DICE – Digital Inclusion Champions in Europe

DICE aims to help people with disabilities build the digital literacy skills needed to transition from VET centre training to mainstream education and employment, by creating an online community based on a peer support model, promoted and sustained by Digital Inclusion Champions called Digiplace4all. Digiplace4all provides user-generated information about disability, technology and digital inclusion along with mechanisms and guidance for accessing and providing peer support within stakeholder groups (people with disabilities, digital skills trainers, mainstream educators, employers). It includes social media tools for discussion, sharing, uploading of user generated content and webinar hosting. DICE addresses the inherently ad hoc nature of peer support for students with visual impairment learning ICT skills by providing a space where people with disabilities are linked with the information and supports they need. 

Year(s): 2013-2015

Target group(s): People with disabilities ; VET digital skills trainers ; Mainstream educators ; Employers

Website or other online channels:

Methodology

The DICE partnership elaborated a Stakeholder goals and requirements survey which reports the findings of the stakeholder requirements gathering study in all four partner countries and is the basis for the design of the DICE community website, called DigiPlace4all. For each country, there are separate individual National Reports which describe the requirements and motivations (including learning, social and personal needs) of each type of stakeholder - digital skills students with disabilities, digital skills trainers, mainstream educators and employers in that country. They describe the digital technologies and services they use, their needs for information and support regarding digital inclusion and skills building and the various sources of information they have  available to them. They draw conclusions about what information and supports are currently missing and how these can be provided within a peer support model. Where possible, they include an inventory of  useful existing peer support networks and relationships, information resources, forums, groups and other initiatives that DICE can link into, reference, use or reproduce.

Type of product

Online resource

Brief description of the outcomes

The DigiPlace4all website allows members to post offers of support or requests for one-to-one support by filling in an online form stating the nature of the support, how long needed, preferred communications mechanism, etc. It also allows members to respond in private to these requests. Short introductory videos are created to introduce members to each of the main sections – Get & Give One-to-One Support, Create and Share, Support in Education and Support in Employment. These are placed at the top of the DigiPlace4all home page.

Impact on target groups / Transferability potential

The project products intend to expand the assistive technology focus to tackle digital literacy and inclusion for people with disabilities. It also focus in much more detail on all key stakeholders involved in digital inclusion and work to create supports within each group but also we aim to establish relationships and supports across stakeholder groups. In addition, Digiplace4all adds accessible social networking and management functions in order to create mechanisms that can build and support a community that is interactive, self-managing, sustainable and flexible.

Promoter of the initiative: Interprojects Ltd.

Country: Belgium Bulgaria Ireland Poland

Languages available: English

Website or other online channels: www.interprojects.bg