A General Framework for Inclusive Lifelong Learning in Higher Education Institutions with Adaptive Web-Based Services that Support Standards - E-Infrastructures and Technologies for Lifelong Learning - page 45

of users in the system through recommendations
(recommender system).
This framework is being applied in the context
of the EU4ALL project by the two main open
distance universities in Europe, which are the
ones traditionally more focused on providing
LLL support for citizens. First, we comment
on what end-user services are required by each
institution. Next, we focus on a service based on
recommendations to support some adaptive and
inclusive end-user services at UNED.

count towards 200 different qualifications. The
university promotes distance learning and is open
to people, places, methods and ideas. Students
do not need to have any formal qualifications to
study. Over 10,000 students with disabilities are
studying courses with the Open University. In
this context, the needs of the OU deal with the
following services (Douce, 2009):

• Studying at the Open University: A stu-

dent contacts the university to register, re-
ceives a set of resources and is allocated a
personal tutor, who will often run a series
of face to face tutorials. Students submit
assignments to tutors, which are then re-
turned to them. At the end of the course,
students take an exam.

Instantiation of the Framework at the
EU4ALL Open Distance Universities

Going back to Figure 1, there are two institu-
tions represented. For instance, institution A can
be the Open University and institution B can be
the UNED. Each of them has its own needs and
provides their own services to their members
(Sa, Sb and Sc for the ICT services at institution
A or Open University, and Sd and Se for the ICT
services at institution B or UNED). By applying
the framework, the services are articulated though
the O-ASA and supported by a set of technological
components, which also differ among universities.
As a case study, we present how the framework
is used to deliver a service at UNED, including
the components required.
Both institutions have different technical and
user requirements that are translated into various
services to be offered to their members. These are
the services to be managed within the framework
following the lifecycle of service provision and
supported by the O-ASA. The resulting end user
services are open, interoperable, and can be pro-
vided to the users thanks to the flexibility of the
architecture.

• Asking questions about courses to make

decisions about how best to organize ac-
commodations when the student has addi-
tional requirements (e.g. to carry out field
trips or require assistants to complete a
course).

• Using courses and resources which pro-

vide alternative formats.

• Ordering and delivering of kits of assistive

technologies to follow the courses.

• Assess the effectiveness of the assistive

technology provided to a student to permit
the access and use of the system, since in
some cases, the choice of assistive technol-
ogy may not be appropriate, making it dif-
ficult for learners to study.

• Creating learning materials that consider

accessibility from the outset.

• Ordering alternatives for non-accessible

materials to create alternative learning ex-
periences or resources.

The Open University More details on the services under discus-

sion for implementation are provided elsewhere
(Cooper, 2009). The Open University has 150,000 undergradu-

ates, 30,000 people taking postgraduate courses.
The university offers over 600 courses which