Acessibilidade em documentos digitais: uma possibilidade de democratizar a informação e o conhecimento na Unipampa

Abstract

This study is linked to the research line Development of Educational Technologies in Network, of the Professional Master's Degree in Educational Technologies in Network of the Federal University of Santa Maria, started from the problem: How to support the teachers, servers and technical-administrative in education of the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa) in the process of creating accessible digital documents? In view of this questioning, the objectives listed were: 1) to propose solutions to make documents more accessible, providing democratization of information and knowledge; 2) promote accessibility at Unipampa through accessible digital documents; 3) adapt the accessibility recommendations WCAG 2.0 and eMAG 3.1 to the evolution of the manual. In this way, this research developed a manual with orientations for the creation of accessible digital documents in the text editors Microsoft Word 2010 and LibreOffice Writer. Moreover, to execute this study, the theoretical reference has brought information related to the democratization of information and knowledge, accessibility, assistive technology, universal design, as well as guidelines and recommendations for accessibility. The methodological approach for this project involved applied research, with a qualitative and descriptive approach and in the investigative context the case study was used. For the data collection, an online questionnaire was used to identify the degree of knowledge of the servers for the creation of digital documents and the importance of having a manual of guidelines for the accessibility of digital documents. After analyzing these data, a market research was made to identify the existence of manuals that guide the accessibility of digital documents. In addition, an exploratory research it was made with the intention of identifying features and functionalities that allow accessibility in documents in text editors (Microsoft Word 2010 and LibreOffice Writer); the guidelines WGAC 2.0 and eMAG 3.1 were also explored for the definition of adaptations to digital contents. Following this research, the final product of this dissertation was developed, the Guidelines Manual for creation digital documents accessible in the text editors Microsoft Word 2010 and LibreOffice Writer. After the manual was developed, the evaluation stage was followed, in which the servers and a blind consultant tested the manual and answered a questionnaire indicating possible improvements. Then the adjustments were made according to the suggestions given, and a document was created based on the guidelines of the manual which was sent to the servers, students and consultants for them to do the validation, answering whether the document was accessible or not. The results pointed out that the manual is a way to contribute with the servers of the Unipampa in the process of creation accessible digital documents. However, the contributions of the product developed in this study depend on the will and the conscience of the people to continue create and make available more accessible documents, making them a means of democratizing information and knowledge.