Корпус стандартов цифровой доступности: современный этап развития применительно к электронному обучению

Abstract

The article deals with issues of standardization of e-learning digital accessibility. It aims to analyze the content of the current digital accessibility standards and to assess the possibility of their use to ensure the accessibility of e-learning and its components. International and Russian federal standards that are directly or indirectly related to the digital accessibility of e-learning were studied. The search for documents was carried out in October 2021 – February 2022 on the official websites of standardization bodies by thematic headings and keywords in the title or abstract of the document. A sample of 92 current standards was obtained, including: international (global) – 57 (62%); international (European) – 23 (25%); international (Commonwealth of Independent States) – 2 (3%); Russian federal – 10 (11%). Using the content analysis method, the standards were systematized according to the following parameters: publication date; publication language; full text access features; geographical coverage; digital accessibility standardized parameters; digital accessibility beneficiary groups. The corresponding data set was published in the Mendeley Data online repository. The obtained data were studied using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel. As a result of the study, five categories of digital accessibility standards were identified (by areas of application in elearning): digital content accessibility standards (39; 42%), software accessibility standards (26; 28%), Internet communications accessibility standards (10; 11%), standards for ensuring individual needs and preferences (20; 22%), standards for the development and interpretation of digital accessibility standards (15; 16%). Some standards (13; 14%) cover more than one category. It has been determined that the beneficiaries of applying the most digital accessibility standards are all e-learning users who may be in conditions that make learning difficult. The analysis has identified two key groups of standards that can be used as a basis for the implementation of universally accessible elearning – standards based on the WCAG and AccessForAll concepts. WCAG regulates the requirements for the development of accessible digital content, and AccessForAll methods for meeting the user’s personal needs and preferences. It was determined that both concepts together can form a unified system in which WCAG is a mandatory component, and AccessForAll is an optional one. The need to develop new combined standards for e-learning digital accessibility, taking into account the best standardization practices, has been identified.