Harvesting (digital) Alternation in Ways that Knock-down Inaccessibility of New Generations - HAWKING - 101128741

Capacity building in the field of higher education (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE).

Project duration: 2023-2026

 

How does the Faculty of Management in Herceg Novi improve the accessibility of its website?

In today's digital age, the accessibility of websites becomes crucial so that all users, regardless of their abilities, can access information smoothly. The Faculty of Management in Herceg Novi (FM-HN) recognized this need and, through the Erasmus+ project HAWKING, implemented the Accessibility Menu by clicking on the icon image.png in the lower left corner of the site https://www.fm-hn.com/ , which allows users to adjust the display of the site according to their own needs.

Advanced site customization options

The Faculty of Management website was recently updated to improve accessibility and provide easier navigation for students with special needs. A new menu has been introduced with options that allow customization of content for all users. Among the features now available are "Screen Reader", which reads text that has been highlighted, as well as options to change the contrast.

Also, students can adjust the text size, line spacing and line height, thus increasing the readability of the content. "Highlight Links" helps make links easier to recognize, while the "Hide Images" allows you to eliminate images from the page. Also included are options to adjust the cursor for users with dyslexia and add a dictionary for better interpretation of content. The option to pause animations makes it easier to concentrate, while "Text Alignment" helps organize pages better.

Specific aids that are now available on the website of the Faculty of Management Herceg Novi, and within the Accessibility menu, are as follows:

  1. Visual adaptation
  • Screen Reader - Allows visually impaired users to use a screen reader.
  • Contrast + - Increases color contrast to make content clearer and more readable.
  • Smart Contrast - Automatically adjusts contrast for better visibility.
  • Saturation - Adjusts the color saturation to make the site more pleasant to look at.
  1. Text and navigation improvements
  • Bigger Text – Increases text size for better readability.
  • Text Spacing - Adjusts the spacing between letters and words for easier reading.
  • Line Height – Increases the height of lines for better visibility.
  • Text Align - Allows you to align the text left, right or centered.
  1. Interactive and useful functions
  • Highlight Links – Highlighting all links on the page for easier navigation.
  • Tooltips – Enables the display of additional information when the user hovers over certain elements.
  • Cursor – Adjusting the mouse cursor for better visibility.
  • Page Structure - Shows the structure of the page to help users navigate.
  1. Support for people with dyslexia and sensory hypersensitivity
  • Dyslexia Friendly – ​​Changes font and letter spacing to improve readability for people with dyslexia.
  • Pause Animations – Pauses animations to prevent distraction for users, especially those with sensory hypersensitivity.
  • Hide Images – Hides images so users can focus on textual content.
  • Dictionary - Provides a quick explanation of unknown words by clicking on them.

 

In addition to the above functions, the FM-HN site also offers a Reset All Accessibility Settings, which users can use to quickly return all settings to their default values. Also, I can move or hide the Accessibility Widget depending on my needs.

 

By introducing this accessible menu through the Erasmus+ HAWKING, the Faculty of Management in Herceg Novi shows its commitment to digital inclusion and enables all users to access important information without obstacles. This newspaper allows students with special needs to more easily access all the resources of the faculty. Initiatives like these are key to improving the digital experience, making the web accessible to everyone, regardless of individual abilities and needs.

 

Meeting of the project team of the Erasmus+ project HAWKING - Sarajevo

On June 4 and 5, a meeting of the project team of the Erasmus+ project HAWKING was held at the Rectorate of the University of East Sarajevo, and the meeting was attended by representatives of the Faculty of Management Herceg Novi, which is also a partner in this project.

The HAWKING project, whose coordinator is the University of Montenegro, aims to address the inequalities faced by people with disabilities, especially in terms of educational and work opportunities in the Western Balkans region, with special reference to the transition from secondary to higher education.

The main goal of this project is the promotion of digital transformation in higher education through the prism of social justice, with an emphasis on equality, fairness and accessibility for students with disabilities.

The consortium of the HAWKING project includes 15 institutions, of which seven are higher education institutions from the Western Balkans - from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, and five higher education institutions from the EU and countries associated with the program - Slovenia, Turkey, Portugal, Serbia and Cyprus, and 3 NGOs from the Western Balkans region.