Disabled people experience significant barriers to social participation and accessing education and employment. Many of them already use ICT to overcome the barriers they would otherwise face. However, ICT can be both an enabler which increases access and participation (opportunities) and a source of additional barriers, depending on its design and implementation. A Network of 16 European Partners and four third country partners will use electronic networking tools to gather information and thereby investigate both how ICT is currently used to support lifelong learning by disabled adults, and how it could best be used to overcome barriers and increase opportunities.

The underlying approach was information-based, with data organisation, evaluation and categorisation leading to a generation of added value. Three basic stages corresponded to three main implementation work packages: data gathering; data organisation, evaluation and categorisation; and data application. Specific outcomes related to the organisation, categorisation and evaluation of knowledge and included:
* Overview of current state of the art on ICT to support lifelong learning by disabled people
* Database of ICT solutions and examples of good practice, both commented on by end-users
* On-line modular in-service training for adult education teachers and other professionals
* Methodology for evaluation and categorisation of ICT to support disabled learners
* Principles and recommendations for good practice
* Recommendation for future research agenda
* Comparative evaluation of the current situation in 16 different countries
* Fully accessible web site with diverse networking tools

Particular attention was paid to dissemination and exploitation, and a high level international conference was organised. Future impacts and sustainability were ensured by, for instance, obtaining accreditation of the training and continuing maintenance of the on-line networking tools.

HTW Berlin was supposed to participate in all workpackages (WP) and lead WP2, the overall aims of which were data collection on the current state of the art with regards to ICT learning technology for disabled people, relevant legislation and regulations, methodological and pedagogical and end-user issues to support the development of case studies. HTW Berlin also participated significantly in the analysis and evaluation of the data obtained in WP2, including the categorisation and evaluation of existing ICT for lifelong learning by disabled people, and obtaining principles of good practice.

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hans-Heinrich Bothe (Projektleitung)

• Anke Engel (Projektmitarbeiter_in)
• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Schmidt (Projektmitarbeiter_in)
• Bärbel Sulzbacher (Projektmitarbeiter_in)

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)

P1 Slovenia, University of Primorska

P2 Austria, Johannes Kepler University Linz

P3 Germany, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin

P4 Poland, Centrum Rozwoju Inicjatyw Społecznych/ Civil Initiatives Development Centre

P5 UK, University of Glasgow

P6 Estonia, Estonian Foundation for the Visually Impaired

P7 Finland, University of Turku

P8 Germany, Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund Landesverband Niedersachsen e.V.

P9 Germany, Evangelische Stiftung Volmarstein

P10 Greece, ATHENA RC/ ILSP - Institute for Language and Speech Processing

P11 Ireland, University College Cork

P12 Italy, ISTI-CNR

P13 Lithuania, RTVMC

P14 Romania, The Romanian Foundation for Quality Promotion

P15 Slovenia, Arhinet

P16 UK, JISC

Third country partners:

P17 Australia, Macquarie University Accessibility service

P18 India, Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children

P19 Korea, Sogang University

P20 Serbia, University of Belgrade

Grundtvig Networks – Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP)