Project @pple's overarching aim was to explore, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the terms on which people with learning disabilities can access and participate in the range of opportunities presented by e-Learning and the World Wide Web.

Learning Environment development

A central project objective was to develop an accessible and inclusive Learning Environment (LE) with people with learning disabilities, their teachers and supporters. The LE would be designed to match the individual learning approach of special education with the personalisation capacity of an e-Learning system. It would also enable learners to produce accessible e-Portfolios of multimedia for self-advocacy and assisted communication in a way that built upon Trans-active's approach and extended its use to older and less able learners in the wider community . The project realised this objective with development and trial of an LE prototype.

Research Objectives

The research would primarily explore:

• The extent to which the LE supported users in the processes of learning, advocacy and communication relevant to the individual and his/her lifestyle
• The range of factors that influenced the adoption or rejection of the LE and the barriers and constraints that inhibited its development and use

A further objective of Project @pple was to develop new accessibility guidelines for the design of e-Learning and Web content. Specifically, we wished to place the accessibility requirements of people with learning disabilities as ICT users on an equal footing with those with sensory and physical disability, particularly in the context of the W3C Accessibility Initiative Group .

The Project @pple team

The Project established a wide ranging consortium comprising; Xtensis, a commercial e-Learning Developer; Macromedia, the US multimedia software corporation; Mencap, the leading UK learning disability charity; and researchers from the disciplines of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Psychology (both UEL) Informatics (UCL), and Communication and Language Science (UEA). The Project was coordinated from The Rix Centre at the University of East London, a Research Centre specialising in applications of ICT for the benefit of people with learning disabilities.

TOP