to which computer literacy among older people with vision impairments will increase their social inclusion as they gain access to information. Although, use of the Internet for accessing information increased with level of computer literacy, this hypothesis is not completely proven, since traditional sources of information, such as the telephone or radio were still commonly used and continued to provide an easily accessible means of obtaining information among older people with vision impairments. This group considered access to electronic information as supplementing rather than replacing traditional information sources. However, people with vision impairments want to have the option of using IT as a means of accessing information and for this reason, have a desire for improved access to IT training.
The second hypothesis explores the extent to which computer literacy among older people with vision impairments will reduce a sense of social exclusion as they gain access to means of communication. Although, findings revealed that those with the highest level of computer literacy made most frequent use of email, this hypothesis is not completely proven as the traditional means of communication, such as the telephone, written correspondence, and interpersonal relationships were found to be the principle means of communication, and continued to be used even when people with vision impairments have other communication options available to them, such as email. Nevertheless, people with vision impairments appear to regard email as a new and alternative communication option. This group want to have the option of using email as a means of communicating and for this reason, often want improved access to IT training.
The third hypothesis analyses the extent to which computer literacy among people with vision impairments will reduce their sense of social exclusion as they gain access to consumer goods. This hypothesis was not completely substantiated as up to now, computer literacy does not seem to have changed the way in which people with vision impairments access consumer goods. People with vision impairments who were computer literate appeared to be aware of Internet shopping services, but did not seem to present a demand for access to these services. The majority of people with vision impairments did their shopping in the traditional way, by themselves or with assistance, and seemed to be satisfied with this means of access to consumer goods.
The fourth hypothesis stated that as people with vision impairments develop their computer literacy skills, the more they will improve their employability. This study has found that people with vision impairments are principally employed in the service sector where computer literacy now tends to be a necessary skill. The employment rate among people with vision impairments tends to increase with their level of computer literacy. This hypothesis seems to be substantiated as computer literacy appears to improve employability and job retention.
The fifth hypothesis attempted to clarify whether increased computer literacy among people with vision impairments will improve their chances of job promotion. The research findings substantiate this hypothesis. The vision impaired respondents' believed that a higher level of computer literacy would offer them greater job advancement opportunities and would increase their chances of promotion.
The final hypothesis explored the extent to which the development of computer literacy skills among people with vision impairments made it easier for this group to be included in mainstream education. This hypothesis is not completely proven. No correlation was found between the level of computer literacy achieved and access to mainstream vocational training. On average, attendance at vocational training by most of the vision impaired respondents began in 1981 before the onset of computer literacy skills being taught on the mainstream curriculum at primary, secondary and third level education. The majority of respondents who have a high level of computer literacy were self-trained or developed their computer skills either by themselves or with the assistance of family, friends, and colleagues. It is important take into account that the significance of this hypothesis may have been reduced as consideration was not given to the fact that some of the respondents may have received formal IT training before the onset of their vision impairment through company-organised training.
This chapter will present an analysis of the results from all of the IT training provider's questionnaires. This study will explore the level of awareness among IT training providers' of the access needs of people with vision impairments aged over 35 years will be explored and assess the needs of IT training providers in order to support them in encouraging and facilitating older people with vision impairments to participate in mainstream IT training courses. The findings, which seem to be most relevant to the purposes of this analysis, will be presented.
A Total of 92 responses were received. The response rate was 15 to 20 respondents per country. None of the training providers included in this study were specialised in training people with vision impairments although, half of the respondents had already taught computer skills to one or more people with vision impairments. The other half of the respondents had no experience of working with people with vision impairments.
All of the training providers were asked how long they were working as an IT training provider. Table 1 below demonstrates that in excess of 60% of the training providers had no more than 10 years training experience. This finding may have emerged as provision of IT training to the general population and in the workplace tends to be a quite recent phenomenon.
| Years of experience | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| 20 + | 10 | 11.4 |
| 15 to 20 | 11 | 12.5 |
| 10 to 15 | 12 | 13.6 |
| 5 to 10 | 20 | 22.7 |
| 2 to 5 | 20 | 22.7 |
| less than 2 | 15 | 17 |
| Total | 88 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked to state the educational level entry requirements for their training course. Several answers were possible. For the majority of training courses (46.7%), no previous qualification was required as an entry requirement.
| Qualification | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| No qualification | 63 | 46.7 |
| GCSE | 24 | 17.8 |
| GNVQ/SVQ (technical training) | 11 | 8.1 |
| SCE Higher/A Levels | 19 | 14.1 |
| Vocational training certificate | 8 | 5.9 |
| First Degree (3 or 4 years) | 7 | 5.2 |
| Masters Degree or similar (postgraduate) and Doctoral | 3 | 2.2 |
| Total | 135 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked if there were selection procedures for their training course. The majority (71%) of training courses had selection procedures in place which seems to indicate that access to training is relatively simple for older people with vision impairments who had no qualifications (which consisted of 22% of the respondents).
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 20 | 22 |
| No | 71 | 78 |
| Total | 91 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked if they knew what vision impairment means. The Table 4 below indicates that the large majority (95.6%) of training providers believed that they understood the meaning of vision impairment. It is however, important to point out that these findings only reveal the opinions of the IT training providers, who may not actually fully understand the meaning of vision impairment.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 87 | 95.6 |
| No | 0 | 0 |
| I'm not sure | 4 | 4.4 |
| Total | 91 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked if they thought that people with vision impairments could attend mainstream IT training. Over half (60.7%) of the training providers, including those with no experience of working with people with vision impairments, believed that it would be possible for people with vision impairments to attend mainstream IT training courses.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 54 | 60.7 |
| No | 35 | 39.3 |
| Total | 89 | 100 |
For those respondents who thought that people with vision impairments could not attend mainstream IT training (N=35), they were asked to explain why. Several answers were possible. Over half (51%) of respondents believed that limited availability of assistive technology was the key obstacle to providing mainstream training to vision impaired participants.
| Reason | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| The training should be made in a specialised context | 9 | 18.4 |
| Don't know anything about people with vision impairments | 1 | 2 |
| Don't know anything about the adaptations that should be made | 5 | 10.2 |
| Don't know of any specialised trainer support | 7 | 14.3 |
| Don't have adapted equipment | 25 | 51 |
| Can't modify the mainstream program | 2 | 4.1 |
| Total | 49 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked if they had already worked with people with vision impairments. Table 7 reveals that half of the training providers had previously provided training. It is also worth noting in Table 4 above that a large proportion of the training providers believed that they understood what vision impairment means.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 46 | 50 |
| No | 46 | 50 |
| Total | 92 | 100 |
This section deals with the trainers who had previous experience of teaching people with vision impairments.
For those respondents who had experience of training people with vision impairments (N=46), they were asked what their initial feelings were when they were required to work with a vision impaired person. Several answers were possible. In general, training providers who had experience of working with a vision impaired person had a positive reaction to working this group. Over one third (36.4%) of the training providers were initially enthusiastic.
| Initial reaction | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | 5 | 11.4 |
| Enthusiasm | 16 | 36.4 |
| OK with some reservations | 13 | 29.6 |
| Other | 10 | 22.7 |
| Total | 44 | 100 |
Half of the training providers, who had experience with training people with vision impairments (N=46), were asked what feelings did they experienced when providing training to a vision impaired person. Several answers were possible. Table 9 below illustrates that approximately one third (32.5%) of the training providers were anxious because they were unaware of how to adapt their training strategy to cater for the needs of the vision impaired participant attending their course. None of the training providers stated that there would be difficulties with integrating with people with vision impairments in their training course.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 40 | 89 |
| No | 2 | 4.4 |
| No opinion | 3 | 6.6 |
| Total | 45 | 100 |
The respondents who had experience of training people with vision impairments (N=46) were asked if they would agree to provide IT training to a vision impaired person again. The majority (89%) of the respondents were willing to repeat provision of training.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 40 | 89 |
| No | 2 | 4.4 |
| No opinion | 3 | 6.6 |
| Total | 45 | 100 |
Those respondents who had experience of training people with vision impairments (N=46) were asked what adaptations they would consider to be essential for providing training to people with vision impairments. Several answers were possible. The findings in Table 11 indicate that approximately one third (32%) of the respondents were aware of the need for appropriate assistive adaptations, around a quarter (24%) of the respondents suggested making adjustments to their teaching methods to ensure that individual needs are met and 17% of the respondent recognised the need for specialised trainer support.
| Adaptations | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Response rate | 121 | 100 |
| Assistive technology | 39 | 32 |
| Adjustments to training strategies | 29 | 24 |
| Specialised trainer support | 21 | 17 |
| Adapted premises | 15 | 12 |
| Needs of vision impaired trainers | 10 | 8 |
| Other | 7 | 6 |
There is a need to ensure that a much wider range of training providers are made aware of the adaptations listed in Table 11 which may reduce their feelings of uncertainty and anxiety about their inability to make the appropriate adaptations to their training strategy.
This section deals with the trainers who had no previous experience of teaching people with vision impairments.
The training providers (N=46) who had no experience with providing IT training to people with vision impairments were asked if they were open to providing mainstream IT training to people with vision impairment. The majority of training providers (61.7%) were quite open to providing IT training to people with vision impairments once appropriate adaptations and supports were available to them.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| Agree | 18 | 38.3 |
| Disagree | 0 | 0 |
| Yes, with appropriate adaptations and supports | 29 | 61.7 |
| Total | 47 | 100 |
The respondents who had no experience with providing IT training to people with vision impairments (N=46) were asked how they would feel about being involved in the EATT project which intends to provide IT training to people with vision impairment. Several answers were possible. The large majority of training providers were quite interested in providing IT training to people with vision impairments with the support of the EATT project. The training providers did not seem to doubt the ability of people with vision impairments to adapt to training. Of the training providers who had reservations about becoming involved in the project, the majority (9.7) had reservations because they were unaware of how to adapt their training course.
| Answer | Responses | % |
|---|---|---|
| I would be unaware of the needs of people with vision impairments generally | 6 | 3.9 |
| I would not know how to integrate them into the course | 2 | 1.3 |
| I would not know how to adapt my training strategies | 15 | 9.7 |
| I would not be interested in this project | 1 | 0.6 |
| I would be interested in providing training | 34 | 21.9 |
| I think that people with vision impairments would be adaptable | 24 | 15.5 |
| I think that people with vision impairments have the ability | 28 | 18.1 |
| I think that people with vision impairments would be motivated | 24 | 15.5 |
| I would like to obtain specialised trainer support | 20 | 12.9 |
| Don't know | 1 | 0.6 |
| Total | 155 | 100 |
All of the training providers were asked in their opinion, how could people with vision impairments benefit from attending an IT training course. This question gathered data about the sets of values, ideologies and perceptions common to the training providers involved in this study. Analysis of this question lead to the identification of the three principle opportunities that computer literacy can create for older people with vision impairments, as perceived by IT trainers:
For the purposes of this analysis, two groups of IT trainers were formed: one group with experience in working with people with vision impairments and another group with no experience in working with people with vision impairments.
The IT trainers who had experience with working with people with vision impairments believed that the provision of IT training to people with vision impairments would definitely improve access to employment and assist with job retention. Moreover, they considered computer literacy to be an important means of access to information and communication. In terms of personal development, training providers believed that development of computer literacy skills facilitates the social integration of people with vision impairments and increases their self-confidence. In general, skill acquisition was considered to be an important influence on employment, while improved knowledge was considered to be important for personal development.
The training providers with no experience of working with people with vision impairments seemed to view the acquisition of computer literacy skills among people with vision impairments as, above all, an influence on personal development rather than on employment. Computer literacy was considered to offer people with vision impairments greater independence, more possibilities for social interaction, and greater self-confidence.
The previous experience of training providers appears to have a major influence on their perception of the opportunities IT can create for people with vision impairments. The results of this research have demonstrated that computer literacy tends to be a key factor in accessing employment possibilities. However, training providers who have not had the opportunity to work with people with vision impairments seem to have limited awareness of the opportunities created by access to computers and the Internet. There appears to be a lack of awareness among training providers of the types of assistive technology available and ways to make teaching methods accessible. There needs to be better availability of assistive technology and more specialised support available to IT trainers.
In general, IT training providers are quite open to providing IT training to people with vision impairments and they realize that certain adaptations must be met. The most common pre-condition cited in their responses is assistive technology. The next need mentioned was on-going support during training. Training providers suggested that specialist support would be of great benefit to them. This research also found that the perception of training providers in relation to impact of IT on people with vision impairments varies depending on their own work experience with people who have sight problems.
This chapter summarises the main conclusions reached as a result of this research report and provides recommendations on ways to make IT training accessible to people with vision impairments over the age of 35 years.
Each country involved in the EATT project has made different amounts of progress towards an Information Society. In northern Europe the adoption of IT is quite advanced while in southern Europe the process is still underway. Even though there are differences in the rate at which countries are adopting Information Technology, a common trend has emerged within all of the EATT project countries. A considerable imbalance still exists in terms of age and social economic status. People over the age of 35 have left the educational system before the onset of computer skills being taught on the mainstream curriculum at primary, second, and third level education. Although, the definition of legal blindness varies from country to country, each partner country found that a large proportion of the vision impaired population fall within an older age category and tend to be late adopters of IT. There also seems to be a divide between those who are currently in education and employment and those who are not. People with disabilities, generally, tend to have a higher level of unemployment and lower level of education, which tends reduce their opportunities of obtaining computer literacy skills. People with vision impairments are also disadvantaged by the fact that they need additional assistive software to use a computer. Many older people with vision impairments are unaware of the benefits created by using a computer or of the assistive software options available and mainstream training opportunities do not cater well for the needs this group.
Overall, Information Society policy has been progressive and forward-looking, incorporating principles of integration and mainstreaming. Information Society policies quite often attempt to offer IT access to everyone. Initiatives can be developed through these equal access polices, which will influence many older people with vision impairments. Some government policies, more than others, have given specific consideration to the needs of older people with vision impairments within the Information Society. Government policies in the United Kingdom have specifically recognised that the needs of adults who experience sight loss in later life and those who have additional disabilities are not catered for within the sphere of community education. There is a need for better availability of assistive technology and more specialist trainers available at community level. French government policies recommend the professional development of trainers through creating a technical guide to assistive technology, the provision of guidance and support services to trainers and the availability of specialised training in assistive technology.
In many cases however, there is still a long way to go before such policies are fully implemented and their aims fully realised.
Most government policies attempt to ensure that all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds have access to IT training at work and within further and higher education in an attempt to increase economic growth, human capital and employment and also to increase social inclusion by full participation in society. In most countries, a large amount of government effort on providing IT training has concentrated on the National Training Centres who provide mainstream labour market training courses. In particular, legislative provisions have been put in place in Denmark in 2001 and Ireland in 2000 to ensure that adaptations are made for people with disabilities in long-term unemployment to participate in these courses.
The number of innovative ways of reforming access to the higher education sector by people with a disability and mature students has been most encouraging. In some countries, legislation has reinforced the right to education by people with disabilities within the higher education sector. However, as previously noted, the realm of adult education in the community does not appear to adequately provide for the lifelong learning needs of many older people with vision impairments. Limited provision of assistive technology and supports for trainers seems to be the principle barriers.
Where IT training exists, the needs of older people with vision impairments have rarely been specifically targeted. The community and voluntary sector deliver some of the more successful IT training courses to older people with vision impairments. The successfulness of specialised IT training initiatives can be attributed to their holistic approach, tailored to meet the individual needs of trainees and incorporating personal development skills as well as technical skills. Training is provided in a supportive environment, sensitive to the personal and financial demands placed on its trainees. Trainers are aware of the needs of people with vision impairments and are familiar with the assistive software options available. These features can be applied to mainstream IT training courses.
Due to the financial limitations of the community and voluntary sector, the supply of training courses is well below level of demand for them. Financial investment and political commitment will influence how successful the community and voluntary sector can be in implementing more IT training initiatives for their target group.
It is often difficult to set up training courses using assistive technology as the vision impaired population is quite scattered and there is a scarcity of specialised professionals. Distance learning can enable many people with vision impairments to access affordable mainstream IT training from home. Vision impaired participants could access otherwise inaccessible information on the Internet and teachers and students could exchange computerised documents. However, a number of distance learning courses are simply not accessible to assistive technology. In addition, for many older vision people, the opportunities for social interaction and personal development as well as acquiring technical skills are as equally important. Therefore, distance learning can be viewed as a supplementary rather than replacement method of learning for many older people with vision impairments.
The professional development of trainers is central to providing IT training to older people with vision impairments recently, there have been several developments that go some of the way in addressing this void. With the financial support of the Danish government, the Danish Institute for Technical Aids (Hjælpemiddelinstituttet) set up a project called "IT Skills in Older Disabled People" which attempts to develop a comprehensive training programme which will generate computer literacy among older people with a disability. The project selected relevant equipment, methods of installation, programs, educational principles, teaching instructions and compiled it in a guidance manual for IT trainers.
In the United Kingdom, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) established the TechDis initiative in 2001. TechDis aims to assist access to teaching, learning and research for learners with a disability within the further and higher education sector by providing an information and support to trainers and information on the main types of assistive technology options available.
The community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) in the United Kingdom, set up and resourced the British Computer Association for the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certificate Scheme in 2001. It set out standards that measure a trainer's professional competence in the use and training of assistive technology. The BCAB schemes distinctiveness lies in the very wide range of products in which trainer's competence is assessed and certified. People with vision impairments of any age, government bodies and product suppliers will be able to source suitably qualified trainer in their local area.
In some countries, sales outlets that sell specific technical aids for people with vision impairments provide training at a charge in the use of their products. The private sector can be a useful source of IT training when the training providers are aware of the adaptations necessary for people with vision impairments. Community and voluntary organisations that provide a service to people with vision impairments could cooperate with a private organisation in making their courses accessible to people with vision impairments.
Limited mobility and lack of access to local public transport were not found to be the principle barriers to accessing training centres. The barriers identified were a lack of accessibility in the materials and channels used to deliver the training. Research found that most people with vision impairments aged over 35 years did not tend to improve their computer literacy skills within the formal educational system. Access to computers in the workplace and the family setting were found to be the two most important factors that influenced awareness of the benefits of computer literacy and provided an opportunity of acquiring computer literacy skills.
Lack of computer literacy was not found to necessarily lead to a sense of social exclusion among people with vision impairments due to more limited access to information, communication or consumer goods. Many older people with vision impairments considered the Internet and email to be an alterative means of communication and access to information and had a desire for introductory training in their use. However, television, radio and the telephone continued to be the principle means of communication and information. Traditional methods of purchasing consumer goods were still commonly used.
A large number of people with vision impairments over the age of 35 years in this study appear to have been aware of the impact of IT on their employment opportunities and believed that increased computer literacy skills would make their jobs easier, improve access to other employment and enhance their chances of promotion.
There is no direct evidence that lack of computer literacy makes it more difficult to be integrated in mainstream training, although it would be very difficult to gather enough data to answer this question.
As far as training providers are concerned, mainstream training providers appeared to be quite open to providing training to people with vision impairments. Most of the training providers recognised that the provision of appropriate equipment and specialist support are prerequisites which will ensure that training meets the needs of people with vision impairments. There appears to be a need to raise the level of awareness among mainstream training providers regarding the opportunities that IT can create for people with vision impairments in their working and daily lives. Training providers need appropriate equipment, adaptations to teaching methods and materials, and support and guidance before and during training.
PROJETETAPE is a new national project directed by the Braille Net association. Teachers and vision impaired students exchange computerised documents, such as classroom notes, homework, corrections via the Internet. The aim of this project is to allow pupils to get hands-on experience of new technologies and to make it easier for them to access the information they need. Although, this project is currently aimed at the younger population, it could be adapted to further training of people with vision impairments over the age of 35 years.
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This literature review was prepared by Synscentralen, Århus Amt.
In connection with the Leonardo project EATT (Equal Access to Technology Training) it is the task of the national partners to produce a literary review of the policies and initiatives in the respective countries for the support of the older blind and visually impaired people (aged 35 -65) in obtaining training in the field of IT - or ICT, which is the current term (Information and Communication Technology). The age group 35-65 years has been chosen because they belong to a population segment which has not met IT during their schooling, and therefore must require particular attention and assistance in order to avoid getting lost behind in the IT world of the future.
Closer studies of the relevant literature reveal no initiatives directed towards the target group mentioned. An examination of this field therefore requires a broader perspective.
The target group is not homogenous but composed of blind and partially sighted people, employed people and persons with a pension, well-educated and poorly educated people. The partially sighted people have a visual function enabling them to utilise IT assisted by screen magnifying programs, whereas the blind persons depend on screen reader programs, which are capable of converting information on the screen to artificial speech.
In this review it has therefore been necessary to investigate the policies and initiatives aimed at creating an IT community for everybody in their capacities as well-educated and poorly-educated, older citizens and employees.
The survey has likewise examined the initiatives and offers developed specifically for the group of blind and partially sighted people in Denmark and in the county of Aarhus, Synscentralen (The County Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired) being situated in the county of Aarhus and being the base of the EATT project in Denmark.
It is our hope that through this effort within the EATT project we will be able to contribute to the improvement of the opportunities for active participation in the future IT communities of Denmark and Europe for the blind and partially sighted people.
According to Statistisk Årbog 2000the Danish population consists of 5.245.000 persons, of these 640.000 persons in the county of Aarhus. The population in the county of Aarhus is thus distributed:
| Age | % | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-24 | 7.49 | 23.77 | 23.926 | 47,696 |
| 25-39 | 23.5 | 75.861 | 73.761 | 149,622 |
| 40-59 | 27.3 | 87.957 | 86.127 | 174,084 |
| 60-64 | 4.5 | 14.011 | 14.522 | 28,533 |
| 65+ | 13.2 | 34.921 | 48.999 | 83,920 |
There is no central registration of the number of blind and visually impaired people in Denmark. Accordingly there is no precise knowledge of the total number of visually impaired adults. According to the Danish Videnscenter for synshandicap (Visual Impairment Knowledge Centre) the official estimation is that 0,5% of the adult population are blind (less than or equal to 6/60), corresponding to well over 25.000 people and that the distribution between blind and partially sighted (6/60-6/18) lies between 1:1 and 1:2, i.e. there are between 25.000 and 50.000 partially sighted persons in Denmark.
The total the adult population (+20) in Aarhus is 483.855 persons, corresponding roughly to 2.500 blind adults and between 2.500 and 5.000 partially sighted adults (Danmarks Statistik 2000).
In the year 2000 close to 90% of the population under 55 years had access to a personal computer at home, at work or at their place of education.
For the group of older people (55-74 years) the percentage is only about 50%.
80 % of the group of people under 55 years have a computer at home, whereas 46% of the group of older people have a personal computer in the home.
For the group of older people Internet access rate from the home or from the place of work grew from 29% in 1999 to 35% in 2000.
In 1999 only 17% had access from home compared to 22% in 2000.
The rate of Internet access from work was unchanged 35%, whereas the number of persons in the age group who had no access to the Internet at all fell from 39% in 1999 to 28% in 2000 (Danmarks Statistik 2000).
When one examines the national Danish IT policies during the recent 5-6 years two things leap to the eye:
Addressing the nation January 1, 2001, Prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said that the goal is to make Denmark the leading IT community of the world.
In Netværksredegørelse 2000 (Danish Network Pictures 2000) the Danish IT and Research Minister Birthe Weiss says that, "Denmark is rapidly becoming a network society. Among Danes under 50 years almost three out of four have access to the Internet. And they use it. On the other hand analyses carried out in connection with this review reveal a considerable imbalance in terms of social status and age. One out of six unskilled workers say that they have no idea what the Internet is, and only one out of four Danes over 60 years have access to the Internet. The problem of avoiding social gaps in the network society is thus far from solved." ("Et net af muligheder")
The issue of disabilities and information technology has played a central part in the Danish political IT strategy ever since the first IT action plan .One of the results is a plan of action for IT utilisation for disabled persons called "Freedom to choose" from August 1996. (Lige muligheder p. 36).
On the November 2 the prime minister set up "Regeringens tværgående ministerudvalg for handicap-området" ("The Government's multi-disciplinary committee of ministers in the field of disabilities"). Based on the 22 standard rules of The United Nations for equal opportunities for disabled people and on the objectives of the Government program from 1998 the committee is authorised to co-ordinate the Government's policies in the field of disabilities and follow up on the initiatives which are launched. The committee is to consider possible barriers for the integration of disabled people in society and proposing priorities for the initiatives. In November 2000 the committee published the report "Lige muligheder for alle -nye indsatsområder" (Equal opportunities for everybody - new initiatives"). (Lige muligheder p.4)
In the report "Digital Denmark" utilisation of IT among disabled people has not been singled out for special treatment. It is based on the principle of "the network society for everybody". "The responsibility for an IT development which also meets the needs of disabled people has thereby become rooted in the principle of sector responsibility. It is the government's attitude that co-ordination of the elaboration of accessible solutions is necessary." (Lige muligheder, p. 36)
"Digital Denmark - Conversion to the Network Society" is a contribution to the government's future IT-political strategy. It is drawn up for the Ministry of Research by the committee for Digital Denmark in 1999. Briefly speaking, "Digital Denmark is about how Denmark can become a leading IT nation while continually developing the best values of our welfare society":
A Net of opportunities - Network review 2000publishes status and aims of the IT, telecommunications, and research policies and their contributions to a viable Danish network society.
In the development towards a viable network society seven focus areas and initiatives are singled out:
Regeringens IT kreds ("The Government's IT Circle") was established in February 2001. The Circle is to contribute to the qualitative ambitions and hence to the standards we should use when comparing ourselves to other countries. In September the IT Circle published IT-100, which compiles 100 Danish examples of useful and innovative IT (Den danske IT kreds)
Also in September the Government's IT Circle published På jagt efte IT-guld til Danmark -vil du med? ("In pursuit of IT gold for Denmark - are you in?"). A contribution to the debate about being the world's best IT nation describing 12 different Danes who each in their fashion are working with IT. The 12 members present their own visions for the IT future and describe how they use IT in their daily lives. (På jagt efter IT-guld)
Convergence will help bring along the network society. Because a greater number of people will become part of the network society when possession of a personal computer is no longer necessary to get access to the Internet, but access can be gained by means of the TV set, the mobile phone - or perhaps the interactive refrigerator! Today the very physical possibilities put a limit on the number people who can exploit the potential of digital technology. Convergence opens the doors to a development of skills which lends realism to the Government's ambition of turning Denmark into a leading IT nation. (Konvergens i netværkssamfundet, p. 2)
The Danish "National Action Plan for employment, 2001" emphasises the belief that a crucial condition for economic growth and employment in the future is continued learning across all age groups and trades. A prime component in the Danish strategy for life-long learning takes the constant demand for adult education as its starting point (National Action Plan p. 6).
The Reform of further training and supplementary education for adults, the VEU Reform, took effect as from January 1st 2001 and is based on the following three objectives:
Action programmes have been framed and initiatives launched in order to improve participation for disabled persons in the educational system of the labour market (AMU) in the form of:
The act contains provisions about
According to § 78 of the act the municipality can grant support to a disabled person for
According to §§ 97 and 98 the municipality can grant support for technical aids which
The county is responsible for granting support for specific IT aids to persons with considerably reduced auditory, oratory, visual or writing functions, in cases where the aid can substantially relieve the effects of the reduced communication ability.
According to §1 of the act any county council must ensure that persons with physical or mental disabilities can obtain education and specialised assistance aimed at relieving or reducing the effects of these disabilities (compensatory instruction). In this connection special courses can be arranged, which are planned with particular consideration for the disabilities of the participants.
The reform of the adult and supplementary education system was launched in order to create a more manageable and coherent system of education for adults. The basic principles behind the new adult and supplementary education system are:
The options of the reform:
The VEU Reform assumed concrete form through a number of laws coming into force as from the 1st of January 2001:
The European Commission launched the eEurope initiative on the 8th of December 1999 when they passed the announcement "eEurope - an information society for everybody". The purpose of the initiative is to boost the adoption of digital technologies all over Europe and to ensure that all Europeans be in possession of the necessary qualifications for the utilisation of the technologies.
The programme contains a number of concrete initiatives in the field of disabilities, e.g. the efforts to bring the WAI format for accessible web design into force for public web sites by the end of 2001.
http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/citizens/accessibility/bad/index_en.htm
In Network Review 2000 new initiatives in Denmark concerning the development of the network society are listed. Among these we find new technology in the public sector, experiments with electronic servicing of the citizens, personal access to the Internet, the Internet as a market place etc. (Network review, pp. 6, 7, 9)
In the period from 1999 to 2002 the Danish Government has allocated 33 million Danish Crowns of the budget to the double purpose of clarifying how IT can permit a more flexible withdrawal from the labour market and how educational methods for the promotion of IT skills among the older people can be developed. (Midtvejsevaluering-Ældres brug af informationsteknologi p 3)
The programme "Ældres brug af informationsteknologi" ("Utilisation of IT among the older people") from the Danish Research Agency consists of 11 projects, which can be studied in detail at www.dst.dk/forskpro/aeldre-it/projekt and www.aktive-seniorer.dk
Four of the 11 projects are research projects. Six of the projects are termed local initiatives, i.e. e. projects conducted in a local community with the purpose of instructing the older people in the use of IT with a view to improved self-help in everyday functions. The last project is a distinct communication project, which among other activities monitors the other projects and seeks to spread experience concerning older people and IT through a number TV programs.
During the spring of 2001 a mid-term evaluation of the projects in the programme and of the programme itself was started up. (Midtvejsevaluering, p. 4)
The following projects are of particular interest for the EATT project:
Through "active learning" the project seeks to build up IT competence among older people in active employment in the municipality of Næstved, to create a better connection between professional and private life, and to identify areas in which some of the older people can retain their attachment to the labour market. The project will study work stations in the home and open a senior portal (www.seniorportalen.dk) with a view to e-trade and an electronic senior service including secretary functions etc. (Midtvejsevaluering-p.10)
The project is carried through in a company in which IT is used to document processing skills in individual older employees. The aim is to ensure the company's access to these skills by connecting the senior employees' home work stations with the company at the time of their gradual withdrawal from work and transition to a form of consultant status. (Midtvejsevaluering p. 13)
According to the original application the project has the following three aims:
The project seeks to inquire whether IT can and - in case of an affirmative answer - how IT can prevent the older people from getting "old" by preserving and strengthening their identity
Midtvejsevaluering p.17
The project includes older people who do not have IT competence and who cannot use equipment and programs in the normal way because of disabilities. Through analysis and testing the aim is to develop a comprehensive educational project for the generation of IT competence, comprising equipment, installation, programs, educational principles, and teaching instructions and compiling it in a manual (Midtvejsevaluering p. 20).
A contract has been made between a TV company and the Danish Broadcasting Company (DR) to draft 12 programs to be broadcast from the station .The programs will to a large extent be based on interviews with the participants in the projects with the ambition of opening the eyes of the viewers for IT. It is not an advertisement for IT. The idea is to let the older people express themselves and also include older people who are critical about IT (Midtvejsevaluering p.22).
The title of the TV series was "Senior IT" and it was about older people in Denmark and their relationship to information technology particularly focusing on the computer, the Internet and e-mail. The series was broadcast from august 2001 through the following ten weeks.
In 1988 Ældremobiliseringen (an NGO for older people) received a grant of 1.64 million Danish Crowns from the Ministry of Social Affairs for the project "Ældre og teknologi-at bringe ældregenerationen ind i det 21. Århundrede" (Older people and technology - bringing the senior generation into the 21st Century). Owing to the project more than 45 IT cafés have opened across the country. Educational and informative material has been produced, training and guidance for the group of older people has been offered and much more.
The project is described in the report "Datastuer som en ældrepædagogisk succes-fra 2 til 53 datastuer på 3 år" (IT cafés, a successful training project for older people - from 2 to 53 IT cafés in 3 years). (Datastuer som).
Ældremobiliseringen has participated in programmes on this theme before. These programmes are described in the reports "Older people and Technology" and "Older people and IT".
"On the basis of the Action Plan for Disabled Persons' Utilisation of IT new text telephones have been developed, research and development centres in the field of industrial design have been established, a development project dealing with artificial speech has been launched, a format for governmental net publications and a format for accessible design of homepages in co-operation with the NGOs for disabled people have been elaborated. Financial support has been granted to a number of projects on IT accessibility in the fields of research, development and education." (Lige muligheder, p. 32)
The website of the Center for Ligebehandling af Handicappede www.clh.dk provides access to "Freedom to choose - Danish commitment to accessible information for everybody", which is a lecture on Danish efforts to facilitate disabled persons' access to electronic information, including web pages. The lecture offers a summary of the achievements with respect to support for people with disabilities since the IT action plan for disabled persons in 1966.
"Guidelines for accessible homepages" can be read on the website of Statens Information www.si.dk/netsteder/publ/tilgaeng/
On the website of Center for Ligebehandling http://www.clh.dk/links/webinfo.htm information can be found on how to make homepages accessible, and there are links to homepages on accessible web design, among other things one can learn about a section of the eEurope programme for making web pages in the EU accessible for persons with disabilities.
Information on the development of artificial speech is available on the website of the Ministry of Research http://www.fsk.dk/fsk/div/syntal.html
The artificial speech developed in Denmark can be heard on the homepage of the Research Agency www.fsk.dk
Rapport fra Arbejdsgruppen om Tilgængelighed og Grafiske Brugergrænseflader ("Report from the working committee on accessibility and graphically based computer programs", i.e. Windows), is available on http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11204&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Rapport fra Arbejdsgruppen om Handicappede og Telearbejde ("Report from the working committee on disabled persons and telework") is available on
http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11206&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Rapport fra Arbejdsgruppen om Kortteknologi og Handicappede ("Report from the working committee on map technology an disabled persons"), is available on
http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11204&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Since 1993 specialised support has been available in connection with vocational training. Support can be granted to special education courses, individual instruction, specially elaborated teaching material, technical aids and personal assistance in the form of sign language interpreters, secretaries and assistants.
The Labour Market Agency has set aside funds for a four-year trial period enabling disabled persons to participate in the general AMU (labour market) training programmes. The Trial period runs to the end of year 2002.
Some disabled people need special equipment or special technical aids in order to complete an education on the same conditions as other participants.
AMU Technical Aids Service is handled by The Danish Institute for Technical Aids (Hjælpemiddelinstituttet (HMI). It provides equipment and aids for participants in AMU courses. The HMI must through AMU Technical Aids Service help the AMU centres discover needs and possibilities for equipment and aids, supply, install and adjust the equipment and instruct in the use of the technical aids. Moreover it is the HMI's responsibility to provide service after the return of the equipment. A pool of technical aids must be built up, so that the equipment and the expenses are exploited as efficiently and rationally as possible.
http://www.ams.dk/handicap/amu/
NetJob in Aarhus has shown through a special education project for unemployed persons with physical disabilities that disabled people have productive resources which the businesses can use. The NetJob educational programme is defined by the businesses' concrete demands for IT manpower. Alternating between traditional teaching and trainee courses the participants are trained for a particular job function in a particular enterprise. Close to 90 per cent of the participants end up in jobs (Network Review 2000 p.4)).
At the technical school in Fredericia-Middelfart blind and partially sighted persons can now complete a PC user course through distance education http://www.fmts.dk/blind/
The Institute for the Blind and Partially Sighted in Denmark (www.ibos.dk) offers courses specially designed for blind and partially sighted persons.
The courses for the blind are based on Windows 98, Office 97/2000 and the screen reader program JAWS. The following courses are offered:
The courses for the partially sighted are based on Windows 98, Office 97/2000 and the enlargement programs ZoomText, Lunar or Magic. The following courses are offered:
In addition to this the counties offer various courses:
In the county of Aarhus special education for the blind and partially sighted (compensatory instruction) is assigned to Blindes OplysningsForbund BOF ("the Educational Association for the Blind"). Within this framework basic IT training for blind and partially sighted people is offered. Courses are given in word processing (Word), Windows 98 as well as equipment and technologies which compensate for visual impairment (artificial speech and magnifying programs) (Blindes Oplysningsforbund).
Synscentralen (The County Resource Centre for the visually Impaired in the County of Aarhus) offers installation and instruction in the home whenever communication equipment for home use is granted as provided by the Service Act.
When applying for IT equipment as a working tool in accordance with the Active Social Policy Act the municipality is at the same time asked to pay for a few hours of consultancy service for installation and instruction if needed.
Synscentralen, the County of Aarhus has co-operated with a private firm called the PC Group in planning tailor-made IT courses for visually impaired persons (small classes, equipment, teacher support)
At one occasion Synscentralen has supported a visually impaired person's participation in an ordinary basic IT course within the AMU.
In this connection a model of co-operation with the AMU Technical Aid Service was agreed upon. In addition to placing the necessary equipment at the participants' disposal (big monitor, CCTV) the IT consultant from Synscentralen was present providing support for the visually impaired participant throughout the course. There was general agreement afterwards that the support was necessary for the person's ability to take part in the general educational process
Recent years have witnessed a growing effort to speed up the conversion of Denmark into an ICT community. On the basis of this literature review it is our impression that great pains are taken to avoid leaving the weaker segments of the population in the lurch. There are many current initiatives to ensure that the Danish population as a whole be able to function as citizens in the digital society of the future, to function in their places of work and to gain access to life-long learning. The special needs of the older and disabled persons are also given attention in these initiatives. It has not, however, been possible within the scope of this review to find examples of the existing means and measures offering pioneering options to the group of blind and partially sighted as yet.
Blind and partially sighted individuals in Denmark can have compensatory equipment at their disposal in the home and in their place of work. On the other hand there are not many training offers targeted at the blind and partially sighted, particularly not the older members of this group.
Synscentralen offers brief instruction for equipment granted in accordance with the Services Act (Serviceloven), just like Synscentralen - when necessary - applies the municipalities for instruction time in connection with job equipment applications.
IBS offers 3-day courses and compensatory training with the Educational Association for the Blind (Blindes Oplysningsforbund). Distance teaching in the use of PCs for the blind and partially sighted is offered by the Technical School of Fredericia-Middelfart.
In co-operation with the PC Group Synscentralen has established short basic IT courses targeted at partially sighted individuals in jobs and financed by the municipality. In a particular case Synscentralen, the AMU and the AMU Technical Aids Service have worked in co-operation on a basic IT course (1 week). There are examples in a few municipalities of experimental co-operation with local evening schools on IT training for blind/partially sighted persons.
Through this literature review we have become alert to the projects in the "IT and Older People Programme" of the Forskningsstyrelsen (the Research Agency), and we believe that several of the projects might become a source of inspiration in the training of blind and partially sighted persons.
It is our impression that many possibilities for creating educational offers for the blind and partially sighted are available within the legislative and experimental framework developed in recent years. Here we are referring to the possibilities for arranging short courses in job retention (Active Social Policies Act - Lov om aktiv socialpolitik). Disabled persons can participate in the educational programmes of the labour market (AMU) but on condition that co-operation with the AMU and the Technical Aids Service of the AMU is established. Apparently there are more possibilities in the VEU Reform (the Adult and Supplementary Education Reform) which should be closer examined.
Education can also become available through the Special Education for Adults Act (Lov om Specialundervisning for Voksne)
Offering IT training to the older blind and partially sighted people implies good co-operative relations to the sectors within which the training can be established in accordance with the legislative framework. It is our impression that the possibilities in the institutions that are in care of the life-long learning initiatives should be subjected to closer examination.
The condition is that co-operation is established and that professional descriptions of the special demands connected with education for the blind and partially sighted are worked out.
It is our hope that the EATT development project can serve as a contribution to this.
A net of opportunities-Danish network pictures 2000. The Ministry of Research. English version. www.fsk.dk/fsk/publikationer 04.04.2001.
Et net af muligheder-Netværksredegørelse 2000 af 14.12.2000. Redegørelse nr. R7. Forskningsministeriet.
Blindes Oplysningsforbund, Århus, Program, Sæsonen 2001/2002. Telefon 86277230.
Center for ligebehandling af handicappede www.clh.dk
Datastuer som en ældrepædagogisk succes-fra 2 til 53 datastuer på 3 år. Ældremobiliseringen.2001. www.aeldremobiliseringen.dk
Den danske IT-kreds www.it-kreds.dk
Digital Denmark - Conversion to the Network Society. The Ministry of Research. Copenhagen. 1999. www.detdigitaledanmark.dk/english/index.html 21.02.2000
Det digitale Danmark-omstilling til netværkssamfundet. Forskningsministeriet. 1999.
www.fsk.dk. 10.03.2000
Freedom to choose-Action Plan for IT-use by people with disabilities. Ministry of Research and Information Technology. Copenhagen. August 1996. www.fsk.dk/fsk/publ/1996/frihed/
Frihed til at vælge-handlingsplan for handicappedes IT-brug. IT og Forskningsministeriet. København.1996
Instituttet for Blinde og Svagsynede www.ibos.dk
Konvergens i netværkssamfundet. IT og forskningsministeriet.2001. www.fsk.dk/fsk/publikationer/2001
Lige muligheder for handicappede-nye indsatsområder. Rapport fra regeringens ministerudvalg for handicapområdet. By- og Boligministeriet. København. November 2000.
Lov nr 293 af 14.maj 1998 om kompensation til handicappede i erhverv. Arbejdsministeriet.
Lov nr. 455 af 10. Juni 1997 om aktiv socialpolitik. Socialministeriet.
Lov om social service af 31. Maj 1997. Socialministeriet.
Lov nr. 487 af 31. Maj 2000 om specialundervisning for voksne.
Midtvejsevaluering af det danske forsknings- og udviklingsprogram om "Ældres brug af informationsteknologi". Forskningsstyrelsen. Febr. 2001. www.forsk.dtx/forskpro/aeldre-it/evaluering/evaluering/pdf
National Action Plan for employment 2001. Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Economic Affairs. May 2001. www.eu-oplysningen.dk/euidag/eu/2001
Danmarks Nationale Handlingsplan for beskæftigelse 2001. Arbejds- og økonomiministeriet.
På jagt efter IT Guld- vil du med? Regeringens IT-kreds. Sekretariat. København. 2001.
www.it-kreds.dk 10.09.2001.
Rapport fra arbejdsgruppen om handicappede og telearbejde (Report from the working committee on disabled persons and tele work), Netjob/Hjælpemiddelinstituttet February 12, 1998, is available on the website of the Ministry of Research
http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11206&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Rapport fra arbejdsgruppen om kortteknologi og handicappede (Report from the working committee on map technology an disabled persons), Center for Ligebehandling af handicappede, February 12, 1998, is available on the website of the Ministry of Research
http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11204&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Rapport fra arbejdsgruppen om tilgængelighed og grafiske brugergrænseflader (Report from the working committee on accessibility and graphically based computer programs. Centre for tilgængelighed, February 12, 1998, is available on the website of the Ministry of Defence
http://www.fsk.dk/cgi-bin/doc-show.cgi?doc_id=11204&leftmenu=PUBLIKATIONER
Statistisk Årbog 2000 www.dst.dk
VEU reformen www.am.dk/efteruddannelse
Videnscenter for synshandicap www.visinfo.dk
Ældre og IT. Rapport. Danmarks Institut for ældrepædagogik. 1998
Ældre og teknologi. Rapport. Danmarks Institut for ældrepædagogik. 1999
This literature review was prepared by the Interregional Support Service for Visually Impaired People (SIADV)
It became clear in 1997 that France had fallen behind other European countries in the acquisition of computer equipment, provision of Internet access, and mastery of basic IT skills (IDC France, 2001). Since that time, however, the market has been stimulated by the arrival of personal computers costing less than 600 Euros. The penetration rate of the new technologies has increased to 30% at the end of 2000, which has given rise to markets for CD-ROM products and Internet services.(IDC France, 2001).
Although levels of Internet access in France have not met the expectations of the most optimistic forecasts, significant strides forward have been made. The number of Internet users has risen from 6 million in 1999 to 10 million in 2000, to stand at 11,910,000 people in the first quarter of 2001, or nearly 20% of the French population (Etude Kosmos, 2001).
There are no statistically proven links between age and computer literacy. However, the increased availability of computer equipment in the home may enable a large number of people aged 35 and over to gain experience with information technologies. Similarly, the workplace is an excellent place to acquire computer skills, although the acquisition of such skills depends to some extent on the educational level of the staff. Against a backdrop of massive investment by companies in computer equipment, the percentage of personnel using information technologies at work has gone up from 24% in 1987 to 51% in March 1998 (Cézard, 2000, p.25).
There seems to be a correlation between educational achievement level and access to computer technologies.
"The use of computer technologies is not dependent solely on position within the company. All things being equal, cultural achievement, of which a degree is one indicator, increases the likelihood of use of computers at work. In 1998, while 19% of non-graduates used computer technologies at work, 82% of graduates of institutions of higher education did so" (Cézard, 2000, p.22).
As for visually impaired people, there is a lack of specific data about the older vision impaired populations use of IT. However, INSEE (2000) found that nearly half of the vision impaired population are unemployed, which may influence their opportunities of becoming computer literate.
By cross referencing different sources we can estimate the French blind population to be 300,000 people or 0.5% (visual acuity less than 1/20) and the partially sighted population to be 2.8 million people or 4.7% (visual acuity between 1/20 and 4/10) (INSEE, 2000). Twenty two percent of the VIP are aged under 60 and 76% are over the age of 61 years.
To address the slow uptake of Information technology in France, the government of Lionel Jospin embarked on an ambitious policy program in 1997 to promote the information society for all. This policy initiative included elderly and/or visually impaired people. National initiatives have been undertaken in the areas of equipment acquisition, training in industry, economy and social relations. Some special measures concern the visually impaired population.
These initiatives effectively bridged the information technology gap that separated France from the rest of Europe. The results are apparent in the public and private sectors, as well as in the widespread integration of IT training into overall vocational and professional training programs.
"In view of the fact that France lags behind others in certain areas, the State must be especially diligent in encouraging the diffusion of IT throughout Society, and in strengthening this vital sector of the economy, while ensuring that all citizens may have access. An all-encompassing approach is needed involving the whole of our society: companies, educational institutions, public administration, and the public at large." in order to make IT accessible to everyone (Pierret, 1997, pp 1-4).
France then launched a program called Preparing France for the Information Society in order to help the country adapt its institutions to the new Information and Communication Society then coming into focus. The main thrusts of development included:
The government's approach has relied on a strong commitment from the State administration, which accompanies and guides major players thanks to its Program of Government Action for the Information Society (or PAGSI).
To help it in designing and implementing PAGSI, the government has commissioned several expert studies (site du programme d'action gouvernementale pour la société de l'information, 2001):
At the beginning of 2000, The Ministry of Education for Research and Development issued a situation report.
Its main conclusions were:
This study demonstrates a genuine awareness of the issues involved, as well as a marshalling of forces to meet the challenge of the Internet and of the future. It defines priorities in terms of IT use, it marshals all means of support for research and innovationand it sets up communication pathways between technical specialists and public institutions, which all too often ignore one another.
A new Program of Government Action for the Information Society (PAGSI 2, 2000) was introduced in 2000 to improve IT training in the higher education sector. This would involve ensuring that all vocational and professional training programs provide IT training. One of the recommendations of this report was to develop applications of IT for people with a disability in the educational system and to promote open and distance learning and self-teaching software. These policies seem to target younger people, those either in the education or in employment. Such a focus only caters for the needs of small proportion of the vision impaired population.
Here are the PAGSI 2 measures (Measures 5 to 8 are particularly noteworthy as they encourage the acquisition of computer equipment within the community and voluntary sector)
Through the following measures, PAGSI 2 also encourages the acquisition of computer equipment within the community and voluntary sector by encouraging public sector donations of computer equipment and reduction of the cost of Internet connections, which may make computer acquisition more affordable and accessible to older vision impaired people:
Concurrent with the implementation of PAGSI 2, Bernard Descargues issued a report on the accessibility of the new information and communication technologies for the blind and the visually impaired (Descargues, 2000).
The Mission Statement issued by Martine Aubry (Minister of Labour and Solidarity) and Dominique Gillot (Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare) defined Mr. Descargues mission as follows:
"The rapid development of information technologies, encouraged in particular by the Program of Government Action for the Information Society (or PAGSI), is causing profound changes in the personal and professional lives of all our fellow citizens
The widespread availability of information in digital form, which is a major characteristic of information technology, offers the visually impaired the hope, for the first time ever, of immediate and independent access to the same sources of information as the rest of the population, in so much, at least, as their particular situation is taken into account by the providers and producers of such information. The government, aware of the risk of exclusion faced by certain social groups, has raised access to the information society for all citizens to the level of a major policy goal.
That is why, with the Prime Minister's agreement, we are asking you to lead a six-month official mission to investigate the conditions of access of blind and visually impaired people to information technology." (Descargues, 2000, p.4)
In his report, Bernard Descargues points out that the visually impaired will only be able to take full advantage of the digital revolution if they have access to adaptive technologies ensuring a reliable interface with the information source, as well as effective professional guidance to assist them. The author criticizes adaptive technology providers for their sales policy and for their training programs, which he claims are not of a general nature, but specific to the product purchased.
"Generally speaking, in view of the evident weaknesses of the 'hot line' system and technical services, the user had better be able to rely on family and friends to adapt these tools to the information technology environment, and it is absolutely necessary to acquire a fair amount of technical knowledge to face the inevitable problems posed by systems which remain much more complicated to use than consumer-oriented products. It is also difficult to find people who are satisfied with training in the use of these adaptive technologies and of the office software programs that can be used with them. The training is rather often seen as poorly adapted to the learners, poorly taught, too short, and generally of mediocre quality." (Descargues, 2000, p.17).
The Inter-ministerial Committee for the Information Society (CISI) has proposed that the government take appropriate measures to give the opportunity to all citizens, whether young or not-so-young, to develop their computer and Internet literacy. Government efforts on providing IT training have mainly concentrated on the national training centres such as AFPA, the French National Association for Professional Training for Adults, which operates under the remit of the Ministry for Labour and Solidarity and GRETA, which provides mainstream adult education courses under the Department of Education. Training is provided for people of working age (between 20 to 60 years). Other adult learners who are over the age of 60 have to pay for IT training themselves. AFPA provides professional training to meet the needs of job seekers, employees and civil servants (500 specialities in 300 job descriptions and 30 sectors of activity).
The French government have agreed that the principle focus of AFPA training between 1999 and 2003 is to fight social exclusion (Contract for Progress signed between the State and AFPA). AFPA is responsible for providing training to people with a disability and Agefiph (Development Fund to provide facilities for the integration of people with a disability into the mainstream workforce) provides funding to AFPA if they offer training to a person with a disability.
In Bretagne, in the year 2000, AFPA provided training to 4,500 people of which 385 people had a disability. In Pas de Calais, 15,360 people received training from AFPA in 2001 of this number 651 people had a disability.
The IT sector is growing fast and creating many new types of job. For example, the AFPA of Roubaix offers training up to Technician level in Computerised Data management. This training offers knowledge and mastery of IT through 2 options: one involves the client/server side, and the other the designer/development side of that occupation (AFPA, 2001).
GRETA, an association of public educational institutions, offers further training courses at a local level by using the college's resources and equipment. The training provided by GRETA accounts to 6 per cent of all further professional training provided in France. GRETA offers training to all members of the public within the age group 20 to 60 years, including people who have a disability. SIADV, a community and voluntary organisation, has often offered support and guidance to GRETA, when a vision impaired person requests training, with sourcing local adaptive technology resources and by offering guidance on the appropriate adjustments that should be made to the course.
Technical and professional training leads to a certificate or diploma in most cases, training is usually Centred on the service industries, as opposed to manufacturing industry.
The GRETA's current project involves the creation of a new certificate program called the Internet and Information Technology Certificate B2i Greta. The project, now underway, has the following objectives:
It is important to point out that in order to access AFPA or GRETA courses, applicants must pass interviews and placement tests in which previous formal schooling plays a major role. This could present a barrier to vision impaired people who have a lower level of educational attainment.
In addition to the training courses open to the general public detailed above, there are also many private organisations offering such training, in return for a fee, in every large French town. Training opportunities are also offered locally, and sometimes on a voluntary basis, by associations and municipally-funded neighbourhood entities.
In fact, many computer clubs have been created by at the local level by individuals or associations, offering beginners' and advanced courses in IT. Even large retailers such as the FNAC (selling books, CDs, and audio and video equipment), or large companies in the IT field (such as Bull) offer training in IT.
Older people very often obtain personalised, local, and affordable IT training from these kinds of sources, rather from courses offered in cooperation with the French government, such as AFTA or GRETA, though quality can vary enormously from place to place.
Finally, mention must be made of training opportunities now made available to adults through the growth of distance learning or E-learning.
"According to estimates made by Andersen Consulting, the E-learning market should account for nearly 12% of French training expenditure in 2002." (Dehais, 2000, p.44).
In the Descargues Report (2000, p.20) cited above, the author suggested setting up "training in adaptive technologies and in the software applications that can be used with them. This training should come from occupational therapy institutions or from recognized resource centres. It should not be aimed solely at the computer and office occupational sectors, but should represent a way to help the person genuinely compensate for visual impairment. It must be continuous, that is, refresher courses must be offered on a regular basis to integrate changes in information and communication technologies."
A number of community and voluntary organisations that provide a service to vision impaired people have set up initiatives which provide introductory courses in adaptive technology as part of the rehabilitative process. Provision of such courses does not appear to have been put in place to a great extent as a result of implementation of the Descargues report policies but rather as a result of a demand for them by their target group. There is no national framework, which coordinates local initiatives that have emerged. Initiatives that attempt to provide training opportunities appear to be offered on an ad-hoc basis leading to obvious gaps between different geographic areas in terms provision of adaptive technology training.
The following section will outline some of the successful initiatives which have been established in France.
This northern French institution does not offer training for the visually impaired in new technologies directly, but it offers referrals to training providers.
Older people are referred to local resources, that is, the municipal Media Centre of Lille, which offers computer services accessible to the visually handicapped of any age, and which offers beginners' training courses, even though training is not its primary mission. There is also the computer club called "Valentin Haüy".
For people suffering from low vision, an organisation called URBILOG offers training in the use of standard business software in so far as it can be adapted to visual impairment (setting up Windows and MS Office, ZoomText, keyboard shortcuts, and so on). This training is aimed only at professionally active visually impaired people under 60 years of age.
The Assistance through Work Centre (Centre d'Aide par le Travail or CAT) offers a workshop whose aim is to encourage the use of ICT as an educational tool within the framework of an individual education or training project. Sessions are scheduled on average to meet 2 hours a week.
The Continuing Training Department at Institut Montéclair is open to blind or visually impaired people, to public or private sector employees, to job-seekers, to students, to individuals, and to professionals.
Services offered vary depending on the visual abilities of the person involved, and on his or her personal and professional needs. Solutions are tailored to the individual in order to guarantee him or her the greatest possible amount of autonomy. The Continuing Training Department offers the following training opportunities:
Training courses are short, customised, and given individually or in small groups. They do not lead to a certificate or diploma, but they should allow access to training specifically geared toward IT in the mainstream environment.
FIDEV in Lyon is a certified training organisation offering training in adaptive technologies for vision impaired people. Awareness of and access to adaptive technology is considered to be part of the overall rehabilitative process. These training courses are successful because they are short, customised, and offered individually or in small groups. Trainers are familiar with adaptive technology options. Participants are offered basic computer literacy skills in order to increase the opportunity to access further IT training in a mainstream environment. FIDEV offers support to participants who consequently follow-up this basic training with mainstream professional training. There is no specific IT training for vision impaired people, which leads to a third level degree. An evaluation of this course found that 12 per cent of the participants were satisfied and 85 per cent expressed total satisfaction with the course (source is a questionnaire that is sent on a regular basis to the students to get their feedback).
The Association of Blind and Visually Impaired Intellectuals (GIAA) in Toulon also offers introductory computer literacy using adaptive technology to members of a computer club who are under the age of 55 and who would like to obtain basic computer literacy skill in order to progress onto further professional training. Courses are tailored to the needs of individual participants and the appropriate adjustments are made.
The Association for the Placement of Physically Handicapped People (GIHP) offers two types of training:
In the Descargues Report (2000, pp 45-47), the author's conclusion includes a list of recommendations designed to facilitate access to IT and to training by visually impaired:
Recommendations and policies outlined in the Descargues report have not been evaluated in terms of implementation. There is no national framework which coordinates local initiatives that have emerged. Therefore, although policies have been developed, on a practical level there seems to be a long way to go as yet.
Distance learning seems to be the way forward (Dehais, 2000, 44) and it could be adapted for the visually impaired (JY Bouvier, personal communication, October 2001).
The professionals of the SIADV (Interregional Support Service for Visually Impaired People) have noticed that there is a lack of training in adaptive techniques such as Braille, typing, word processing and adaptive technologies.
On the other hand, it is often difficult to set up training courses for the visually impaired population, because such people are scattered throughout the region and are of limited mobility. There is also a dearth of specialised professionals in these fields of instruction.
It occurred to us that new communication technologies might help to solve these problems, as they could allow training to take place right where people live. For the last two years, we have been working in partnership with the National College of Telecommunications in Brest, in Brittany, to set up a system that would enable distance learning for visually impaired adults to take place.
The idea is to adapt the video-conferencing system to our teaching by creating a "teacher site" and a "pupil site."
Videoconferencing enables a person to be seen in a specific place, to transmit information (text, image, or sound) and, in return, to receive information in real time. The teacher can transmit any information required for teaching, can check the reactions of the student, and can correct the student if need be. The student can also communicate with the teacher and ask questions if they are experiencing any problems. In many respects, videoconferencing is comparable to face to face teaching.
At the present time, we are sure that courses in Braille, adaptive technologies, and so on, will take place partly or completely via these new media. We will then study the possibility of using them in other areas, such as functional vision.
The value of a system such as this one is that it can quickly be moved from place to place, and it is relatively inexpensive because the technology it uses is readily available to the general public.
Making more efficient use of adaptive techniques will enable the visually impaired to more easily join mainstream training courses whenever they choose.
The "Electronic School Bag" is another new initiative, though presently aimed at a younger population, it could be adapted to adults in training (P Belseur, personal communication, October 2001).
The project, called PROJET ETAPE, is a national project directed by the association Braille Net (Braille Net, 2001).
The project was inspired by a similar initiative underway at the Charles de Gaulle High School in Muret (Haute-Garonne), in which students have personal file in the high school server and can thereby exchange files with teachers and other authorised participants.
This is a pioneering project because it is the first of its kind to be aimed at young visually impaired people.
It involves 5 institutions in France (INJA in Paris, EREADV in Villeurbanne, ERDV in Loos-les-Lille, Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, and the Institut Montéclair in Angers.)
Each young person will be able to access a certain number of documents via Internet (school books and other documents). Teachers and students will be able to exchange computerised documents, such as classroom notes, homework, corrections, and so on.
The aim of the Electronic School Bag is to allow these young people to get hands-on experience of new technologies and to make it easier for them to access the information they need (like specific documents or school books).
Although, this project is currently aimed at the younger population, it could be adapted to further training of vision impaired people generally.
There is no doubt that France lagged behind other European countries in IT development. This realisation gave the impetus, as early as 1997, to an official policy of ensuring equipment acquisition and official encouragement of the use of IT. Lionel Jospin's government has undertaken a "crash course" of three years which has allowed this country to bridge the gap with other European nations. The entire population is involved in this movement, even blind and visually impaired people have been brought in (the Descargues Report). Even if equipment acquisition and encouragement thereto in state administrations is the responsibility of the state, this is not the case concerning households. The penetration of computer equipment into the home is still slower than in other European countries. The IT revolution will have important effects in the political, economic, and social fields. France seems ready in terms of its national infrastructure, though on the individual level there seems to be a ways to go still.
The government has made major efforts in the field of training in a short time. Handicapped people, and in particular the visually handicapped, are now able to receive training in specific applications from specialised services and institutions. Nevertheless, the number of training courses on offer is far below the ever-increasing level of demand for them.
The State's offer of training can be considered 'elitist' in nature (to access AFPA or GRETA training, applicants must pass interviews and placement tests in which past formal schooling plays a major role). The private sector charges a fee for training, which can be an obstacle to access (fees can be prohibitive). That leaves clubs and associations as the only option left, but the visually handicapped person must still be able to join them.
Our conclusion is that there is risk of a digital information gap. In the digital age, continuing training is rapidly becoming the basic source of job security and employability. It is a guarantee of competitive advantage for employees, governments, and employers. It is also becoming the main priority of unions, to such a degree that the necessity for permanent job training may revitalise union activities in this area.
On a national level, Lionel Jospin, in his project calling for the information society for all people, showed his preoccupation with the looming risk of an important gap opening up between those who have access to new technologies and those who do not.
This risk of a digital information gap between those who are computer literate and those who are not creates a "hot" new issue for handicapped people. It is clear that a population of people who already feel stigmatised, who are already experiencing difficulty integrating our society, run the risk, in the medium term, of experiencing the negative impact of technological advances and the race toward total mastery of IT. These people run the risk of being excluded twice: that is, the lack of computer literacy would accentuate and worsen the already difficult situation of handicapped people in terms of their social and professional integration. Access to IT training would limit the risk of a digital information gap that would accentuate the problems of the visually impaired population.
AFPA, 2001. Available from: http://www.afpa.fr/AFPA.html (accessed 30/10/01)
Braille Net, 2001. Available from: http://www.braillenet.jussieu.fr (accessed 15/10/01)
Cézard, M, 2000. L'ordinateur, outil de travail culturel et bien culturel. L'informatique au travail, 131, p22.
Dehais, B, 2000. L'éducation, nouveau marché mondial. Alternatives économiques, December, 187, p 44. Available from: http://www.alternatives-economiques.fr/moteur/ALHtml.htm (accessed 30/10/01)
Descargues, B, 2000. L'accessibilité des nouvelles technologies d'information et de communication aux personnes aveugles et mal voyantes (on line). 13 October.
Available from: http://www.admiroutes.asso.fr (accessed 30/10/01)
Etre, 2001, Handicap information, dossier basse vision, Sept Oct, 55, pp 24-25.
Etude Kosmos 2001 Internet dans l'ouest, premiers pas vers le haut débit. Available from: http://www.kosmos.fr (accessed 15/10/01)
Greta, 2001. Available from: http://www.education.gouv.fr/fp/greta.htm#4 (accessed 30/10/01)
IDC France 2001, Le baromètre Micro Informatique. Available from: http://www.idc.fr/etudes/barometre_micro.htm (accessed 30/10/01)
INSEE 2000, Project handicap, invalidity, dependency, No. 742, pp. 1. Available from: www.insee.fr (Accessed: 03/09/02)
Pierret, C, 1997, Discours de Christian Pierret, secrétaire d'état à l'industrie à la 18ème université de la communication (on line), 29 August, 1-4. Available from: http://admiroutes.asso.fr (accessed 15/10/01)
Site du programme d'action gouvernementale pour la société de l'information, 2001. Rapports 2000 (on line). Available from: http://www.internet.gouv.fr/francais/index.html (accessed 30/10/01)
This literature review was prepared by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).
There is a notable absence of literature on training opportunities in computer skills for older people with vision impairments in Ireland. Therefore, this review will concentrate on policies and initiatives aimed at meeting the IT training needs of older people of all abilities. The section on policy aims to provide an insight into the current thinking at Government level on ways to make IT accessible to older people and people with disabilities. The section on Encouraging older people of all abilities into IT training (including a subsection on older people with disabilities/vision impairment) outlines some of the courses, innovative ideas and strategies adopted in Ireland to facilitate older people into IT training. This also includes ways in which IT can be used as a medium for learning. The literature included in this review has been restricted as much as possible to people within the 35 plus age group. The review will outline Initiatives in Ireland aimed at encouraging people over the age of 35, especially people who are long-term unemployed, back into all types of education and training. These initiatives include the availability of grants, and other financial incentives as well as flexible entry requirements to training courses. Albeit indirectly, such initiatives encourage people with a disability over the age of 35 to undertake IT training courses or take up further education courses, which generally incorporate acquisition of computer literacy skills as part of the curriculum.
According to a recent survey carried out by the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR) (2001), 27% of Irish people currently have Internet access at home. However, the Work Research Centre (2000) found that 64% of Internet users were under the age of 35, which only make up 44% of the adult population.
The number of people on the blind person's register amounts to approximately 7,000 (visual acuity less than or equal 6/60 in the better eye or where a field of vision is limited, the widest diameter of vision subtending an angle of 20 degrees or less). Of this number, 6.5% fall within the 0 - 18 years, 40.7% fall within the 18 to 65 years age group and over half (52.8%) of the vision impaired population in Ireland are over the age of 65 years. Overall, there is a lack of data on the level of usage of computers among the older vision impaired population. Bearing in mind that older people generally have categorised as 'late adopters' of IT, older people with vision impairments will also fall into this category.
There seems to be a digital divide between those who are in education and employment and those who are not. Results of an Information Society Commission (ISC) survey (2000a) show that only 30% of unemployed people are familiar with a personal computer, whereas 87% of students and 64% of the Total workforce are computer literate. The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (1996) highlights that 'participation by people with disabilities in education at all levels is significantly below that of the population in general' and the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is approximately 70 per cent. Therefore, people with disabilities outside of educational system and the workforce will have more limited expose to computers.
When Information Society policy was beginning to develop in Ireland, government policy was criticised in the 'Report of the Information Society Steering Committee' for its strong focus on the economy and much less focus on how digital information and services could meet the needs of marginalised groups (NESC, 1999; 101). In response to the ever-expanding role played by IT in Irish Society, in 1997, the Irish Government established an Information Society Commission. Its objectives were to conduct research in order to provide advice and guidance to the Government in adopting policies that will ensure that Ireland develops to its full potential as an Information Society and to promote awareness of the benefits of Information Technology. The Information Society Commission has published a number of reports, which set out a strategic framework for the development of an Information Society in Ireland. Some of these policies attempt to equalize access to technology by all members of society. The ISC recommends a need for investment in lifelong learning, increased provision of IT training for older people and promotion of access to technology for people with disabilities (See the Third Report of the Information Society Commission, 2000c).
The ISC has also clearly recognised the role of community and voluntary sector in developing Information Society policy and it has created an advisory group, Connected Communities that includes representatives of people with disabilities and older people. The ISC report 'Early and Late Adopters of New Technology' (2000a) recommends that in addition to providing access to a computer and awareness of the practical benefits of computers to the daily lives of late adopters of new technology, it is equally important to provide appropriate support and training in the use of the technology. Although, the ISC does recognise older people as late adopters of IT and highlights the barriers to accessing IT (Information Society Commission, 2000a), none of the ISC reports focuses specifically on the needs of older people with disabilities.
An Irish Government Green Paper on Adult Education (Department of Education and Science, 1998) recognised that failure to provide access for adults to education and training in Information Technology "can reinforce exclusion from economic participation and impact directly on competitiveness" (p.23). It acknowledged that while over 25% of all third level places in the OECD go to mature students (aged 26 plus), in Ireland this figure is less than 5%. The Green Paper lists the strategies needed for increased third level mature student access as the development of outreach strategies, access programmes, counselling and mentoring systems, flexible accreditation and provision in community settings. Albeit indirectly, such initiatives also encourage adults with a disability to undertake IT training courses or take up further education courses which generally encompass computer literacy skills as part of the curriculum.
This Green Paper was followed with an Irish Government White Paper on Adult Education (Department of Education and Science, 2000), which set out the blueprint for the future development and expansion of adult education. It outlines the compelling reasons as to why IT should be integrated into education and training systems for adult learners as: (1) vocational and educational reasons - "Knowledge and familiarity with new technologies will be an important dimension of employability in the Information Society. This is of particular relevance to Ireland in light of the increasing demand for these skills and their importance for the continued growth of the Irish economy" (p.99); (2) Pedagogic reasons - "IT can improve the quality of the educational experience by providing rich, exciting and motivating environments for learning" (p.99); (3) Social benefits - "It is important that all people, regardless of social or economic background, should have equal access to new technologies" (p.100).
In addition, the Government White Paper on Adult Education recognised the rapid growth of the Internet in Ireland. Such growth inevitably means that increasing numbers of adults will seek access to education and training opportunities by using IT as a medium for learning. "Educational institutions in Ireland, while to the forefront in teaching about IT, have been slow in utilising IT in their teaching, particularly in the development of out of classroom teaching. While this has implications for the education sector in the context of global competition, it also reduces the range and choice of possibilities which adult learners in Ireland can avail of in their learning pursuits" (p.99). The White Paper recognised the many advantages of IT as a medium for learning for adults in Ireland. "As an opportunity for adult learners, IT provides a whole new mechanism for overcoming distance; for accessing information from one's home or workplace; for pursuing accredited learning programmes as more and more institutions adapt their programmes for electronic delivery and for interaction with other learners in a virtual classroom environment" (p.99). The Information Society Commission also recognised that new technology can be used as a way of overcoming obstacles such as physical access for people with disabilities enabling a higher degree of equity (Information Society Commission, 2000c; 119).
Although the White Paper acknowledged the benefits of distance learning programmes, it was also concerned with the limitations of IT in educational applications and concedes that it is better to look at the virtual learning environment as supplementing rather than replacing the actual one. It nonetheless stated that the application of IT in adult education practice is still in its infancy and a vast potential remains to be realised. 'If this potential is to be tapped, and indeed if Ireland as a society is to maintain its position vis-à-vis other countries in the information revolution, it is imperative that the learning blocks in accessing IT are removed' (p.99).
In recognition of the growing importance of computer literacy for adults generally, the Irish Government have planned a National Adult Basic ICT Skills Programme as part of its Back to Education Initiative. This will be the first national campaign in IT training for Irish adults. The main elements of this programme will include: a national programme of IT training up to and including NCVA Level 2 standard, technical support for adult education providers to enable them to maintain, upgrade and network their IT facilities, and curriculum support arrangements.
The Information Society Commission has also organised a number of awareness raising activities to target adults that are late adopters of new technology including:
There have been a number of innovative initiatives in Ireland which specifically aim to encourage access to IT for people aged 55 plus at community level.
In its report entitled 'IT Access for All' (2000b), the ISC identified a number of potential public sector strategies to encourage access to IT by socially marginalised groups. Amongst its suggestions is that libraries (including mobile libraries) should become key access points to the Internet for the general public and should offer self-learning computer and cyber skills programmes (ISC, 2000b). Under the EU funded Testlab project, in conjunction with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, six libraries were selected by the Department of the Environment and Local Government to pilot accessible Internet access and library catalogues for people with vision impairment. This project was very successful and it reported that there has been 'significant levels of demand for services of this nature' (Department of the Environment and Local Government, 1999; 54). The 'Branching Out' report recommends financial investment by the government for the provision of optical scanners and for the development of accessible facilities in more public libraries.
The ISC also proposes that Government offices should host access points and that new Government offices should be built in such a way that allows twenty-four hour access for citizens to use the Internet. One particularly forward-looking suggestion is that the community and voluntary sector should themselves become Internet access points, which will allow their own community to access the Internet through them. However, the ISC also recognises the barriers encountered by people with vision impairments when accessing the Internet due to many inaccessible websites (ISC, 2000b; 36). The idea of providing an email address for every single citizen has also been considered in Ireland. Again, the ISC recognised that some 'web-based e-mail services currently available have proved difficult to use especially those with visual impairments who need to make use of screen readers' (2000b; 74). The ISC also suggests that school facilities should be open to their communities after hours, at weekends and out of term enabling local people to access their IT facilities.
Ennis Information Age Town Project, acompetition sponsored by Eircom, a private Internet Service Provider, resulted in 49 towns throughout Ireland developing strategies for improving the use of IT in their own community. Within Ennis, the winning town, personal computers were distributed to 4,500 households resulting in Internet access levels of 80 per cent. Social inclusion was a key goal of the Ennis Information Age Town project. For people with disabilities funding was provided to purchase the appropriate assistive technology. One of the Ennis best practice awards was given to person with vision impairment for innovative use of technology. Senior citizens were offered free computer classes within the local community school. Four of those who passed their European Computer Driving License set up the Sunset Group of Ennis Senior Citizens. With the help of a tutor, the Sunset Group embarked on designing a monthly online newspaper (http://sunset.ennis.ie).
Another initiative which facilitated access and Training in computer skills by the local community is the Wicklow Information Network. A network of IT centres were set up throughout Wicklow 'to narrow the IT skills gap experienced by late adopters of technology in rural communities by offering up to date IT training required for participation in today's work place'. All individual needs were catered for, either on a one-to-one basis or in a group situation. Some of the centres have become recognised test centre for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and Microsoft User Office Specialist (MOUS) (Wicklow Information Network, No date).
The Westmeath Community Development Ltd project also provided a mobile IT training programme in rural community centres for 10 weeks at a time to provide training opportunities for the local community. A beginner's course was open to all members of the community. Classes were small with a maximum of 10 participants so that individual needs could be catered for. The first programme that ran in Kinnegad Community Centre had 120 participants (ComputerScope, 1998). There is no data on the take up of these courses by older people although it would appear that an attempt was made to cater for all individual needs.
The European Computer Driving License (ECDL) was formally launched in 1997 as a means of bench-marking computer literacy for business, education and the voluntary sector. In 1998, ECDL Ireland launched a Test Drive Initiative to coincide with a feature on the ECDL as part of a television series. Viewers were invited to call a free phone number and visit one of 250 participating computer training centres throughout Ireland. During this visit, a hands-on introduction in using a computer was provided. In addition, participants were given a multi-media CD-ROM containing an introductory tutorial to take away. Over 25,000 such discs were distributed as part of the Test Drive. Unfortunately, no data was available on whether people with vision impairments participated in this initiative.
With the development of bodies such as OSCAIL, the national distance education centre, there has been an increasing usage of distance and flexible models for educational delivery in Ireland. In particular, the Adult Education Centre in University College Dublin is experimenting successfully with online delivery of courses including courses on computing, using the Internet. DeLLTTi (Lifelong Learning Online) at www.ucd.ie/~delltti/intro.htmis a virtual teaching environment. Among other things, students are given the opportunity to participate in class discussions, e-mail their tutors or other class members, self-test, or take part in group work. The course attempts to reduce a sense of social isolation by students by providing an interactive element to the course.
Encouraging older people with disabilities including those with vision impairment into IT training
While the IT training needs of older people with vision impairments in Ireland have been overlooked until recently, there have been several developments which go some of the way in addressing this void. Since the year 2000, the Irish National Training and Employment Authority, FÁS has had responsibility for labour market training of adults with disabilities. As a consequence, it has had to make its premises and courses accessible to people with disabilities, and trainers and other employees are undergoing disability awareness training. While FÁS do not provide IT training courses specifically designed for adults with disabilities, they offer a range of IT courses (including online IT courses at www.fas-netcollege.com adopting the principle of lifelong learning) which can be adapted to meet individual needs in an integrated setting. Other provisions offered by FÁS promote personal assistance at work, grants for the adaptations to the workplace and subsidies to employers for employment of people with disabilities.
Other initiatives which encourage people aged 30 plus into IT training have targeted long-term unemployed people. Bearing in mind the high level of unemployment among people with disabilities generally, these initiatives will consequently encourage this group to take up mainstream IT courses (Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, 1996). Fast Track to Information Technology (FIT) was one such initiative, established in 1999 to provide computer training for long-term unemployed people, including people in receipt of a disability payment from the State. The course offered a focused IT training programme in order to prepare participants for return to the workforce. This initiative sought to provide 3,500 people with training and full-time employment in the IT industry in the Dublin area by 2002 (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 2000). It was highly successful, with many participants obtaining well-paid employment. Its success was attributed to the high quality of the computer training and its provision of a supportive environment, sensitive to the personal and financial demands placed on its trainees. In addition, FIT was offered from local employment services which are scattered throughout the Dublin area in order to ensure that no participant had to travel very far in search of information and assistance.
The National Training and Development Institute (NTDI) (part of the REHAB group), provides training and development services to people with disabilities in Ireland. Its courses are designed to prepare participants for the workplace and include various IT courses, such as 'Computer Skills for the Visually Impaired' (Level 2) and 'Information Technology by Distance Learning' (Level 2) (National Training and Development Institute, 2000).
In 1996, the National Accreditation Committee (NAC) was set up by the Irish Government to manage the development and implementation of accreditation for centres providing training to people with disabilities. This Committee provides a means to ensure that training including IT training provided to people with disabilities complies with certain standards.
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) has an NAC approved training centre which provides a rehabilitative course and workskills programme for people with vision impairments between the ages of 16 and 65 years. It aims to facilitate trainees in making a successful transition to independent living and occupational integration. As well as mobility, daily living skills, Braille, literacy and numeracy courses, participants can also sample basic IT and word processing skills. This course has been very successful often leading to further training and employment.
The NCBI also operates a technology service, providing technology equipment and assistive technology as well as a regional service of technical support and assistance in its use to people with vision impairments on a national basis. In 2002, under the CAIT programme, funded by the Department of Public Enterprise, the NCBI has put into place a national infrastructure of trained volunteers who are available to visit the homes of people with vision impairment, providing whatever technical support is needed. NCBI is also recognised as a clearing agent for the Technical Aids Grant, which is funded and operated, by the Department of Health and Children through some of the local area health boards. By means of this grant, assistive devices and software can be provided to people with vision impairments for their personal use at home. However, some health boards stipulate that recipients of the grant must be under the age of 65 years.
A European funded course 'IT for People with a Visual Impairment' which adopts a lifelong learning approach has also been operating successfully for the past number of years in County Kerry. Tailored to meet the individual needs of the participants, it is designed to provide practical skills in computer literacy leading to further training, education and employment. The successfulness of this course can be attributed to the way in which the training is provided. The course offers the opportunity for social interaction and attempts to provide training in a relaxed environment. The transport arrangements of the participants are considered and course hours are made flexible. One of the course modules focuses on personal development where an initial assessment of the person's needs and expectations from the course are examined. The educational level of the participants' are also assessed in order to ascertain their level of literacy and numeracy. The course caters for all age groups. A life-long learning approach is offered for those over the age of 60 years. The course offers the opportunity to participants to attain NCVA level 1 Certification and European Computer Driving Licence Certification (National Council for the Blind of Ireland, 2001). This initiative is very successful, with a number of graduates obtaining full-time employment.
An IT training course was set up for people with vision impairments of all age groups in the Open Learning Centre at Colaiste Ide Senior College in Dublin (Ryan, 1998). The Centre has become a recognised ECDL test centre. The course has proven to be extremely popular (Visually Impaired Computer Society, no date) and has illustrated that community education in an open learning environment is an effective way of offering IT literacy for those outside of the formal education system. In 2001-2002, 7 students participated in the course of which, 4 completed all of the seven ECDL modules successfully. Currently, 9 students are undertaking the course.
There has been a marked absence of analysis on the IT training needs of older people with vision impairments in Ireland. Overall, Government policy on making Information Society accessible to older people in Ireland has been progressive and forward-looking. Some of these policies attempt to equalize access to technology by all members of society and recommend a need for investment in lifelong learning, increased provision of IT training for older people and promotion of access to technology for people with disabilities. However, putting such policies into practice requires financial investment and political commitment. It would seem that the more successful initiatives encouraging older people into IT training are those that are delivered at community level and adopt a holistic approach, tailoring courses to meet the individual needs of trainees and incorporating personal development skills as well as technical skills.
Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR), 2001.
ComputerScope 1998. Midlands Get Mobile Training. Available from: http://www.ecdl-central.com/archive/nws_0024.html [Accessed: 14 February 2003
Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, 1996. A Strategy for Equality, Report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. Dublin: Stationery Office
DCU and RINCE, 2002. A Digital Democracy for All?: Web Accessibility in Ireland. Available from: http://eaccess.rince.ie/white-papers/2002/warp-2002-01/ [Accessed: 14 February 2003]
Department of Education and Science, 1998. Green Paper: Adult Learning in an Era of Lifelong Learning. Dublin: Government Publications Office
Department of Education and Science, 2000. Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education. Dublin: Government Publications Office
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 1999. Ireland Employment Action Plan. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 2000. Tániste Presents Certificates to FIT participants. Available from: http://www.entemp.ie/press00/290500b.htm [Accessed: 3 February 2003]
Department of the Environment and Local Government, 1999. Branching Out. Dublin: Stationery Office
Government of Ireland, 1999. Implementing the Information Society in Ireland: Action Plan. Dublin: Stationery Office
Government of Ireland, 2000. Ireland National Development Plan 2000-2006. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Information Society Commission, 1999. Building a Capacity for Change: Lifelong Learning in the Information Society. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Ireland. Information Society Commission, 2000a. Early and Late Adopters of New Technology. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Information Society Commission, 2000b. IT Access for All. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Information Society Commission, 2000c. Third Report of Ireland's Information Society Commission. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Information Society Commission, 2000d. Innovation in Learning in the Information Society: A Comparative International Study. Dublin: The Stationary Office
Jones, V. [No Date]. Historic Church Has Adapted Itself to Meet Today's Needs. Available from: http://www.ireland.anglican.org/archives/pressreleases/prarchive2001/stann.html [Accessed: 14 February 2003]
National Council for the Blind of Ireland, 2001. Tralee: The Centre of Learning. NCBI News, Vol 3 No.2 March/April
National Training and Development Institute, 2000. Achieve Your Goals: Prospectus. Dublin: National Training and Development Institute
National Economic and Social Council, 1999. Opportunities, Challenges and Capacities for Choice: Overview, Conclusions and Recommendations. Dublin: NESC
Ryan, M. 1998. Report of the First Four Years of the Open Learning Centre. Dublin: Dublin City University
Visually Impaired Computer Society [No date] Visually Impaired Computer Society, not published
Wicklow Information Network [No date] Available from: http://wicklow.ie/win/ [Accessed: 14 February 2003]
Work Research Centre, 2000. Achieving Equality in the Information Society: Experiences from the EMPLOYMENT Initiative. Social and Economic Consultants Ltd: Dublin
As Available from: www.sunset.ennis.ie [Accessed: 14 February 2003]
This literature review was prepared by Istituto per la Ricerca la Formazione e la Riabilitazione (I.Ri.Fo.R.).
A review of the literature on the problem of access to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) for individuals in the 35 to 65 year-old age group, and particularly blind and visually impaired people, does not offer a rich store of contributions. More in-depth study appears necessary, in order to obtain elements which can contribute to reaching the specific objectives set by the EATT project. Elements have been collected that provide a better description of the scenario within which the established objectives are to be accomplished in Italy.
The situation described regards both demographics and the possibility of gaining access to and utilising the training possibilities, particularly on the part of blind and visually impaired people.
The policy of ICT education and training is examined in depth, on both the European and Italian levels.
It is not always possible to restrict the bibliographic review to the specific problems of individuals between 35 and 65 years old, given that many of the statistics refer to other groups.
In Italy, individuals in the age group between 35 and 65 represent almost 40% of the population, with a slight preponderance of the female sex (Roncati, Cicchetti, 2001, pg. 3), while the percentage of the same age group within the total of 370,000 sight-impaired individuals is only 27%. The over-65 age group accounts for a much higher percentage of the sight-impaired (65%, compared to its share of 18% of the normally sighted population), while the percentage represented by the under-35 age group is especially low: 8%, compared to its share of 42% of the normally sighted population (I.Ri.Fo.R., 1995).
The literature regarding the education and training of individuals with all the available skills focuses almost exclusively on the under-35 age group, and includes literature specific to the sight impaired. There emerges an undeniable need to achieve further development of education and training throughout the lives of the 92% of the sight impaired who are older than 35.
Among the numerous projects launched by various ministries from 1996 onwards intending to promote innovation and the development of the Information Society, it was noted that the co-ordination and construction of a general, unitary and systematic project was greatly needed. To achieve this aim, the decree by the Prime Minister on 5th February 1999, in which it was stated: "The development of the Information Society is a major goal of the Italian Government", instituted three structures at the Prime Minister's Office: the Committee of Ministers, the Inter-departmental Study and Working Group and the Information Society Forum.
The Committee of Ministers has been given the task of ensuring the impetus of government activity and the co-ordination of actions among various administrations, taking into account the proposals of the forum. It must also approve the action plan for the Information Society and identify the instruments to be used in the plan.
Composed of representatives from relevant administrations, the Inter-departmental Study and Working Group offers technical support to the Committee of Ministers. Other responsibilities include collaborating with the forum's activities and promoting the creation of working groups - even on a territorial basis. It also co-ordinates the ministerial contributions to the action plan and the budget.
Headed by the Prime Minister, the Information Society Forum can be found at the Prime Minister's Office Department of Economic Affairs. The forum was devised as a working seat open to public and territorial institutions, firms, trade unions, universities and research institutions, associations and citizens and other interested subjects. The forum is fundamentally a support unit regarding the promotion and co-ordination of public policies in the ICT sector.
The recent Prime Ministerial decree from 4th August 2000, instituted the office for technological innovation at the Department of Economic Affairs (art. 12, comma 3). Its role is to ensure support to the Prime Minister's Office co-ordination activities and Information Society policy.
In keeping with the eEurope 2002 initiative (Feira 19-20 June), the Italian government has drawn up a Plan of Action for the Information Society. The effort involves the following sectors: human capital (training, education, research, and development), e-government, e-commerce and infrastructures. The purpose of the plan is to facilitate and accelerate this process through a variety of activities, including policies of training and inclusion.
The Forum on the Information Society (2000) has issued an important report: "e-Italy - A Project for Italy and Europe, a contribution to the International Community", which provides a reference framework for the policy actions that need to be taken.
In the documents and plans presented on the information society, the numerous references to young people and to areas in southern Italy stand out as points of particular interest. Less evident are the references to adults, the elderly and individuals with disabilities.
Significant contributions have been made in Europe to introduce or study in greater depth the concept of "Life-Long Learning". Though fully supported by the individual member nations, including Italy, the concept and the related life-long learning activities are not given adequate support or European orientation in the Maastricht Treaty. The term "schools" is not found once in the 367 articles of the Treaty, while the presence of words such as "education", "culture" and "training", when not used with regard to European-Community policy, but exclusively in relation to the funding contemplated for specific activities, is also scarce. On the other hand, the terms "currency", "bank" and, to an even greater extent, "market" appear on countless occasions (Mortellaro I.D. 1999). The introduction of ICT into society cannot be viewed as merely a market consideration, but must represent, first and foremost, an aspect of culture that calls for adequate resources in order to be developed and promoted.
It is the increasingly intensive demand of today's society for ever higher levels of knowledge and relational skills (ability to establish relations with both objects and individuals) that obliges nations, and not only Italy, to face the task of raising the quantitative levels of schooling.
According to the former Minister of Education, Tulio De Mauro (1999), this challenge throws renewed light on the problem of scholastic dispersion, emphasising that the objective of generalising basic education cannot be considered as achieved if half of the adult population in today's Italy has not reached the obligatory level of education. This half of the adult Italian population, finding itself at a de facto level of illiteracy, is not capable of taking an active part in social life, to say nothing of participating in the society of information technology.
According to the former Minister, in order to allow this half of the Italian population to contribute to the growth of our society, there is an urgent need for the development of recurring and permanent education initiatives. The EATT project takes the form of a permanent educational initiative that also includes individuals who are approaching senior-citizen status.
A distinctly European concept of ageing is evolved which includes a wide range of activities, focuses on the whole life-course, is preventative, embodies rights and obligations, is participative, and respects national and cultural diversity. During the Conference on Active Ageing Walker (1999) points out that it is the policy process that mainly determine whether or not countries age successfully. In developing the concept of active ageing, a key principle will be the embodiment of both rights and obligations; thus the rights to social protection, life-long education and training may be accompanied by obligations to take advantage of education and training opportunities and to remain active in other ways.
The Italian legislative framework concerning the rights of learning and of training for blind and visually impairment people is one of the most detailed, comparing to the other EATT project partners (EPS, 1999).
But a right does not automatically produce equality. The data on the following table point to the difference between the educational level of the general population and that of the blind and visually impaired population. This difference could be related to the training possibilities and the ways in which the blind and visually impaired population takes advantage of the process of education and training.
| Education | General population (%) | Vision impaired people (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary school | 41.30% | 83% |
| Middle school diploma | 28.70% | 13% |
| Secondary school certificate | 24.20% | 4% |
| University | 5.20% | 0.50% |
Source: Istat 2000, I.Ri.Fo.R. 1995
It should be noted that the data presented are not suitable for direct comparison, given that the great majority of visually impaired individuals are elderly and were not provided with adequate opportunities for scholastic instruction in the post-war period. It may be assumed, however, that blind and visually impaired people in the 35 to 65 year-old age group tend to have a lower level of education than that of the equivalent age group of normally sighted individuals.
On average, the percentage rate of blind people with a poor educational record is higher in southern Italy (with peaks reaching 90%) and on the islands (Sicily and Sardinia) and consists of more women than men (Drydon, Garner, Tillsley, p.43).
In order to develop an introductory course to ICT, adapting its contents and methodology to the needs of the potential participants, it is necessary to consider the level of instruction of the target group.
The clarity and simplicity of the training methodology used in ICT courses should increase with the age of those taking the courses, further rising when the participants are also visually disabled (Meister, 2001). When mainstream centres are used for the technological training of this age group, then, the older the students, the better prepared the teachers must be in instruction and education, while high technology is often of less importance.
Although the legislative framework has been put in place for the right to vocational training by vision impaired people in working age (Employment Support Practices, 1999), vision impaired people over 35 generally still tend to have a lower level of education in comparison to the sighted population. In particular, a large number of people over 65 did not have adequate educational opportunities available to them in the post-war period, which affects in a negative way both the level of literacy and the quantitative aspect. On average, the percentage of vision impaired people with a poor educational attainment is higher in southern Italy (with peaks reaching 90%) and on the islands (Sicily and Sardinia) and consists of more women than men (Dryden, Garner & Tillsley, 2000; 43). It is evident therefore that It is not only necessary to adapt the contents and training methods of computer literacy training but the level of education of the vision impaired population in Italy is also an important consideration. Personal development skills as well as technical skills are consequently of equal importance (Meister, 2001).
Italy is reducing the digital divide that separates it from the more developed countries. The research of the I-Lab Internet Observatory at the Bocconi University of Milan on the spread of digital technology places Italy in next to last place, ahead of Spain and on the same level as France, but still distant from Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland, as well as the United States and Japan. Growth in Italy can be traced primarily to the widespread use of mobile telephones, while other areas, such as cabling and broad-band operations, remain unsatisfactory (Bocconi University, 2001). In 1999, video cassette recorders were owned by 63% of all Italians, while 48% owned a mobile phone and 23% a personal computer (Roncati, Cicchetti, 2001, p. 8).
At the same time, however, the gaps between Italy's different geographic areas are widening, with northeast Italy showing continuous growth, while southern Italy remains at extremely low levels. In the central-north area 25.4% of the population owns a PC, compared to 19.0% in the south (Roncati, Cicchetti, 2001, pg. 8).
As regards Internet, the number of users has settled at 12 million (users older than 14), while their behaviour patterns are becoming more systematic and less occasional: the number who use Internet at least once a week rose by 46%, and 69% of those interviewed declared that they hook up from home.
The practice of searching for information on the Web before making traditional purchases, referred to as e-shopping, is fairly widespread, involving almost 27% of the users, while only 12% of all navigators declare that they purchase merchandise on-line (full-fledged e-commerce), and only 2.4% of this group says that they do so frequently. Unfortunately, there is no specific data on the behaviour of individuals in the 35 to 65 year-old age group, nor on individuals with disabilities.
We have two definitions of blindness. Namely, according to the law no. 946/67, art. 2, we consider "legally blind" all persons whose visual acuity ranges from 0 to 1/10 of the normal visual acuity, which corresponds to 6/60, for the better eye and with correction.
The second law dates 3 April 2001. This law states 3 categories of visual disability, according both to visual acuity and to visual field, combined in a "or" relationship (either of them must be verified).
The following table summarizes the different possibilities this law takes into account.
| Definition | Visual acuity | Visual field (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Totally blind | 0 | 0 |
| Partially blind | less than or equal to 3/60 | less than 10 |
| Severely visually impaired | less than or equal to 6/60 | less than 30% |
| Middle visually impaired | less than or equal to 12/60 | less than 50 |
| Slightly visually impaired | less than or equal to 18/60 | more than 60 |
In Italy significant attention is given to the use of ICT as a means of facilitating scholastic integration. As a result, there exists a wide-ranging bibliography and ample documentation on the use of ICT and on specific methodologies and educational techniques relevant to schools and integration. The available knowledge, however, regards an especially small portion of the blind and visually impaired population (8%). In the case of the remaining 92% of blind and visually impaired people, no data is available in Italy on the use of ICT, on their opinions regarding the new technology and on specific training methodologies.
European data on technology and Internet as part of scholastic instruction are provided by a recent publication of the European Commission (2001). The research does not supply data on learning and training among individuals between the ages of 35 and 65, but information of relevance to the EATT project can be extrapolated all the same, especially on the subject of teaching.
The age of 80% of European teachers falls between 35 and 65 years old (EC, 2001, p. 29), which is the same age group as that of the EATT project. A teacher can be a user of ICT, a trainer or even an individual with visual impairment. In Italy 9% of the gainfully employed sight impaired are teachers (I.Ri.Fo.R., 1999).
The majority (71%) of European teachers now use computers, but there are important discrepancies from one EU country to another. Concerning the EATT partners member state there are the following differences for off-line and on-line computer use (CE, 2001, p. 14):
| DK | F | IRL | I | UK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-line | 88% | 76% | 97% | 65% | 100% |
| On-line | 69% | 28% | 82% | 27% | 56% |
The EATT project contemplates the development of a model of introductory training courses for individuals with visual impairments. The training model must take into account not only the differences in the ways ICT is used in the various countries, but also the differences in the development of the technological culture connected with its use. In efforts to spread the awareness and use of specific training offerings, diversified approaches must be developed for France and Italy, especially in the promotion of Internet access and use, in order to eliminate the gaps between off-line and on-line use.
Major importance in determining computer and Internet take-up is age. The percentage of teachers who use off-line computers declines as the age of teachers goes up, from 75% for the 20-29 age group down to 60% for teachers aged over 50. Similarly, the level of Internet users plummets by a fourth from 44% to 33% (CE, 2001, p. 15).
The survey demonstrates that age is a discriminating factor in terms of the use of the PC and Internet among the target group of teachers. It can be presumed that this is also true for the general population, as well as for the sub-group of blind and visually impaired people. This result confirms the wisdom of the objectives chosen for the EATT project.
Another major factor in determining use of computers is the gender of teachers. The difference is rather limited regarding off-line computers, which are used by a majority of male and female teachers (69% and 62% respectively), but becomes substantial regarding the use of the Internet: 44% of male teachers use the Internet compared to only 31% of female teachers.
The gender difference must be taken into consideration in drawing up the project, both when it comes to heightening awareness of ICT and as regards the contents of the training programs, which should also stimulate the specific interests of the different sexes.
Over half of Europe's teachers have been trained in the use of computers and over a third have been trained in the use of the Internet. There is of course room for improvement as 45% of EU teachers have received no training at all (CE, 2001, p. 17). Also concerning this argument there are some differences between the member states:
| DK | F | IRL | I | UK | EU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer training | 68% | 44% | 74% | 58% | 74% | 54% |
| Internet training | 59% | 29% | 49% | 33% | 56% | 36% |
| No training | 31% | 53% | 25% | 42% | 24% | 45% |
It can be assumed that the differences between the various member nations in terms of the training of teachers can also be identified in the area of on-going training for adults, as well as in the training of individuals with visually impairments.
Teachers who use the Internet with their pupils seem very convinced of its usefulness. On average, 52% of EU teachers who use the Internet find it useful and 46% occasionally useful. Only 1% of EU teachers do not find it useful. These results are independent of level and type of education, gender and age, which strongly suggests that appreciation of the Internet comes with actual use. There are some differences according to the main subject taught. Not surprisingly, appreciation of the Internet is higher amongst computing teachers (59%). Conversely, the less enthusiastic users are sciences and humanities teachers (respectively 47% and 43%).
The professional background of operators engaged in the re-education and rehabilitation of blind and visually impaired people is often humanistic. Based on the data indicated above, it can be presumed that this category of professionals will show less enthusiasm than will specialised technical personnel. Greater technological training of these operators, as well as increased use of ICT supports in the management of their own professional activities, could, at length, directly modify their enthusiasm towards ICT while indirectly increasing the motivation of the blind and visually impaired individuals they are assisting as regards the eventual use of the computer.
On the other hand it is indispensable that the specialised technical personnel, who tend to be highly motivated with regard to ICT, receive adequate humanistic training, allowing them to understand the possible scarce enthusiasm for ICT on the part of future blind and visually impaired participants in the introductory ICT course, and to learn the methodologies for creating interest.
Positive opinions also prevail in all Member States, though there are substantial differences from one EU country to another. The most enthusiastic Internet users tend to be found in the countries that have the lowest equipment and usage levels. For instance, the percentage of teachers who find the Internet useful is particularly high in Portugal (81%), Greece (77%) and Spain (66%). A possible explanation is that Internet enthusiasts may be early adopters, and therefore the proportion of enthusiasts may be higher in countries in which Internet take-up remains low.
The differences in the use of computers and Internet in the various countries have not necessarily had a negative impact on the promotion of ICT, given that the less advanced countries can draw on higher levels of motivation among their teachers than can the better equipped countries.
Achievement of the objectives of the eEurope initiative will automatically facilitate the culture of eLearning and education throughout one's life.
In Italy, the ECDL patent is managed by the AICA, the Associazione Italiana per l'Informatica ed il Calcolo Automatico (Italian Association of Informatics and Automated Calculation), which grants to individual informatics facilities the title of Test Centre. The AICA is a member of the Information Society Forum and of the Council Of European Professional Informatics Societies. In 1999, the AICA assigned to DIDACTA, which operates under the auspices of the ASHPI, the status of a Test Centre operating under a special set of regulations and authorised to issue ECDL exclusively to the disabled. DIDACTA has been allowed to make operational modifications in the standard procedures of the training program, following experimentation and notification of the AICA. There is no separate ECDL for the disabled, but rather information on how to adjust the training phase and the examination.
Since 2001, on behalf of the AICA, the Association to Develop Information Technology Projects for Handicapped People (Associazione per lo Sviluppo di Progetti Informatici per gli Handicappati) (ASPHI), has become the only organisation, on a national level, that provides information to every IT training centre and to individuals with all forms of disability on accessibility issues relating to the ECDL. I.Ri.Fo.R (Istituto per la Ricerca la Formazione e la Riabilitazione) was created by the Italian Union of the Blind, the main organisation of people with vision impairments in Italy. A visually impaired person can take his / her examinations directly from I.Ri.Fo.R. or from ASPHI, which are recognised test centres. In addition to the I.Ri.Fo.R., the organisation Professions of Milan in Support of Solidarity (Le Professioni Milanesi per la Solidarietà) offers specific courses to prepare vision impaired people for the ECDL (http://www.corsi-zotti.it/indice-i-Inglese.html). At present, no information is available on the profiles of the individuals who have undertaken an ECDL course.
Like Denmark and Ireland, a Technical Aids Grant is also available in Italy to facilitate vision impaired people to obtain assistive devices and software for their personal use at home.
From 1994 to 2000, the I.Ri.Fo.R. held 194 specific IT training courses for approximately 1850 individuals with vision impairment. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 80 years. Many of these courses were introductory, while others were more advanced or specialised. These courses were successful because the trainers had experience in providing training to vision impaired people and were familiar with the adaptive technology options available. Training was offered in small groups so that individual needs were taken into account. Participants also had the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences and help each other. Between 1998 and 2000, Le Professioni Milanesi per la Solidarietà, in collaboration with Retinitis Pigmentosa Italia, held courses in IT for approximately 340 vision impaired people. These special courses were either free of charge, or required a small fee. A number of sales outlets that sell specific technical aids for vision impaired people also offer courses at different levels at a charge. Unfortunately, there are no data available on the age of the participants in the courses.
There is marked expansion and development of communications and information technology in the political and social life of Italy, with a number of differences between various geographic areas and sectors. The technological development of northern Italy proves particularly rapid compared to the south.
As regards differences between sectors, development is less intense in the education and training of the middle aged and the elderly, as well as that of the disabled. In particular, numerous problems can be observed in terms of creating the underlying principles of an information society through pragmatic offerings custom-designed to meet the various demands of an integrated life.
As regards offerings meant specifically for blind and visually impaired people, much has been done through associations active in this area, and especially through the Unione Italiana Ciechi (Italian Union of the Blind) and the I.Ri.Fo.R.. The use of special funds has made possible wide-ranging informatics literacy initiatives throughout the country, often featuring top-quality activities provided free of charge. Underlying the success of such activities are training offerings which are custom-made for individuals with visual disabilities, and which often employ blind and visually impaired teachers.
Nevertheless an additional effort must be made to integrate the offerings and the knowledge specific to the training of blind and visually impaired people into mainstream ICT, in order to achieve greater cultural penetration of the technology. To reach this objective, additional in-depth study must be carried out on the needs of blind and visually impaired individuals in the adult and senior-citizen age groups.
Commission of the European Communities, 2001. eEurope 2002 Benchmarking - European youth into digital age, Brussels: 2.10.2001, SEC(2001) 1583, available from: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/news_library/documents/education_staff_en.pdf [Accessed 16 October 2001].
De Mauro T., 1999. Formare Cittadini e non sudditi. Insegnare, 5/99, Rome: Edizione Bruno Mondatori. Available also from: http://www.cidi.it/insegnare/articoli/tavrot26.htm [Accessed 16 October 2001].
Dryden G., Garner S., Tillsley C., 2000. Seeing a Future - Social Exclusion of older Visually Impaired People. London: Royal National Institute for the Blind.
EPS Employment Support Practices Partnership, 1999: Partenariato Innovativo Europeo per l'Occupazione- Prassi di supporto all'occupazione dei minorati della vista, Rome: I.Ri.Fo.R.
FSI, Forum della Società dell'Informazione, 2000. e-Italia - Un progetto per l'Italia e l'Europa, un contributo per la comunità internazionale, Milano: Il Sole 24ore, available from: http://www.governo.it/fsi/doc_piano/index.htm [Accessed 16 October 2001], available in English from: http://www.governo.it/fsi/doc_piano_eng/index_eng.htm [Accessed 16 October 2001].
I.Ri.Fo.R., 1995. Ricerca socio medico statistica sui ciechi. Rome: Istituto per la Ricerca, Formazione e Riabilitazione.
Meister J.J., 2001. Accessibility and Usability of ICT for Older and Disabled People. In: Wahl H.W., Schulze H.E. eds. On the Special Needs of Blind and Low Vision Seniors - Research and Practice Concepts, Amsterdam, IOS Press, 2001, Vol. 8, pp. 239 - 244.
Mortellaro I.D., 1999. Dall'Europa della moneta all'Europa della conoscenza - La formazione per la qualità e la democrazia di ogni Paese, Insegnare, 5/99, Rome: Edizione Bruno Mondatori. Available also from: http://www.cidi.it/insegnare/articoli/tavrot26.htm [Accessed 16 October 2001].
Roncati R., Cicchetti G., 2001. L'Italia in cifre. Rome: ISTAT Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.
Università Bocconi, 2001. L'Italia digitale si avvicina all'Europa - Risultati dell'Osservatorio Internet I-Lab Bocconi [Online]. Available from: http://www.uni-bocconi.it/help/news/appuntamenti/stampa01-09-17.htm [Accessed 19 September 2001].
Walker A., 1999. The principles and Potential of Active Ageing - Keynote Introductory Report for the European Commission Conference on Active Ageing. Brussels: 15-16 November 1999.
ISTAT, 2000. Forze di Lavoro-Media 1999 (Annuario 2000). Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.
This literature review was prepared by the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB).
The EATT project defines older people as aged 35 plus. In the UK, the term "older people" or "older learners" would generally relate to the 55 plus age range. However, every effort will be made to bring the UK review as closely as possible to target age group of the EATT project.
A recent report (National UK Statistics, 2001) reveals that access to the Internet tends to decrease considerably with age with only 11 per cent of the 65 plus age group with access to the Internet in comparison to 69 per cent of 25 to 44 year olds.
In 1997, 193,956 people were registered as blind and 160,197 as partially sighted in the UK. The definition of blindness states that a person should have a visual acuity of less than 3/60 or visual acuity between 3/60 and 6/60 and a considerable contraction of the field of vision or visual acuity > 6/60 and the field contraction covering majority of the field. For partially sighted people, visual acuity is between 3/60 and 6/60 and a full field of vision, visual acuity between 6/60 and 6/24 and a moderate contraction of field of vision or visual acuity is up to 6/18, or even better, with a gross field defect (RNIB, 2001). Eighty per cent of people with sight problems in the UK are 65 or over.
UK government level policy on making IT accessible to older people is the responsibility of the e-government part of the Cabinet Office. This takes forward the modernising government agenda. Information about their activity and strategy can be found at www.e-envoy.gov.uk.
Some of the clearest policy statements, backed up with initial research, relevant to the EATT project are made within the policy documents "UK online" (2000) and "UK online strategy" (2001). These documents merely spell out an overall e-policy framework and do not mention specific group such as older people with vision impairments. However, inclusive access issues which relate to older people and people with a disability can be developed through these policies. Community and voluntary organisations have also been to the forefront in influencing inclusive Information society policy at Government level and lobbying for its development and implementation through these policies.
Ensuring that older people are confident in terms of computer literacy falls best within the over-arching theme, "Confident People". One of the Confident People UK government goals is to "embed information and communication technology skills in the education system and throughout lifelong learning". The government recognise that the elderly and disadvantaged have often developed resistance to learning computer literacy skills, sometimes because of unsuccessful attempts to learn in the past, sometimes because of a basic lack of confidence and opportunity. At the same time, research by the Department for Education and Employment or DfEE (2000a) showed that if older people aged 50 plus elderly and disadvantaged people want to and choose to learn, they are more likely to pursue IT skills acquisition than any other learning activity.
Recent relevant UK policy should be viewed in light of the European Convention on Human Rights and its incorporation into UK Law in 1998 under the Human Rights Act. This Act prohibits discrimination and requires public bodies to ensure the right to education. Even more recent UK legislation, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (SENDA) 2001, requires changes to college and university policy and practice. These have clear implications for meeting the needs of students with disabilities, including students with a serious sight loss who require equal access to the curriculum through assistive technology.
The Act states that education providers must not treat learners with a disability "less favourably" for reasons relating to the disability and states that "reasonable adjustments" should be made such as providing learning materials to students with vision impairment in accessible formats (Braille, tape, disk, or large print). Some of the specific adjustments that can be made are summarised in JISC (2001) that include provision such as text enlargement software, large screens and screen-reading software for learners with vision impairment, accessible faculty intranets and institutional web sites.
The UK's higher education sector (degree level education and Higher National Certificate/ Diploma levels) has also been informed recently by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). The QAA published a Code of Practice on Students with Disabilities (1999). The Code sets out 24 precepts or standards which colleges and universities are obliged to meet. Covering teaching and learning, the precepts cover areas such as provision of equipment and assistive technology to learners with a disability. The three QAA Precepts of clear relevance to the EATT project are:
Initiatives/ Training Courses/ Services Encouraging Older People of all Abilities/ Disabilities/ Visual Impairment into IT Training
As would be expected, access to the Internet decreases with age in the UK. A very recent report (National UK Statistics, 2001) provides access details but does not employ the aged 35 and over age range cut-off. However, it reveals steadily rising percentages of Internet usage from July 2000 to July 2001 across different age bands. By July 2001:
More males had accessed it than females, 56% of males compared to 47% of females.
Much of this usage is very regular. That is, 9,400,000 households (38% of all households) could access the Internet from home. This constitutes a radical increase in 4 years. In 1997, only 9% of all households could access it from home. At a more superficial level, but one which is very relevant to this report, 51% of adults had "accessed the Internet at some time according to figures from the July 2001 National Statistics Omnibus Survey". This amounts to 23,000,000 UK adults. Most had accessed the Internet in the month prior to the survey suggesting levels of usage greater than only very occasional usage.
The government working group of professionals and practitioners reported in 2000 after a wide-ranging investigation of the basic skills needs of adults with learning difficulties and disabilities (DfEE, 2000b). It considered a range of improvements for skills teaching and learning. In its report 'Freedom to Learn: Basic Skills for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities', the working group specifically recommended that more funding should be made available to improve materials and IT equipment for teaching and learning.
It is worthwhile quoting from the report since the challenges it raises are relevant to the remit of the EATT Project:
Freedom to Learn, Page 6 Clause 12: "If they are to participate in classes, many disabled learners require specialist or individual support. This is frequently unavailable. Some learners require specialist equipment, such as tape recorders, touch screens, Braillers, voice synthesisers, without which they cannot learn at an appropriate level. Most would benefit from access to information technology where the software is appropriate. Many teachers are unfamiliar with the range of software available." (Emphasis added)
Freedom to Learn also considered access to basic skills for blind and partially sighted people (among the range of specific disabilities considered within its remit). It highlights the learning and assistive technology needs of two groups of people with vision impairments who are often neglected: those adults who experience sight loss later in life and those who have additional learning difficulties and/or hearing impairment. Poor access to technology is reported as one of the greatest barriers to learning because some colleges fail to provide for their needs and because the whole field of community education does not adequately provide assistive technology. It reports "an acute shortage of opportunities to learn tactile methods of reading and writing such as Braille" (DfEE, 2000b; 15). It therefore advocates better availability of assistive technology to "meet individual needs", and more specialist support staff familiar with IT including IT trainers themselves. One of the recommendations specific to vision impaired learners is phrased as follows: "Information technology training for the teachers and technical staff involved in continuing education should include information about, and instruction in the use of, the main types of specialist hardware and software that learners require for access".
This initiative ran throughout England from May 2000 until July 2001 and offered free, basic IT training to approximately 50,000 people. The aim of the initiative was to begin bridging the digital divide by offering people on state benefits the chance to develop confidence and skills in IT.
The UK government contracted out the training to a variety of training providers such as commercial training companies, voluntary organisations and further education colleges. Innovative delivery methods were employed. Sometimes, training was delivered on-site in colleges but in cases where recipients lived in remote rural locations, some providers delivered IT courses in community settings by means of laptop computers. Learners could commit themselves at first to a taster IT session to gauge potential suitability of more in-depth IT courses. At the initial stage, they could also receive a basic skills assessment to establish any specific or additional learning needs. All learners were enrolled on courses which could lead to qualifications and awarding body certification but they were not required to achieve a full qualification. Courses included European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and CLAIT.
Three main methods were used to target and encourage potential older learners to participate in this:
Potential learners considered eligible for this IT training included:
However, they all "had to be actively seeking work and have little or no IT experience". Those considered to be in retirement were seen to have a need for IT skills because many were shown to be remaining in a workplace (in paid or unpaid employment) beyond the official retirement age.
This initiative has now been evaluated and it has been shown that many older learners benefited from it. Over 70% of the learners were aged 35 plus while over 10% were classed as retired. An initial evaluation states: "Over 85% of participants rated their training as good or excellent, many later found work using IT, and most reported an increase in confidence, both with IT and in general" (Leatherbarrow, 2001).
The Department for Education and Science (DfES) stated that vision impaired learners were supported through this initiative but precise figures are not available. Some training was delivered in specialist colleges which had assistive technology available. While in other centres, particularly in rural areas, appropriate assistive technology was not already in place. This point emphasises the lack of access to assistive technology within learning centres across the UK. Currently, there is an attempt to rectify this problem though cooperation the DfES and AbilityNet who seek to adopt pan-disability assistive technology solutions across a much wider range of learning centres than was tackled in the limited timescale of the UK online Computer Training initiative.
Throughout the UK, there are now many local communities and college initiatives all designed to introduce older people to computers and the Internet. As well as colleges, training venues can include libraries, community centres and residential homes. An example was featured in the Times Educational Supplement (2001) where Rotherham Council in England had created an initiative called "MaturITy". This was aimed at older people in residential homes and day care centres, encouraging them to learn IT skills.
In the UK, the main entry point to online learning is at learndirect; www.learndirect.co.uk. This is widening access to learning across the 35 plus age range and learning is computer based. However, learning centres are, generally speaking, not accessible to blind and partially sighted people. Currently, the community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind, has been attempting to influence inclusive Information Society policy at Government level by lobbying for the development and implementation of accessible distance and open learning environments.
The Technology for Disabilities Information Service (TechDis) initiative was formed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in 2001 and is based in York at the Institute for Learning and Teaching (see Phipps, 2001). It provides an information service to further and higher education. It aims to assist access to teaching, learning and research for learners with a disability and trainers and to promote innovative practice in accessible IT. It works collaboratively with other UK-based services such as the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) and is located at http://www.techdis.ac.uk/. Information is available on the main types of assistive technology that can be used by vision impaired learners and illustrates them briefly with case studies from students with a vision impairment (lawrie@techdis.ac.uk). This initiative offers an easily accessible, inexpensive source of information on the Internet and acts as a means of awareness raising for training providers.
The National Organisation for Adult Learning (NIACE) is one of the key organisations in the UK which campaigns on and influences public policy in the area of adult learning i.e. it is predominantly concerned with learners aged 35 plus. NIACE has led on a number of initiatives of relevance to EATT (see http://www.niace.org.uk/). It tends to provide briefing sheets which relate public policy in practical ways to older learners with disabilities. For example, it recently produced a briefing on the government's "joint investment plans (JIPs)" for older people (NIACE, 2001). Although JIPs relate primarily to health and social services, learning also features strongly. This is because the goal of JIPs is to move older people of working age towards working and out of poverty. At the practical level, NIACE is encouraging colleges and community education services to ensure they are involved in the drawing up of JIPs and in providing lifelong learning opportunities. NIACE has also produced a briefing sheet entitled 'Visually Impaired Older Learners' (NIACE, 2000) which emphasises the point that the needs of older vision impaired learners often go unrecognised. The briefing sheet also contains useful contact details for the main UK organisations that provide support to this group.
Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability (HAFAD) in London runs a number of disability led services including computer courses for any person with a disability. Learners range from those with no previous experience to those who are already skilled but wish to enhance their knowledge. A vision impaired users group meets at HAFAD regularly (http://www.hafad.fsworld.co.uk/).
RNIB's Technology in Learning and Employment (TiLE) centre in England offers a set of factsheets to people with vision impairments on issues to do with using assistive technology (http://www.rnib.org.uk/technology/ factsheets/factsheets.htm). RNIB's factsheet on training provides a very comprehensive summary of training courses available in the UK and training providers. Sections in the factsheet discuss the following: selecting a trainer, self-training, training establishments which provide a list of trainers and consultants, user groups and technology suppliers who offer training.
Examples of specialist training establishments offering IT courses to people with vision impairments include:
Dorton College of Further Education in Kent, offering advanced access to Microsoft Windows courses with assistive technology, and ECDL through the Internet
RNIB Vocational College in Loughborough, offering a range of short IT courses and longer vocational qualifications both on-site and by means of outreach support to students at various other regional colleges; specific mention is made to opportunities for older learners
Kingsway College in London, offering a one-year London Open College Network accredited IT course and an evening Internet course, both of which include training in Microsoft Windows 95 using assistive technology.
In recognition of the lack of any formal standard set for the provision of training to people with vision impairments in computer literacy skills using assistive technology, the British Computer Association for the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certificate Scheme was set up in 2001. This scheme was resourced by the community and voluntary organisation, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). Consultation was made with the suppliers of assistive technology and those who provided training in their use. National standards were set which would measure a trainer's professional competence and arrangements were made with the Institute of IT Training (IITT) to adopt an accessible version of their Training Skills refresher course.
People with vision impairments can now use this standard as an assurance that they will receive value for their money. Both people with vision impairments and product suppliers will be able to source a suitably qualified trainer in their area so that they can avail of local quality training. In addition, the DfEE will be able to ensure that training provided for students or training provided under the Access to Work Scheme, have the BCAB certification. This scheme has been found to be effective and workable and is recognised and supported by independent bodies and Central Government. The BCAB schemes distinctiveness lies in the very wide range of products in which trainer's competence is assessed and certified.
At the level of policy, the UK is moving ahead at a governmental level in ways which fit with the remit and goals of the EATT project. In some geographical areas within the UK, there are providers, trainers and agencies which do actually provide good one-to-one IT training opportunities for people with vision impairments aged over 35 year. There is a much wider set of providers able to provide training opportunities under a widening participation umbrella for similar groups: older learners generally, people with other disabilities, and so on. However, as is often the case, there is significant evidence of patchiness in provision for people with vision impairments aged over 35 year who specifically want to learn IT skills. There is not a lot of evidence of provision existing outside specialist providers such as RNIB Vocational College and HAFED. Certainly, at the level of UK wide online learning is simply not accessible and remaining so for some time to come. The EATT project is therefore suitably placed to make a substantial contribution, widening access to people aged over 35 year who seek a way back into work through re-skilling and enhanced independence in working with IT.
Finally, the EATT project should also bear in mind that the UK now has a widely accepted assistive technology trainer certification scheme (BCAB) (West, 2001). This sets a national standard in training skills and in knowledge of IT products. Discussions are currently taking place about the possibility of this scheme being extend to other countries.
Bruce, I., McKennell, A. and Walker, E., 1991. Blind and Partially Sighted Adults in Britain: the RNIB Survey. London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office
DfEE, 2000a. Learning in Later Life: Motivation and Impact. London: DfEE IES Research Report 183
DfEE, 2000b. Freedom to Learn: Basic Skills for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities. Report of the Working Group Looking into the Basic Skills Needs of Adults with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities [Online]. Nottingham: DfEE Publications. Available from: http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/freedomtolearn/front.htm
Grundy, E., Ahlberg, D., Ali, M., Breeze, E. & Sloggett, A. 1999. Disability in Great Britain. London: Department of Social Security
Joint Information Systems Committee, 2001. 'Disability, Technology and Legislation: New Pressures and New Opportunities for Further and Higher Education Institutions and Staff'. Senior Management Briefing [Online], Paper 15. Available from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk
Leatherbarrow, K., 2001. UK online Computer Training. Sheffield: Department of Work and Pensions
NIACE, 2001. Joint Investment Plans: the Implications for Education and Training Providers [Online]. Available from: http://www.niace.org.uk/Information/Briefing_sheets/JIPs.htm
NIACE, 2000. Visually Impaired Older Learners: NIACE briefing Sheet 16 [Online]. Available from: http://www.niace.org.uk/Information/Briefing_sheets.htm
National UK Statistics, 2001. Internet Access: Households and Individuals [Online], September. Available from: www.statistics.gov.uk
Office of the e-Envoy, 2001. UK Online Strategy [Online]. Available from: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/champions/actionplan_menu.htm [Accessed: 4 May 2001]
Phipps, L., 2001. Technology for Disabilities Information Service. JISC News: JISC Technology and Standards Watch, Issue 10, Summer, 2
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 1999. Code of Practice on Students with Disabilities [Online]. Available from: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/public/cop/copswd/contents.htm
Royal National Institute for the Blind, 2001a. Office of National Statistics mid - 1996 Population Estimates, Estimates for 1996 of Visually Impaired people and the Number of People Registered as Blind and Partially Sighted as at 31 March 1997 in the United Kingdom. Available from: www.rnib.org.uk
Royal National Institute for the Blind, 2001b. See It Right. London: Royal National Institute for the Blind
UK online, 2000. Annual Report of the e-Minister and the e-Envoy [Online]. Available from: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/progress/anrep1/text/default.htm
West, R., 2001. The British Computer Association of the Blind (BCAB) Trainer Certification Scheme. New Beacon, 85 (999), 30-35
Questionnaire about the use of information and communication technology by people with vision impairments from 35 to 65
1. Date of birth:
19
2. Sex:
Male
Female
3. What country are you currently living in?
Denmark
France
United Kingdom
Ireland
Italy
4. Visual condition (according to World Health Organisation)
Blindness
Low vision
5. Do you live alone?
YES
NO
If the person is living alone go to question 7
6. If not, do you live with?
Your spouse/partner
Your children
Your parents
Your brother(s) or sister(s)
Other relatives
In sheltered accommodation
Other (please specify)
7. How many children do you have within the following age ranges?
No children
Under 5
From 5 to 10
From 10 to 15
Above 20
8. You live in a area with:
Remote rural area
Less than 1000 inhabitants
Less than 5000 inhabitants
From 5000 to 20 000 inhabitants
From 20 000 to 100 000 inhabitants
From 100 000 to 200 000 inhabitants
More than 200 000 inhabitants
9. Do you have any public transport close to your home?
YES
NO
10. If yes, which one? (several answers possible)
Bus/ tramway
Underground (subway)
Train
Coach
Other (please specify)
11. Do you use it?
YES, alone
YES with somebody's help
NO
12. Outside of public transport, how do you travel? (several answers possible)
Taxi
With somebody (a relative, friends)
Personal vehicle (I can drive)
Cycles
I don't travel
Special transport for disabled people
13. Educational level:
No diploma or qualification
School Leaving Certificate
Standard Grades/GCSE
GNVQ/SVQ
SCE Highers/A Levels
Vocational training certificate e.g., HND/HNC
First degree (3 or 4years)
Masters degree or similar (postgraduate)
Doctoral
14. In which professional situation are you?
Employed
Unemployed
Looking for a job (in receipt of benefit)
Since when?
In training/education
Looking for vocational guidance
Since when?
I don't look for a job or a training course
15. Income (several answers possible)
Earnings (salary)
Social benefits
Other
16. What is your monthly net income
No income
Less than €750
Between €750 and €1500
Between €1500 and €3000
More than €3000
No answer
17. Which means of information (and/or media) do you use? (several answers possible)
Television
Teletext by television
Radio
The Web
Audio tapes
Newspaper, bulletins, booklets
Books
Letters, circular letters
Nothing
Other: (please specify)
18. Which means of communication do you use? (several answers possible)
Telephone
Mobile telephone
Print writing
Typewriting/word processing
Braille
Meetings with people
Electronic Mail
The Web (chat rooms)
Nothing
Other (please specify)
19. Which means of information and communication would you like to access or develop in the future? (several answers possible)
Mobile telephone
T.V (access to cable, to satellite)
Radio
Web/email
Newspaper/Magazine subscription
Talking books or audio tapes
Other (please specify)
20. How do you read written documents at home? (several answers possible)
Alone, normal black print
Alone, enlarged black print
Alone, Braille print
With somebody's help
With a technical device e.g. LVA
I don't read
21. Do you have a personal computer at home?
YES
NO
22. If yes, is the computer equipped with special devices for people with vision impairments?
YES
NO
If the person is not employed (and not in training) don't ask questions 23, 24, 25
23. How do you read documents at work? (several answers possible)
Alone, normal black print
Alone, enlarged black print
Alone, Braille print
With somebody's help
With a technical device e.g. LVA
I don't read
24. Do you have a computer at your place of work (or training)?
YES
NO
25. If yes, is the computer equipped with special devices for people with vision impairments?
YES
NO
If the person has no computer at home and at work, go to question 41
26. At home or at work (or in training) who use the computer? (several answers possible)
Myself
My colleagues
My spouse/partner
My children
Other (please specify)
If the person doesn't use the computer herself (at home or at work), go to question 42
27. When did you start using the computer?
28. How have you obtained your skills to use a computer? (several answers possible)
Alone
Thanks to training
Thanks to my colleagues
Thanks to my friends or relatives
Thanks to my children
If the person has had no training, go to question 33
29. This training was done:
In a professional context?
In a personal context?
30. Who gave you this training?
The sales representative
A mainstream training centre
A specialised training centre for people with vision impairments
Other (please specify)
31. How long was the training?
Less than 10 hours
Less than 40 hours
Less than 80 hours
More than 80 hours
32. Was the training sufficient to use the computer as you wanted to?
YES
NO
33. What input skills devices are you able to use?
Mouse
Keyboard (few fingers)
keyboard (10 fingers)
34. Which operating system are you able to use? (several answers possible)
DOS
Windows
Linux
Other (please specify)
35. What are your skill levels in operating the computer?
I only capture data
I use and know only one software package
I can use several software packages
I can customise the computer to suit my own needs
36. Which software packages do you use? (several answers possible)
Word processing
Spreadsheet
Database management
CD Rom games, encyclopaedia, etc
OCR with scanner
37. Have you used Electronic mail?
YES
NO
38. If not, why?
I'm not interested
I don't know how to use it
I'm not connected
39. Have you undertaken search on the Web?
YES
NO
40. If not, why?
I'm not interested
I don't know how to use the Web
I'm not connected
If you have asked questions 27 to 40, go to 42
41. If you don't have a computer, could you tell us why? (several answers possible)
I don't know what use a computer would be to me
It's too expensive
I don't know how to use it
I'm not interested in it
Other (please specify)
42. How do you do your shopping (foodstuffs, toiletries, essential items, etc) (several answers possible)
I do it by myself
I do it with somebody's help
Somebody does it for me
I order by phone
I order by the Web
Special catering service
43. How do you do other types of shopping (furniture, clothes, etc)? (several answers possible)
I do it by myself
I do it with somebody help
Somebody does it for me
I order by phone
I order by mail
I order by the Web
44. Is your current means of access to consumer goods satisfying for you?
YES
NO
45. If not, why? (several answers possible)
Mobility problem
Information is inaccessible
Nobody to help me
I don't know the Web
46. Which means would you like to develop in the future in order to get better access to consumer goods? (several answers possible)
Mail order
Telephone
The Web
Nothing
Other (please specify)
47. In which context did you attend school? (several answers possible)
General education (mainstream) without
specialised service help
General education (mainstream)
With specialised service help
In a specialised school
48. Did you attend vocational trainingor third level education?
YES
NO
If not go to question 52
49. If yes in which context?
General education (mainstream) without
Specialised service help
General education (mainstream)
With specialised service help
In a specialised school
50. In which economic area did you do your vocational/educational training? (see codes of economic activities)
Code
51. When was it?
52. Which assistive technology are you using at homeor in training or in education? (several answers possible)
Closed circuit television
Large character software
Computer using customised access options
Computer with large monitor
Computer and Braille keyboard
Computer and speech synthesis
Braille note taking device
Scanner
Nothing
53. Did you attend a training course to use it?
YES
NO
54. How long did this training last?:
Less than 10 hours
Less than 40 hours
Less than 80 hours
More than 80 hours
55. Would you like to attend a training course (initial or additional) to use ICT?
YES
NO
If the person is not employed go to 67
56. What is your professional category?
Senior Manager
Middle Manager
White collar professional
Employees
Manual Workers
Self employed
Other (please specify)
57. If employed, what type of contract do you have?
Permanent contract
Fixed termed contract
Other (please specify)
Do you work?
Part time
Full time
58. In which economic area are you working?(see code of economic activities)
Code:
59. Is your firm using ICT? (information technology, the Web, email)
YES
NO
60. Which assistive technology are you using at work? (several answers possible)
Closed circuit television
Large Character software
Computer using customised access options
Computer with large screen
Computer and Braille keyboard
Computer and speech synthesis
Braille note taking device
Scanner
Nothing
Other (please specify)
61. Do you think that having better skills in the use of ICT would help you: (several answers possible)
YES NO
In your job
For further professional integration
For career development
To get access to another job
62. Is there a training plan in your firm?
YES
NO
I don't know
63. Do you have access to this training plan?
YES
NO
I don't know
64. Does this training plan offer any ICT training?
YES
NO
I don't know
65. If not, why?
There is no training plan
There is no specialised training for people with vision impairments
66. Do you think that with better skills in ICT, it would be easier for you to look for a job or to improve your career development?
YES
NO
I don't know
67. If yes, would you like to get the opportunity of going on a training course like: (several answers possible)
YES NO
Introduction to ICT
Word processing
Spreadsheet
Database management
Electronic mail
The Web
1. Date of birth:
19
2. Sex:
Male
Female
3. Since when have you been working as an ICT training provider?
4. In which sector are you working?
Public
Private
Voluntary
5. What percentage of your trainees/students fall within the following age ranges? (Several answers possible)
16 - 20
21 - 34
35 - 45
46 - 55
56 - 65
65 +
6. Which is the entry level of the training?
No diploma or qualification
School Leaving Certificate
GCSE
GNVQ/SVQ (technical)
SCE Higher /A Levels
Vocational training certificate e.g., HND/HNC (2 years)
First degree (3 or 4years)
Masters degree or similar (postgraduate)
Doctoral
7. Which level do you reach after the training?
No diploma or qualification
School Leaving Certificate
Standard Grades/GCSE
GNVQ/SVQ
SCE/A Levels
Vocational training certificate e.g. HND/HNC
First Degree (3 or 4years)
Masters Degree or similar (postgraduate)
Doctoral
8. Which kind of certificate do you get after the training?
No certificate
Training course frequency certificate
ECDL
Specific ITC training certificate
Other (please specify)
9. Are there selection or recruitment tests to take the training?
YES
NO
10. Do you know what vision impairment means?
YES
NO
I'm not sure
11. Do you think that people with vision impairments would be able to attend ICT training in your mainstream provision?
YES
NO
If yes, go to question 13
12. If not, why? (Several answers possible)
The training should be made in a specialised context
We don't know anything about vision impairment
We don't know anything about adapted training provision
We don't know of any specialised providers to help us
We don't have adapted equipment
We can't modify the mainstream program
13. Have you already worked with vision impaired person?
YES
NO
If not go to question 28
14. If yes what was their visual condition? (Both option may be selected if relevant)
Blindness
Low vision
15. How did they read? (Both option may be selected if relevant)
Could read standard/large print
Braille
Both
16. What was your first feeling when you were required to work with a vision impaired person? (Several answers possible)
Fear
Enthusiasm
I was OK because I didn't have any choice
I was OK with some reservations
Other (please specify)
17. According to you, which conditions seem to be compulsory for providing training for a vision impaired person? (Several answers possible)
Assistive aids and technology
Specialised Training Strategies
Adapted premises
Help from a specialised service
Need of vision impaired trainers
Others (please specify)
18. Within the following, which feelings occurred to you during the training? (Several answers possible)
I was uneasy with people with vision impairments
I thought they couldn't be integrated into the group
It was difficult for me to communicate with them
I was afraid not to be able to adapt my training strategy
I didn't have any interest in the project
I don't have any opinion
Others (please specify)
19. Did you get specialised support before the training?
Yes
No
If no go to question 22
20. If yes which one?
Workplace adaptation
Information, awareness of visual impairment
Adapted training strategies
Others (please specify)
21. What do you think of this support:?
Very satisfactory
Satisfactory
Not very satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Go to question 23
22. Would you have liked to have had specialised support before the training?
Yes
No
No opinion
23. Did you have specialised support during the training?
Yes
No
If not go to question 26
24. If yes which type?
Adapted training strategies
Adapted aids and technology
Assessments, meetings, follow up from a specialised service
Vision impaired trainers
Others (Please specify)
25. What did you think of this support?
Very satisfactory
Satisfactory
Not very satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Go to question 27
26. Would you have liked to have had specialised support during the training?
Yes
No
No opinion
27. Would you agree to repeat this training experience with a vision impaired person?
Yes
No
No opinion
Go to question 30
28. If we suggested you enrolled a vision impaired person would you :
Agree
Disagree
Agree with some conditions
Which ones?
29. How would you feel about being involved in a project which trained people with vision impairments? (Several answers possible)
I would be uneasy with people with vision impairments
I think it would be difficult for them to be included in the group
I would have difficulty in communicating with them
I wouldn't know how to adapt my training strategies
I wouldn't be interested in this project
I would be interested in this new training experience
I trust the adaptability of people with vision impairments
I trust the intellectual capacity of people with vision impairments
I trust the motivation of people with vision impairments
I trust the specialised service support
I don't have any opinion
30. According to you, how could people with vision impairments benefit from gaining knowledge from an ICT course?
The six working hypotheses of this study all make reference to "levels" of computer literacy. Therefore, it was necessary to define exactly what was meant by "levels". In order to achieve this, twelve questions were designed to ascertain the amount IT usage of each respondent. Depending on the responses to these questions, points were awarded on a scale of 0 to 4 which indicated the likelihood of increasing IT skills.
The 12 questions are outlined below.
