W3C Launches an Introduction to Web Accessibility Free Online Course in Cooperation with UNESCO IITE
From the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C):
On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) announced the launch of the online course built on the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) open curricula with international expert trainers from W3C Member organizations.
[The MOOC begins on January 20, 2020.]
The “Introduction to Web Accessibility” Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) introduces digital accessibility, and provides a strong foundation for making websites and apps work well for people with disabilities, meet international standards, and enhance the user experience for all web users.
[Clip]
Designed to teach the fundamentals of Web accessibility and their benefits for people with and without disabilities, the Introduction to Web Accessibility course is intended for a wide range of Web professionals. As the Web has become indispensable for our daily lives, accessibility for people with disabilities has become increasingly essential for many organizations and governments around the world.
The course follows a logical progression exploring Web accessibility through real stories of people with disabilities; the many tangible and intangible benefits of Web accessibility, including its business case; the related international standards and checks; and how to integrate Web accessibility into organizational design and development processes. The course includes optional activities related to the particular skills students may want to develop; for example, coding activities and business development activities.
This course is based on the open curricula of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a framework for developing courses using role-based modules that build on and extend the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) accessibility training resources. These curricula will be available to anyone to use as an authoritative foundation for creating courses, and are being developed through the consensus process of the W3C Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) with support from the European Commission (EC) funded WAI-Guide Project (Grant 822245).
On edX, a non-profit platform for education and learning, W3Cx’s Introduction to Web Accessibility course features expert trainers from W3C Member organizations from around the world including: Deque, Infoaxia, Intopia, Knowbility, The Paciello Group, and Web Key IT, all using the WAI Open Curriculum.
Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement
Direct to Registration and Additional Information
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Funding, News, Patrons and Users

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.