Information Society Innovation Fund
Web 2.0 applications have effectively facilitated user-generated content, enabling users to be producers as well as consumers. However, most websites are not developed with accessibility in mind. This leaves visually handicapped people largely excluded from the benefits of these applications, which do not support screen reading software to translate various visual and navigational aspects. Web 2.0 applications often include live updates, which dynamically change the content. These updates need to be appropriately prompted to a screen reader so that the user is not rudely interrupted or the update ignored.
In developing countries such as India, the illiterate community will also benefit from such applications. A critical difference here is that this segment of the population would benefit from a visually rich application that helps the user navigate the site while reading out the content. Furthermore, a tool for creating and managing locally relevant content is also needed to address real and up-to-date information needs.
Pantoto Communities software is an open source framework that communities can use to manage their own community knowledge. While various NGOs and communities have utilized this software, it has not adequately addressed accessibility issues.
Web 2.0 applications are converting websites to interactive social platforms while also enabling organizations to collectively manage their own data and customer relations. However, the screen reading software is unable to handle these applications, which use scripts in addition to standardized mark-up of web pages.
This project proposes a platform for creating and managing locally relevant, accessible content for communities, designed to serve accessibility needs in a locally sustainable manner, and built with the latest Web technologies. The project also outlines a system for providing valuable feedback to web standard committees from a variety of print-disabled community contexts.
This project will test W3C WAI-ARIA standards in the context of an open source community-managed Web application development, as it is defined for the visually handicapped. Standards will also be tested in the context of illiteracy as seen in shepherd and craft communities that Servelots works with.
The project team will study and incorporate WAI-ARIA recommendations into the development of Pantoto Communities software. Project outputs, such as the software source and case studies, will be available through a web platform.
The project team will also work with associated rural communities with the help of local NGOs who will engage in the co-development of community-specific applications. The NGOs will work with the visually handicapped to test and deploy applications suited to their needs. Open source deployments will be implemented in rural contexts to involve craft and shepherding communities.
Servelots was founded in 1999 to provide highly cost-effective and user-friendly software for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with a special focus on organizations working in the social development sectors. In particular, Servelots focuses on those supporting the visually impaired and illiterate communities in rural areas.
Pantoto is a free and open source toolset developed and distributed by Servelots. Pantoto enables organizations to manage their information and communication without software development dependency. Over the last few years, Pantoto has been successfully deployed in various organizations through training on the concepts of Information and Community Management.
Servelots has been working on local content creation by providing software and support services to NGOs and other community platforms, for example, with shepherds and village crafts networks.
For more information about Servelots Infotech Pvt Ltd, visit http://www.servelots.com
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