Accessibility evaluation and monitoring actions are distributed activities based on the analysis and verification of a huge amount of data. In this paper we present an application prototype, which produces accessible and personalized outputs (by means of graphics and tables) in a feasible way, on the basis of Web pages accessibility validations, thereby making data more understandable and accessible to distributed Web authoring/editorial staffs.

Participatory sensing represents a promising perspective in the worldwide diffusion of smarter and smarter mobile devices. This paper proposes s2s, a peer-to-peer protocol to increase precision and effectiveness, as well as to reduce resources consuming on a system for participative sensing of noise pollution by means of common smartphones. S2s has been conceived with the aim to obtain an optimal scheme to lookup and query neighbors' information for improving quality of sensing and reducing data exchanges through the Net.

The Web 2.0 evolution has spread more interactive technologies which affected accessibility for users who navigate the Web by using assistive technologies. In particular, the partial download of new data, the continuous refreshing, and the massive use of scripting can represent significant barriers especially for people with visual impairments, who enjoy the Web by means of screen readers. On the other hand, such technologies can be an opportunity, because they can provide a new means of transcoding Web content, making the Web more accessible. In this article we present GAPforAPE, an augmented browsing system (based on Web browsers extensions) which offers a user's profiling system and transcodes Web content according to constrains declared by users: the same Web page is provided to any user, but GAPforAPE computes adequate customizations, by exploiting scripting technologies which usually affect Web pages accessibility. GAPforAPE imitates screen readers behavior: it applies a specific set of transcoding scripts devoted to a given Web site, when available, and a default set of transcoding operations otherwise. The continuous and quick evolution of the Web has shown that a crowdsourcing system is a desirable solution, letting the transcoding scripts evolve in the same way.

Web accessibility evaluations are typically done by means of automatic tools and by humans' assessments. Metrics about accessibility are devoted to quantify accessibility level or accessibility barriers, providing numerical synthesis from such evaluations. It is worth noting that, while automatic tools usually return binary values (meant as the presence or the absence of an error), human assessment in manual evaluations are subjective and can get values from a continuous range. In this paper we present a model which takes into account multiple manual evaluations and provides final single values. In particular, an extension of our previous metric BIF, called cBIF, has been designed and implemented to evaluate consistence and effectiveness of such a model. Suitable tools and the collaboration of a group of evaluators is supporting us to provide first results on our metric and is drawing interesting clues for future researches.

Once we assumed that Web accessibility is a right, we implicitly state the necessity of a governance of it. Beyond any regulation, institutions must provide themselves with suitable tools to control and support accessibility on typically large scale scenarios of content and resources. No doubt, the economic impact and effectiveness of these tools affect accessibility level. In this paper, we propose an application to effectively monitor Web accessibility from a geo-political point of view, by referring resources to the specific (category of) institutions which are in charge of it and to the geographical places they are addressed to. Snapshots of such a macro level spatial-geo-political analysis can be used to effectively focus investments and skills where they are actually necessary.

The Italian regulations about Web content accessibility impose HTML 4.01 strict, XHTML 1.0 strict or superior grammar validity. Such markup constraints are complied by a low percentage of Public Institution sites. In order to include the largest amount of not strict DTD sites on a synthetic, realistic representation of accessibility degree, this paper presents an experimental approach to set up parameters for making validity measures uniform, despite they are taken from evaluating different grammars. The proposed method allows for effectiveness in computing and storing information which otherwise will be quite unfeasible. Finally, the generalization of such an approach is shown to be suited for markup quality evaluations, beyond explicit law requirements.

How far are the Web sites from accessibility? Such a question implies a measure and, before, metrics or a set of metrics to quantitatively describe distances or closeness to one or more aspects of inclusion. Quantitative evaluations can effectively guide the improvement of sites quality and of skills which are necessary along the content authoring process. This paper details the hypothesized metrics and measures on the Vamolà project, which has been issued to integrate a monitor and a validator of the Web accessibility, according to the Italian Law. On Vamolà, the validation tool output can be effectively used in defining metrics inside the monitor application.

In disentangling edges and interpretation about the concept of learning object, pedagogists and computer scientists are still crossing their swords. Flexibility is opposed to standardization (i.e. strictness), context independence faces to portability, learning intent to accessibility and, finally, aggregation and granularity are not explicitly issued yet. Despite the widespread acceptance of standards, such as SCORM IMS Content Packaging, and of Learning Content management Systems, principles and practices in wrapping or splitting learning contents are not univocally ruled. Another complexity level arises from the wide use of platform tools done by users with the latest generations of LOs. The association between tools and content is addressed by Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) in many different ways, trying to find a balance between flexibility and standardization issues. This paper presents a new model, called CoCOON (COntent Case Organizer for Objects Nesting), based on well-known IEEE and IMS standards, to manage complex aggregation mechanisms among LOs and to provide many association levels to relate LOs and platform tools. The model has been tested by implementing extensions and modules to an open source LCMS (ATutor) and implementing a whole course to be used in a Master Degree.

Any approach to the issues of virtual reality implies a general question about how to effectively plunge inside it. Despite a great variety of settings, the more feedbacks are the same as real ones, the more users feel involved on a likely situation. We can split such an assumption into the necessity of effective gestural recognition and likelihood of virtual tools to reality. In this paper we will present a system to draw virtual graffiti on the PC screen, as it were a wall. A virtual, but tangible aerosol bomb has been designed and built, by exploiting the Nintendo console gaming device and sensor system. Our object has the same shape and the same way of use as a common, real spray paint dispenser and it can be used on quite every available graphics application on a Desktop or notebook case. Besides the advantages due to the low costs and the good accuracy of gesture recognition, our system confirms the importance of similarity in simulated scenarios.

Any approach to the issues of virtual reality implies a general question about how to effectively plunge inside it. Despite a great variety of settings, the more feedbacks are the same as real ones, the more users feel involved on a likely situation. We can split such an assumption into the necessity of effective gestural recognition and likelihood of virtual tools to reality. In this paper we will present a system to draw virtual graffiti on the PC screen, as it were a wall. A virtual, but tangible aerosol bomb has been designed and built, by exploiting the Nintendo console gaming device and sensor system. Our object has the same shape and the same way of use as a common, real spray paint dispenser and it can be used on quite every available graphics application on a Desktop or notebook case. Besides the advantages due to the low costs and the good accuracy of gesture recognition, our system confirms the importance of similarity in simulated scenarios.

Web 2.0 has definitively twisted roles and rules within processes leading to the final online resources we all can enjoy on the Internet. Producers and consumers of Web contents merged into “prosumers”, dialectically sharing their knowledge, their experiences, as well as their needs. Such novel dynamics provide a strong spin-off for e-learning methodologies and technologies, by allowing students participation along learning materials life cycle, from simple feedbacks, up to real enrichments of didactical resources. As elsewhere on the Web 2.0 scenario, inclusive aspects of e-learning 2.0 represent either a new challenge or a new opportunity. This paper presents an e-learning 2.0 tool which is able to support users during the collaborative editing of didactical contents, from simple text to compound multimedia. Starting from a resource provided by the lecturer, learners can contribute in adding alternative contents and views, creating a multidimensional information structure. The resulting enriched material can be tailored to a specific user by resorting to automatic adaptation mechanisms. By utilizing typical Web 2.0 interfaces, our system involves all the different actors (lecturers, learning technologists, student support services, staff developers and students) to play a key role in improving the accessibility and, more generally, the effectiveness of learning materials.

The Internet is turning into a participating community where consumers and producers of resources merge into "prosumers" , dialectically sharing their knowledge, their interests and needs. This Web 2.0 archetype is now strongly impacting on e-learning methodologies and technologies, by enforcing the participation of students in creating and sharing materials and resources. Overcoming latent alarms introduced by the coming out of new complex tools, e-learning 2.0 represents a new challenge for accessibility. The production of accessible contents can now be turned from an impossible mission centrally managed by teachers and institutions to a joint work of people improving learning materials. In this context, we present an e-learning 2.0 tool, designed and developed to support users in editing educational resources and compounding multimedia contents through a collaborative work. Starting from a multimedia resource provided by the lecturer, an entire community can contribute in adding alternative contents and views, creating a multidimensional information structure. The resulting enriched resource can be tailored to a specific user by resorting to automatic adaptation mechanisms. This system can be used to transform the content production workflow, involving all the different actors (lecturers, learning technologists, student support services, staff developers and students) playing a role in improving accessibility and, more generally, effectiveness of learning materials.

Sharing knowledge and creativeness is one of the fulfilled potentials of IT. The light hearted dimension of this so called "collective intelligence" is furthermore enforced by the arising Web 2.0 technologies together with the possibilities of massive multimedia employment. Interactive Story Telling is an example of such an assumption. This paper presents a system gathering IST, multimedia presentations and role game features to allow the creation and the modification of digital tales on an open easy-to-use environment.

Dialectically sharing knowledge everywhere, every time and, above all, very fast — as it is nowadays possible — has revealed the existence and importance of a common, distributed intelligence growing with the contribution of many individuals (a community). The iterating refinement of any information resource by a wider and wider community of sharers leads to undoubted advantages on the final quality and effectiveness of use of this information. Following this path and focusing on the e-learning field, we present a novel system, termed LAUGH, for the cooperative creation and sharing of SMIL-based multimedia resources. Such a system allows users (typically learners and teachers) to enrich the didactical material made available to the learning community. Specifically, they can add captions/subtitles and alternative annotations to the original multimedia contents by resorting to a Wiki-type interface. This open process promotes students' participation, data decentralization, assemblage from diverse sources, sharing of knowledge as well as an improvement to the efficacy of e-learning materials. Throughout the paper, we will meticulously show that LAUGH extends and improves the functionalities provided by the SMIL standard. This motivates the title of this article.

Accessible e-learning is becoming a key issue in ensuring a complete inclusion of people with disabilities within the knowledge society. Many efforts have been done to include accessibility information in e-learning metadata and the major result consists in the IMS AccessForAll Metadata definition. Unfortunately the complex behavior managed by this standard could be perceived by authors as a new boring and difficult activity enforcing the idea that the production of accessible Learning Objects (LOs) is too complex to be accomplished. This paper presents a novel component of an authoring and producing software architecture, designed and implemented to automatically create the IMS AccessForAll Metadata description of an accessible LO.