New digital accessibility regulations came into force on September 2018. This regulation implements the EU directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies into Finnish Act on the Provision of Digital Services 306/2019.
Accessible digital content is searchable, convenient, and cost-effective. This page provides publishers with the tools and knowledge needed to enable digital accessibility in a team through cultural change and raising awareness of the importance of inclusion. All Aalto publishers need to address digital accessibility as part of their everyday work. Educate yourself and colleagues – this is down to teamwork. Developers should be using WAI-ARIA techniques to make code accessible to assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to be able to validate that the user experience will be good enough. Accessible Web sites, mobile applications and online documents should be:
Providing accessible digital content to Aalto community helps implementing Aalto values of quality, inclusion, and connectivity.
Digital accessibility is not only about technical standards, web architecture, platforms and design. It is an issue of political will and of moral obligation, enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
Web accessibility allows everyone, including people with disabilities, to perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the Internet. The same vision of accessibility needs to apply to mobile applications, considering the developments in technology and trends in the last years.
What is a website and does it meet web accessibility regulations? The new regulations in Europe require each website to have an accessibility statement and, due to the age of the website, sites owned by the same organisation may have a different timeline for complying with the regulations. Source: ECS Accessibility Team (University of Southampton)
A Digital Service is a software service designed to fulfil a product capability and run on a Digital Platform. Such a service might be a monolith, or composed of multiple microservices. It’s owned by a single Digital Service team responsible for understanding its customers, and producing a service that meets their needs.
For the first time a common set of rules on intermediaries' obligations and accountability across the single market will open up new opportunities to provide digital services across borders, while ensuring a high level of protection to all users, no matter where they live in the EU.
Available only in Finnish: Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan digipalvelulain aiheuttamia muutoksia yliopistojen vastuissa liittyen tuottamiinsa digitaalisten palveluiden saatavuuteen ja saavutettavuuteen. Artikkeli myös avaa keskeiset lakiin liittyvät käsitteet.
https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibilityThe power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
Tim Berners-Lee
The easiest way to improve your online presence is to migrate to aalto.fi. Contact communications department to learn more and continue by reading only the great news below.
Aalto University's aalto.fi digital communications platform contains the different platforms in the same environment. An article page can be used to present any type of information or content.
This page will help you get to know the aalto.fi platform and its features.
An article page can be used to present any type of information or content. The topic can be, for example, collaboration options, a certain research area or architecture in Otaniemi. Here's how to do that.
How to write and edit English-language press releases and news.
You can find up-to-date news, contact information, chat and instructions of frequently used IT services at IT-help hub: accounts, passwords, email, MFA, vpn, printing, teams, zoom, VDI and guidelines how to procure workstations and phones.
This page compiles all Drupal instructions. Drupal is the content management system of the aalto.fi website.
The other way is to study basics of the Web accessibility below.
Reviewing your accessibility statement is an opportunity to check ‘usability’. The accessibility statement is not merely a list of compliance criteria – which in itself is not very helpful. Many assistive technology users have to navigate the entire page before they can even find the statement. A good statement will add value for diverse users by giving them practical advice on how to improve their experience with web browser features or add-ons, or by explaining how to turn on the captions for videos. Thus, the accessibility statement can become a resource for students, partners and employees rather than purely a legal document.
All university websites and mobile applications must be accessible by 23 September 2020 and 23 June 2021 respectively.
Make your tuition accessible on MyCourses (MyCourses is based on Moodle).
Moodle is designed to provide equal functionality and information to all people. This means that there should be no barriers for people regardless of disabilities, assistive technologies that are used, different screen sizes and different input devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard and touchscreen).
Make your social media (like Facebook and Twitter) presence accessible. Being accessible online is important for every facet of your digital strategy.
https://www2.le.ac.uk/webcentre/plone/build/basics/add-images/alt-text
How to Be More Accessible on Social MediaUniversity of Glasgow, digital accessibility of social media
“Mobile accessibility” refers to making websites and applications more accessible to people with disabilities when they are using mobile phones and other devices.
Accessibility: what you need to know about mobile app development for people with special needs
The Teacher Services team develops digital services for teaching and learning and provides support for their use. The team is part of the Learning Services.
Various aids are available for reading many higher education books. This page includes examples of aids and tips for using them.
Accessibility guidelines by University of Helsinki including instructions for courses.
The WordPress community and the open source WordPress project is committed to being as inclusive and accessible as possible. WordPress aims to make the WordPress Admin and bundled themes fully WCAG 2.0 AA compliant where possible.
With more than 1 billion people with disabilities in the world, Microsoft believes that accessibility is essential to delivering on our mission to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” However, our mission doesn’t begin and end with the products we create and the services we offer. It extends to the culture of our workplace and weaving accessibility into the fabric of our company—from hiring people with disabilities, to creating inclusive marketing, and awarding our Accessibility in Action digital badge.
The report’s recommendations are aimed at doing much more than simply achieving compliance with the EU Web accessibility regulations. They set out how the requirements can be met in such a way as to improve learning and education for all students whether disabled or not.
This report has been produced in advance of the new digital accessibility regulations becoming law in September 2018, to help the Government and FE/HE providers put in place the necessary guidance and practical provisions to turn the regulations into reality.
Before sending your email message or sharing your document or spreadsheet, run the Accessibility Checker to make sure your Microsoft Office content is easy for people of all abilities to read and edit.
Make your Word documents accessible by Microsoft instructionsWebAIM: Creating accessible Word documents
PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents. PDF/A differs from PDF by omitting features ill-suited to long-term archiving. Library recommends ISO-standardized versions PDF/A-1a, PDF/A-1b & PDF/A-2.
Aalto University archive instructions for publication submission
"We handle accessibility of WordPress.com in two simple ways"
Wordpress Accessibility SupportLUT-diplomityö tarkastelee WordPress-julkaisujärjestelmää ja sen rakennetta sekä toiminnallisuuksia. Case-esimerkillä esitellään, miten saavutettavuus voidaan teknisesti toteuttaa WordPress-julkaisujärjestelmällä toteutetun verkkosivuston teemaan.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019110136216
Aalto University has a campus licence for ReadSpeaker text to speech.
Practical instructions (in Finnish) how documents can be made accessible.
Add speech to your website & apps to make your content available to a larger audience.
This validator checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc. Although automated testing is easy and free with the W3C validation service or WAVE, it is not sufficient; it can only auto-check about 30% of the accessibility issues. Hence, teams should not rely on these validation tools alone and proper user testing is essential to verify the accessibility of the Website.
This validator checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc.
You may use this video if you include a link to this page. More information is available in Using WAI Material: Permission to Use with Attribution.
These Aalto and Princeton guidelines are intended to help University staff, faculty, and students create accessible social media content.
These guidelines are intended to help University staff, faculty, and students create social media content that is accessible to people with disabilities.
Digital Education Strategies, The Chang School: Essential Skills for Business Leaders
Detailed information by ESAVI in Finnish and Swedish about the Web accessibility regulations and transition times
The EU directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies implemented into Finnish law.
Your service must be accessible to everyone who needs it. You may be breaking the law if you do not make it accessible. Start by thinking how Aalto users might access and use your service before you design or build anything. A short summary in Finnish.
Instructions on how to create and edit captions in Panopto.
Panopto media service for uploading and sharing videos and for creating video captures and webcasts.
In the future, it is desired to invest even more in a hybrid model that utilizes both contact and remote learning.
Collaboration tools (sharepoint.com)
Hybrid teaching in Aalto University - OPIT - Aalto University Wiki
Collection of digital collaboration tools for Aalto community
Collaboration tools enable collaboration and data sharing within groups, as well as publishing data to internet. All the services mentioned below can be accessed with Aalto username and password
Promote your digital skills via formal training and by getting inspiration from your co-workers and everyone in the Aalto community.
Excellent resources to understand digital accessibility provided by European universities. Study by The Finnish Institute of Technology (FITech) courses produced by Tampere University and MOOCs of Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart. Benchmark Glasgow and Harvard guidelines and resources to make your content accessible.
FITech Network University offers selected studies from all Finnish universities of technology. Update your digital skills free of charge. Courses are open and available for everyone from students to adults in working life. Search e.g. for "accessibility"
Start your exploration of accessible and inclusive teaching practice with the MOOC of Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart
Digital accessibility regulations came into force on September 2018. This regulation implements the EU directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies into UK law.
Harvard is committed to making its digital information and resources more easily available to everyone
Aalto Space allows you to book conference and group work facilities and helps you navigate the campus.
Digital Aalto is a university-level strategic initiative and you are invited to join us on our journey towards a digital future.
Digital Aalto is a university-level strategic initiative that helps us shape a sustainable future.
National learning data reserves for use by individuals and society. Finland is a model country for flexible learning in 2030. Learners are provided with data on their own learning in a secure manner. This enables and supports their learning throughout their lives.
Aalto University strives towards being an accessible, safe and healthy university where research, teaching and services are accessible for all.