La educación enfrenta una constante evolución y la adopción de las nuevas tecnologías de información y comunicación (TICs) en las actividades académicas se refleja en la inclusión de cursos en modalidad virtual en el proceso formativo. Sin embargo, factores de accesibilidad de las plataformas y los cursos virtuales no se han tomado en cuenta en el  proceso formativo, en especial en países en desarrollo que no cuentan con legislación que incentive a tomar en cuenta la accesibilidad que representa un magnífico beneficio para estudiantes con discapacidad.En este trabajo se propone un marco metodológico de referencia para tomar en cuenta la accesibilidad en los diferentes procesos del ciclo de  vida de un proyecto educativo virtual. La metodología propuesta se ha basado en una norma de estandarización internacional y ha sido complementada con experiencias prácticas implementando cursos virtuales en diferentes contextos.Con el objetivo de validar el marco metodológico, un curso de formación virtual accesible para docentes ha sido preparado. La metodología ha sido validada con un proceso iterativo de tres fases, recolectando comentarios y sugerencias de los distintos actores involucrados en el proceso formativo para mejorar la comprensión y facilidad de uso de la misma. En el marco de una iniciativa de cooperación entre universidades europeas y latinoamericanas, la metodología ha sido difundida mediante un proceso de formación docente a gran escala. Un total de 12 ediciones del curso preparado han sido impartidas, 8 ediciones en formato semipresencial y 4 online. Un total de 1.182 docentes han sido formados (509 hombres y 673 mujeres). Este trabajo aporta una metodología basada en un marco para la descripción de la calidad de procesos de formación. Esto permitirá que cualquier institución pueda tomar como referencia esta metodología y realizar las adaptaciones necesarias para incorporar la accesibilidad en sus procesos de producción de cursos virtuales.

Modern handheld devices and wireless communications foster new kinds of communication and interaction that can define new approaches to teaching and learning. Mobile learning (m-learning) seeks to use them extensively, exactly in the same way in which e-learning uses personal computers and wired communication technologies. In this new mobile environment, new applications and educational models need to be created and tested to confirm (or reject) their validity and usefulness. In this article, we present a mobile tool aimed at self-assessment, which allows students to test their knowledge at any place and at any time. The degree to which the students' achievement improved is also evaluated, and a survey on the students' opinion of the new tool was also conducted. An experimental group of 20- to 21-year-old nursing students was chosen to test the tool. Results show that this kind of tool improves students' achievement and does not make necessary to introduce substantial changes in current teaching activities and methodology.

Given the importance of developing and offering accessible education for all, indispensable aspects of education for sustainable development (ESD) are needed. This study addresses that need by proposing a quality self-assessment for virtual education from an accessibility perspective. This proposal is based on previous literature about quality assurance in e-learning that considered accessibility and its application in the field of higher education. The bibliographic review was conducted by following Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) guidelines. The initial search returned 999 items from 5 academic databases and 32,200 professional sources from Google. After reviewing the sources, 37 of them were included. Then, the accessibility criteria were identified and integrated into an evaluation model. Such a model is divided into four dimensions: (1) organization, (2) student body, (3) teaching, and (4) infrastructure. The model also includes a set of standards (16), requirements (48), and evidence (63) that apply to each dimension. Moreover, self-assessment guidelines for accessible virtual education were proposed. They included a conceptual and theoretical framework, a self-assessment model, and a methodology for applying the model. The methodology included five phases: planning, model tuning or refinement of the model, evaluation, results, and continuous improvement. As future work, the implementation and validation of the guidelines will be carried out.

Modern handheld devices and wireless communications foster new kinds of communication and interaction that can define new approaches to teaching and learning. Mobile learning (m-learning) seeks to use them extensively, exactly in the same way in which e-learning uses personal computers and wired communication technologies. In this new mobile environment, new applications and educational models need to be created and tested to confirm (or reject) their validity and usefulness. In this article, we present a mobile tool aimed at self-assessment, which allows students to test their knowledge at any place and at any time. The degree to which the students' achievement improved is also evaluated, and a survey on the students' opinion of the new tool was also conducted. An experimental group of 20- to 21-year-old nursing students was chosen to test the tool. Results show that this kind of tool improves students' achievement and does not make necessary to introduce substantial changes in current teaching activities and methodology.

People with different capacities, such as the deaf and blind, have problems accessing educational content due to lack of accessible technology. Accessibility and usability are closely related concepts that share the goals for a satisfactory user experience. Existing literature establishes a direct relation between accessibility and usability, and reports that there are problems with both in learning platforms, and more generally with most websites. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the accessibility and usability of a learning platform by interrogating its participants. Three groups of students with different capacities (blind, deaf and deaf-blind) used an accessible learning platform prototype to assess the accessibility and usability of the platform and its contents. This article presents a comparative study of the perception and attitude of blind and deaf students towards the use of a learning platform adapted to their personal needs. Results showed that their attitude to the adaptation was very positive but there were differences in the perception of the ease of use of the application and with the level of difficulty to access the learning content. This work contributes to knowledge by showing the effects that adaptations have on learning contents for blind and deaf students in terms of accessibility and ease of use through the analysis of the perceptions of participants. Future work may consider increasing the sample of students, as well as developing and testing new technologies and approaches that address other forms of functional diversity.

This report presents a review of the accessibility models in Learning Resources and MOOCs with the aim of establishing common terms in the research of the EduTech project and other projects associated with virtual accessibility in member HEIs. This study is based on the search and analysis of articles and publications related to the subject following the MLR format. The results showed a lack of applicability and data that support the current situation in Latin America, however, the experiences of European projects and regulations that support their sustainability, establish guidelines that could guide implementation processes in higher education institutions in partner countries

The objective of this paper is to propose a set of guidelines to establish an office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The proposed guidelines help to integrate disjointed knowledge to facilitate its interpretation and implementation during deployment of basic support services in favor of students with disability. These guidelines can help to mitigate complexity in providing SAS for the first time in HEIs. These guidelines cover both the design and implementation of an office of SAS and its management. Knowledge was found through a multivocal literature review (MLR), which allowed to capture not only academic approaches but also vantage points and experiences from practice. Key concepts and aspects were organized into eight components (five related to the design and implementation, and three associated with the management context). An expert appraisal method was used as a proof of concept, which complemented a previously performed preliminary implementation example. Obtained results demonstrated the pertinence of the conceptual proposal and confirmed guidelines capability for full implementation in a real-world scenario.

E-learning environments constitute an essential element in education, as they help students to ensure their pass their courses and graduate on time. Although guidelines, techniques, and methods have been presented in some literature in recent years to contribute to the development of accessible e-learning environments that promote digital inclusion, their implementation is challenging. In this context, the use of accessibility metadata not only provides a way to enhance the description of adapted educational resources but also facilitates their search according to the needs and preferences of students, in particular those with disabilities. In this paper, a systematic review was conducted in order to provide the state of the art regarding the use of accessibility metadata in e-learning environments. A total of 746 documents were found during the period from 2012 to 2019, of which 31 were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria relevant to our review. The findings revealed an intensive use of models and standards of accessibility in e-learning environments, however, using accessibility metadata remains underused. In fact, the evaluation of accessibility and adaptability through the use of its metadata was not found. The findings obtained also helped to establish challenges and opportunities in this research field as well as to provide an overview that could support those who generate educational resources to keep their interest in making them accessible.