WEB 2.0BEST PRACTICE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

WEB 2.0 BEST PRACTICE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
MFKK Feltalálói és Kutató Központ Szolgáltató Kft.
MFKK Invention and Research Center Services Co. Ltd.
Tétényi út 93
1119 Budapest
Hungary
www.mfkk.hu
Project: W@VE 2.0
2011. 04. 28
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Web 2.0 Services and Applications ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Usability Guidelines....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Specific Needs of Seniors........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Usability, Ergonomics and Accessibility...................................................................................................................... 9
General Design Considerations .................................................................................................................................... 10
Mobile Web 2.0............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
ANNEX I – List of Web Services and Applications Frequently Used by Seniors ................................................ 23
ANNEX II – List of Web 2.0 Services and Applications ................................................................................................ 43
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The W@VE 2.0 project has been called into life to meet the needs of a wide category of the European
population: seniors. It aims at helping them catch up with the new wave of ICT, also dubbed Web 2.0.
By doing so, it would enhance the quality of their lives by letting them take advantage of new services
and tools. This action is in line also with the Riga Agreement, which sets milestones for eliminating the
digital divide between older and younger generations of Internet users.
This report is a summary of existing Web 2.0 technologies from the perspective of senior citizens and
their needs.
“Seniors” is a very generic term, designating a very heterogeneous group with a variegated set of
needs and interests. While a senior individual aged 60 might typically need only slight adjustments of
the web environment to fully take advantage of it, a person aged 80 will clearly have different needs.
This report also aims to take into account the differences that exist between such groups.
The document is structured as follows:
1. Introduction: the general context of the report is presented and criteria for the subsequent
analysis are laid out.
2. Web 2.0 Services and Applications: a definition for Web 2.0 and its main features are given
and differences to Web 1.0 highlighted.
3. Usability Guidelines: is a general presentation of usability guidelines for web designers. Items
directly related to senior users will be emphasized.
4. Mobile Web 2.0: discusses mobile devices as access points to the web in the context of
“connected anywhere, anytime”. Some considerations from a senior user’s point of view are
made. Seniors are reported to increasingly use smartphones, therefore, a brief analysis is
necessary.
5. Conclusions: this section gives a summary of the previous sections and draws some general
conclusions.
6. Appendix I – List of Web Services and Applications Frequently Used by Seniors: presents
some popular web services or applications, from the perspective of senior users, sorted into six
categories: e-commerce, e-banking, e-learning, e-health, e-communication and e-information and
entertainment. These services and applications were not designed with senior users in mind or
have been designed to be used mainly by other age groups and may (or may not) have some
accessibility options. They have been selected, because they are frequently accessed by senior
users.
7. Appendix II – List of Web 2.0 Services and Applications: lists some typical Web 2.0
applications with a short description for each.
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INTRODUCTION
The structure of societies is transforming due to unprecedented demographic changes. One of the
challenges faced in line with this is the changing interaction of older persons with information and
communication technologies (ICT) and their attitude towards learning. Seniors (in most studies
referred to as “50 years and older”) show less participation both in ICT related activities and in
training and learning activities compared with their younger peers. However, authors such as Iller [11]
refer to upcoming new generations of older persons that have grown up in an environment
characterized by continuous learning (mostly in informal settings). She prognoses a change in the
proportion of older persons participating in learning activities in the near future, making it necessary
for training providers to adapt to the changing groups of customers and their needs and habits.
In parallel all these groups are acquainted with ICT-based learning (both formal and informal learning
settings) and increasingly articulate their interests in using new technologies for learning purposes.
8% of persons over 60 already learn by using electronic media [5]. Iller states that introductory
courses on using the internet are often fully booked and there are waiting lists and the number of
internet users over 60 is rapidly. Additionally, an emerging communication culture among seniors has
been identified that aims at overcoming and compensating restrictions in mobility with the help of
electronic media. It helps them keep in contact with friends, retrieve news, organise mail and legal
papers, or do the shopping without leaving the house – all via the Internet [20].
The growing of developing more suitable learning settings for older persons is even more pressing
considering the continuously rising number of persons participating in e-learning activities and the
change of learning settings at workplaces. There is a constant pressure in most business sectors to
keep the know-how up-to-date in order to compete on the labour market. Most trainings for these
learners (employees) are therefore focused on work-related issues. Enterprises are most often
creating their own learning cultures, training plans and offer active support from different sources
(e.g. HR department) for further qualifications. As a consequence recently retired people usually are
still comfortable with more or less formal learning settings, but with focus on their work-related
issues. Once they retire, a natural shift in interest as well as in purpose of learning is observable:
personal interests, self-fulfilment and most importantly, social activities gain importance. On the other
hand, the daily routine of “going to work” is interrupted and ties to that community tend to weaken. In
such situations, learning is often used as a “tool” in order to maintain social contacts and the actual
reason behind retired people enlisting to various courses. Bluntly put, the actual courses can serve as
pretext for bonding. Clearly, different approaches are needed for these learners.
The extent to which ICT is used by older adults is strongly influenced by the willingness of the target
group to acquire the necessary competences. This willingness on the other hand is positively
enhanced, if the system meets the requirements of the elderly [9].
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WEB 2.0 SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS
The term “Web 2.0” was allegedly coined by Darcy DiNucci, a consultant on electronic information
design, in 1999. Although it may suggest the creation of a new version of the web, in fact it does not
supersede any of the existing technologies, but adds new ones that facilitate or make possible
operations that make the web more collaborative than ever, providing new experiences and a set of
new tools that becomes bigger every day. Such technologies are: Ajax, XML, Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex,
RSS, PHP, Ruby, ColdFusion, Perl, Python, JSP, ASP or even the H.264/MPEG-4 motion-compensationbased codec.
The paradigm shift that occurred from “Web 1.0” to “Web 2.0” can be summarized as the change from
static content, which can be viewed, downloaded, etc. – much like a library – to content that can be
used in an interactive fashion. Web surfers no longer are simple “consumers” of on-line content, they
actively create, upload, share, modify, comment, tag content. That is why some prefer the term
“Read/Write Web”.
The main features of the “Web 2.0” are summarized under the acronym SLATES [14]:

Search: Finding the required information through keyword search, whether on the web or
within a given web site.

Links: Connects information together into a meaningful information ecosystem, providing the
pathways to easily move from one piece of information to the next.

Authoring: Surfers are no longer simple information viewers, consumers, etc. The information
stream can flow both ways, with users putting content on the web, editing it, modifying other
people’s edits, undoing own or third party edits, commenting, rating, linking, etc.

Tags: Behind this word are very short descriptions, most of the time single words, but never
exceeding 2-3 words, describing usually a non-text item on the web. They are akin to keywords
and attach meta-information to an item, providing a handle for categorization. Collections of
such tags may be referred to as "folksonomies" (i.e., folk taxonomies). Tags are seen by some
authors as the essence of “Web 2.0”. Research into whether coherent categorization schemes
can emerge from unsupervised tagging by users has led to positive answers [8].

Extensions (a.k.a. add-ons, plug-ins, etc.): Pieces of software that work usually in conjunction
with a web browser and add some functionality, e.g. the ability to view files that are not
natively supported by the browser (Adobe Flash player, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, Oracle
Java, Quicktime, Windows Media, etc.), perform functions that are not foreseen in the basic
design of the browser (including a change in appearance) or enable the user to write his own
code that will add custom functionality to the browser (e.g. automating the download of a
book, which has each page stored in a separate file). Technically speaking, extensions are tools
to transform the web into an application platform as well as a document server at the same
time.

Signals: The use of feeds such as syndication technologies (e.g. RSS) to notify users of content
changes.
This way, communication becomes asynchronous, toppling the “Web 1.0” request-answer
communication model. Another trend is the creation of so-called “mash-ups” or web application
hybrids. In fact it is the integration of contents of several types or from different sources into one
interface. Most Web 2.0 applications, especially social networking sites have benefited from their
advent. The technical framework supporting mash-ups consists of a wide variety of APIs (Application
Programming Interface), i.e., pieces of code, which act as “translators”, allowing interaction with third
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party data and usage of functionality developed by others, without knowledge of the inner workings of
the requested services.
Learning-by-doing becomes an important method of learning (especially in informal settings) in
today’s information society. Web 2.0 tools offer lots of functionality to support such forms of learning.
The main expectations in such settings are [6]:

Learner at the centre of the learning process

Shift of emphasis from teaching to learning

Learning is conceived as a social process

Collaborative knowledge creation – learners are co-producers in the learning process

Flexible, personalised

Suited for formal, non-formal, informal settings

Guidance and interaction continue to be important; the system should, if not take over, at least
facilitate these processes

Learning-by-doing becomes an important method of learning
The main innovative tools, associated with Web 2.0 technologies that can be used to serve the above
purposes are:

File sharing: the possibility to share virtually any type of content with anyone or just a
restricted group of users has become reality years ago. Beside the classic file sharing protocols
(e.g. bittorrent), now users can upload own content into the “cloud” and send the hyperlink for
download to anybody they wish. In a broader sense, file sharing may include content sharing,
which does not involve the sharing of actual content, (it remains physically at the same
provider / location), but rather sharing the link to access it. This includes services like
YouTube (for videos), Flickr or Picasa (for photos), etc.

Collaborative content: It is possible for users to create content online collaboratively, thus
harnessing the common knowledge of a group and making it available for further use to others.
In such environments there are virtually no limits to adding, deleting, modifying or undoing
modifications, be it the own contribution or someone else’s.

Blog: A contraction of “web log”, the primary function of a blog is that of a diary. It is related to
collaborative content creation in that it can be accessed by anyone and readers may post
comments. Several mutations are known: art blog, photoblog, video blogging and podcasting,
just to name a few. Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
Twitter is arguably the most popular microblogging application.

Social networking: Social networks are a comfortable means to bond with peers. There is a
wide variety of social networking services to be found on-line. The users, who register, are
then able to establish a network of relatives, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, etc. and
(usually within certain limits set by the users) can view or post content (text, photos, video,
audio, links, etc.), comment on it or rate it. The most successful social networking service to
date is Facebook with over 500 million registered users.

Social gaming: People of all ages like to play. At the same time, games can be a powerful
educational tool, if properly designed. The palette is very variegated, ranging from games
designed especially for educational purposes, through virtual reality games, recreating entire
universes, like Second Life and MMORPGs (Massively Multi-Player On-Line Role Play Games)
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as the tremendously successful World of Warcraft or EVE, to small games that populate social
networks. They all have in common their collaborative nature: users are prompted to achieve
goals that can only be accomplished together, never as an individual.
As can be deduced by analysing the above groups of applications, some overlap between these
categories exists. The functions these tools are deemed to fulfil individually or in combination are:

Sharing and transferring knowledge

Re-skilling

Allowing effective Lifelong Learning
From the above Web 2.0 tools, social networking services are able to integrate all the other elements,
besides the unique capability of creating a social network, which is probably the secret behind their
success. However, very little information is available about the online social networking habits of
seniors. Nevertheless, seniors are the fastest growing demographic segment in social networks. The
advertising industry is well aware of this fact and spends serious resources in an effort to attract as
many seniors as possible. A proposed model lists ten key factors that influence the use of social
networks by seniors [13]. These are:
1. Perceived privacy
2. Perceived security
3. Perceived trust
4. Gender
5. Web experience
6. Computer anxiety
7. Social norms
8. Enjoyment
9. Desire to give information
10. Desire to receive information
Since the information is very scarce, only a generalisation of the above guidelines for web best practice
can be suggested in relation to social networks for seniors.
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USABILITY GUIDELINES
“Generation 50+”, “Best Agers”, “Silversurfers” etc. are all terms that are applied as a label to the “new”
generation of older adults. This demographic group is expected to grow throughout the next years and
its economic and social impact will snowball – Baier and Kimpeler [2] point out that beside the biggest
proportion of available financial means they lead also when it comes to the amount of leisure time.
One recurring mistake made in research as well as in practice when dealing with older adults is
neglecting the heterogeneity of this group. As a result of this "age" or "older" are not to be used as a
sociological category and different age groups have been identified. Retirement now spans several
decades and involves different generations with a multitude of backgrounds, values, consumer
behaviours and technical experience.
On that basis a differentiation of the target group based on age, ability, aptitude and attitude as
proposed by Redish and Chisnell [17] is more appropriate and allows focusing on more segmented
groups of older persons. Although segmentation is only possible to a limited extent, the main aspects
to be taken into account are the following:

Age: One of the most common mistakes made by designers is the indiscriminate categorisation
in terms of “age”. In addition to chronological age, experiential age along with maturity
level, life experience have an undeniable influence (not only) on the person in question.

Ability: is normally referred to as the degree of physical and / or cognitive limitations or
restrictions. Some divide older adults into three groups on the basis of their abilities rather
than possible limitations, therefore offering a more positive view on this issue [21]:
◦ Fit: People, who do not appear to be and do not consider themselves disabled, but
definitely are not as able as at a younger age.
◦ Frail: People considered as “frail” usually have at least one obvious disability, but often
have other less obvious ones too.
◦ Disabled and ageing: People falling into this category have already acquired long-term
disabilities and are also affected by ageing.
This segmentation can be further refined, but may work well as a starting point. A couple of further
criteria that can be useful are:

Aptitude – the extent to which users have experience and expertise with technology. It does
not correlate entirely with chronological age.

Attitude – positive (forward looking, risk-taking, and experimenting) or negative (fearful,
diffident or defensive). Encompasses also confidence levels, and emotional need for
support from another human being [18].

Another important aspect observed is feminisation. The demographic indentation due to
World War II is diminishing, but the number of older women is still higher than that of old
men, mainly due to differences in life expectancy of the two genders [2].

Demands of older people are not only determined by characteristics as age, gender, income,
education or family. Health has a primary influence on the demand for professional support
services as well as support by and use of ICT. A change in life style of older persons has been
observed, resulting in a change of guiding principles in life, ideals and moral concepts.
According to some authors, hedonism and independence of older adults are becoming more
frequent, resulting in a wish to personalize their own living styles and stay in their own homes
as long as possible rather than in old people’s homes and keep mobile [12].
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The heterogeneity of the target group outlined above has been identified as a major challenge for the
W@VE 2.0 project. As stated in the project proposal, the project partners intend to provide an ICTbased solution for social interaction that might be used by people with a low level of ICT skills, a
statement, which is currently valid for the largest proportion of the target group 50+. The proposed
solution is aimed at users in possession of some basic IT skills (i.e. at least ability to use a web browser
is required) who will thus be able to benefit from the resources provided by the project.
An option to access the learning environment is in the provision of training material for tutors,
intended to be used along with their learning materials for older adults. In order to stimulate their
activities, one of the project outputs is precisely a guide for trainers.
SPECIFIC NEEDS OF SENIORS
Overall it can be pointed out that older people can hardly avoid using ICT in their everyday lives – and
they are eager to learn how to use it, if they find them useful or if there is any perceived personal
benefit. Communication, leisure, mobility, entertainment, social contacts are the most important topics
that need to be covered by ICT in general. Technology and therefore all sorts of computer systems,
internet applications etc. are going to be integrated into nearly every aspect of life and implicitly into
the life of older adults too.
Although the group of older adults is very heterogeneous, typical degenerative effects, common to
(almost) all are observable: diminished vision, varying degrees of hearing loss, hand-eye coordination
and psychometric impairments including difficulty with fine-motor coordination, degenerative
diseases including arthritis, osteoporosis or stiffening of the joints, diabetes, cataracts or macular
degeneration and optic atrophy. Decline of sensory, motion or cognitive abilities can also be traced
back to sports done previously or occupational injuries as well as strokes [1].
Although there is a noticeable reduction of the acuity of certain senses, in general assistive
technologies are not necessarily needed to compensate for. It is rather simple to address these issues
in the design process for (learning) environments for older adults, as described in more detail in
section on Usability, Ergonomics and Accessibility further below:
1. Visual impairment
Deterioration of vision is the most common physiological change associated with longevity.
Most common are:

decreasing ability to focus on tasks such as reading;

different degrees of colour blindness;

dry eyes as a result of declining blink rates;
2. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) and shrinking of the pupil, resulting in the need for more
light and a diminished capacity for adjusting to changing levels of illumination.
3. Mobility impairments (hand-eye coordination and psychometric impairments including
difficulty with fine-motor coordination)
4. Hearing impairments (different degrees)
5. Cognitive processes – reduced speed of information processing (short term memory)
6. Problems with specific (especially technical) terminology, e.g. Internet, computers, etc. as
older adults often are unfamiliar with these terms.
Five major difficulties in relation to ICT on the basis of the above have been listed in the literature
[12]:
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1. Problems of adequacy: Older adults might have the feeling that IT-products have not been
developed for them but for a younger audience, especially if the devices are difficult to use or
the explanations contain complex, technical vocabulary.
2. Problems of perception: Problems in this field most often relate to difficulties in visual
perception; due to diminishing vision, the handling of IT devices becomes increasingly difficult,
e.g. if fonts are too small, contrast is too low, etc.
3. Problems of handling: This category is probably the vastest and can be exemplified by
problems like buttons that are too small, the space between them too narrow or uncomfortable
placement of the buttons, etc.
4. Problems of understanding: Instructions for older adults have to be clear, intelligible, logical,
rational, the use of incomprehensible technical terms and foreign vocabulary has to be
avoided. Symbols and pictures should present meaningful information in a fitting format and
size.
5. Technical problems: The tasks performed to navigate through websites and to use
communication tools etc. demand for technical know-how. In order to facilitate usage, these
tasks should be logically ordered and simple but not oversimplifying.
Two guidelines emerge from the analysis of the presented problems:
1. ICT tools and environments have to focus on the basic functionality, which has to be directly
accessible and easy to handle.
2. Additionally, it is necessary to take into account the physiological specifics of older adults
when it comes to reduced sensory perception, limited motor capabilities and changes in
cognitive processes.
Nevertheless, older adults demand good and modern design. This gives them the perception that both
design and quality of the product are up-to-date and is perceived as modern by his peers as well,
resulting in a boost of self-confidence.
USABILITY, ERGONOMICS AND ACCESSIBILITY
Usability, as defined in ISO 9241-11:1998, is understood to be the “extent to which a product can be
used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a
specified context of use”. The term ergonomics has a wider meaning and has been introduced in the
ISO 6385 standard of 2004: “Scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions
among human and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data
and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance”.
It can be stated that in general providers of web resources are themselves responsible how they
distribute information or tools to their customers. Nevertheless, if providers neglect the needs of older
adults they may exclude huge proportions of potential customers from their services. Additionally,
designing web resources in a more user friendly way facilitates in most cases usage for other user
groups, not only seniors.
Older adults experience age related barriers in the use of web resources, which can be similar to those
of disabled persons. Therefore, accessibility issues have to be taken into account in the design of web
resources as well. The legal framework for accessibility issues is based on different national and
international anti-discrimination laws. In Europe (for the US cf. Americans with Disabilities Act)
guidelines 2000/78/EU and 2000/43/EU, on the basis of the Amsterdam treaty Art. 13 EUV, have been
transferred into national laws in most EU member states. As a result of the different legal
implementation several accessibility guidelines and regulations exist. Most often the Web Content
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Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, provided by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are referred to, the adapted national guidelines serve as reference.
The checkpoints summarized in the guidelines of the WCAG 2.0 of 11 December 2008
(http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/) give web designers directions how to design accessible websites
on three different levels of accessibility, ranging from A (minimum compliance) to AAA (full
compliance). With WCAG 1.0 similar compliance criteria were set, only in the last version the scale has
been refined and novel elements have been given a more in-depth look (e. g. CAPTCHA). The
Guidelines cover the following aspects:
1. Perceivable
1.1. Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other
forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.
1.2. Provide alternatives for time-based media.
1.3. Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout)
without losing information or structure.
1.4. Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from
background.
2.
Operable
2.1. Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
2.2. Provide users enough time to read and use content.
2.3. Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
2.4. Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.
3.
Understandable
3.1. Make text content readable and understandable.
3.2. Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
3.3. Help users avoid and correct mistakes.
4.
Robust
4.1. Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive
technologies.
It is worth noting that compliance level AAA cannot be achieved for certain types of content, as stated
in the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, themselves. Therefore it is recommended not to require full AAA
compliance on a standard basis. In cases, where full AAA compliance is not achievable, a Statement of
Partial Compliance can be made. Also, compliance can be taken into account in the context of full pages
only. Parts of web pages cannot be certified to comply with the WCAG 2.0 guidelines.
The WCAG 2.0 website has a host of full compliance guidelines, which describe in detail the individual
compliance criteria and their practical implementation and troubleshooting. It even puts to the user’s
disposal an interactive checklist for WCAG 2.0 compliance.
The guidelines should be applied to any web resource before submitted for public use and will also be
applied to the W@VE 2.0 content. It is intended to achieve at least level A (according to WCAG 2.0).
GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
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“Websites tend to be produced by young designers, who often assume that all users have perfect vision
and motor control, and know everything about the Web.” These assumptions rarely hold, even when
the users are not seniors. However, as indicated by usability metrics developed by Jakob Nielsen, older
persons are more affected by usability problems than younger users. Among the obvious physical
attributes often influenced by the human ageing process are eyesight, precision of movement, and
memory. Many older adults also retired without having ever used computers or the internet
extensively during their working careers. Thus, they have not necessarily learned good conceptual
models of how these technologies work, i.e. Nielsen points to older adults finding it difficult to
differentiate between a search box and the browser's URL box.
The recommendations highlighted in this section give an overview of the issues which have to be taken
into account in the design of appropriate user interfaces for older adults. It is highly recommended to
apply further testing throughout the development process in order to guarantee the intended quality
of the final product.
Recommendations
Seniors, especially when they are retired, invest time in getting acquainted with the Internet as well as
other information and communication technologies, but in the new EU member states, quite often they
use out-dated equipment “inherited” for instance from their children. Additionally, in these countries,
many of them are not interested in investing a lot of money in a tool that does not play a prominent
role in their lives, unlike their peers from economically more developed EU countries. Therefore, it is
necessary to design the output for hard- and software that quite often is not the state-of-the-art in the
field or is even out-dated.
Although no specific data is available on the screen sizes used by older adults, it is recommendable to
design for a smaller screen size than for other users or provide processes to automatically detect
smaller screen sizes and comfortably display the whole contents on them. This is especially true with
the advent of netbooks and smart phones.
Overall, the design of the environment has to be modern in order to attract seniors, but more
importantly, the usage of the web environment has to take into account the needs of the target group.
This is especially true for visual, acoustic, tactile and cognitive issues.
Aspects in relation to the visual presentation play the most eminent role in the design for older adults,
but do not only relate to older adults but all people. Most important, designers need to be aware as
well that a large proportion of the intended target group has little experience with PCs. Therefore,
navigation and access to different functionalities have to be as intuitive as possible.
Older adults need more time to get acquainted with new virtual environments as many of them did
never learn to navigate in complex systems like a social network portal. The attention of the user is
selectively focusing on information; therefore information has to be presented in a clearly structured
way. Some recommend repeating structures in order to stimulate learning processes and allow the
user to get familiar with a new environment by using the same to structure several times. In order not
to overload short term memory it is recommended (e.g. breadcrumbs) to display the navigation path
at all times is helpful not to lose the way in an online environment.
The speed with which seniors process information is an important aspect to be considered not only in
the instructional design of the environment, but even more important in the underlying technological
basis. Older people get distracted more easily by short spots, advertisements, quick (flash) animations
that demand for user interaction, complex animated navigation menus etc. than their younger
counterparts. Frustration, as a consequence, is a major hindrance in efficient usage and acceptance of
the technology. On the other hand, seniors tend to get annoyed by long waiting times and useless
information sooner than younger persons.
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Overall, designers need to reduce the degree of complexity as much as possible. This applies to the
design of the interface and the language used (i.e. technical vocabulary, terms from foreign languages,
etc.). Where possible, the system should give direct feedback on the inputs of the users in order to give
them the certainty that tasks, commands etc. are processed or already finalised and information about
the actual location of the user inside the system should also be provided.
The design of a virtual learning environment demands for specific considerations in relation to
usability. The broad range of materials and tools used for teaching and learning includes, but is not
limited to, paper, audio and video materials, CD/DVD-ROM, television, and the Internet. ICT-based
learning takes advantage of a variety of technologies to facilitate learning and interaction between
participants in order to provide online learners with its characteristic speed and flexibility. Tools used
in an e-learning context may include synchronous and asynchronous communication tools, videoconferencing systems, whiteboards, application sharing, learning management systems (LMS), virtual
or augmented reality, simulations, games etc. Furthermore, online content, for instance presented in a
LMS, can include a blend of these for instance: text on a website, digital audio, digital video, animated
images, and virtual reality environments. This content can be created in a variety of ways, utilizing a
large variety of authoring tools.
Obviously, taking into account the needs of older adults, not all of these tools and approaches are
equally suitable for the target group. Following a suggested interactive design process these changes
and adaptations will be tested and evaluated throughout the development process.
Recommendations given by Barstow and Rothberg [3] on accessible design of learning materials and
learning environments include the following:
1. Allow for customization based on user preference: options for customization include display
elements, e.g. fonts, font style, cursor screen layout, text size etc. as well as interface features,
e.g. timing of events and keyboard settings.
2. Provide equivalent access to auditory and visual content based on user preferences: for people
with disabilities all applications should combine equivalent access for all auditory and visual
aspects of learning technologies and content by providing text equivalents.
3. Provide compatibility with assistive technologies and include complete keyboard access.
4. Provide content and orientation information and maintain a consistent layout between pages.
5. Follow relevant specifications, standards, and/or guidelines, e.g. WCAG 2.0, Section 508, etc.
6. Consider the use of W3C recommended technologies (XHTML, SVG, SMIL, etc.)
Before going into detail, one aspect many designers forget about needs to be addressed – an adequate
URL of the learning environment: The name of the URL should be short and easy to spell. It is
recommended to use a term most older adults are familiar with, but should not discriminate the target
group or contain prejudices. The site should load quickly, even with slower connections, and if longer
loading times a necessary, a visual clue should give information on the progress of the loading process
(e.g. when Flash is used)[7].
Visual Design
Designing the visual aspects of a website takes into account form, content, arrangement, light, contrast,
and colour. It includes all of the visual elements on a page and depends on the context of the user and
the context within the website [17]. The main visual aspects are treated in detail below.
Layout & Style [1], [7], [16], [17]
 Use a sans serif typeface (Arial, Verdana, Helvetica etc.) that is not condensed. Avoid the use of
serif, novelty, and display typefaces.
12

Use 12 point or 14 point type size for body text.

Use medium or bold face type.

Body text in upper and lowercase letters.

Use all capital letters in headlines only.

Reserve underlining for links.

Double space body text.

Left justified text is optimal for older adults.

Use white space to help direct users’ attention by grouping items on a page so that users can
see at a glance how items are related. Spacing combined with appropriate size of text, links,
and buttons will make it easier for older adults to physically select the right link.

Many older adults (cf. results of user needs analysis in WP1 / SeniorLearning project) are
using older computers with slower connections to the Internet. Designers have to avoid, so
loading long pages and graphics is very slow.

An easy to identify “home”-button should be present on every page.
Scrolling [17]
 Older adults, who have little experience with computers, often do not know the concept of
scrolling – scrolling is a learned behaviour.

Avoid automatically scrolling text. If manual scrolling is required, incorporate specific scrolling
icons.

General kinaesthetic sensitivity (ability to control movement) degrades with age; therefore
controlling a mouse with more complex navigation elements (such as using pull-down menus
and scrolling lists) becomes difficult.
Colour [1], [16]
 Choose colours in close proximity that are easy to discriminate even when juxtaposed. Some
older people may have serious difficulties with certain colour combinations.

Use dark type or graphics against a light background, or white lettering on a black or darkcoloured background. Avoid patterned backgrounds.

Warm colours and harmonic colour schemes are more suitable than cold colours and strange
colour combinations.

Use tools to test whether contrast is high enough (e.g. background and font colour) and
whether colours may be seen by people having difficulties differentiating colours or being
colour blind (e.g. Vischeck: www.vischeck.com)
Menus and Navigation [1], [7], [16], [17]
There are some cognitive issues along with motor limitations that make menus and navigation
elements difficult for older adults to interact with. While the ease of use of menus and navigation
elements is highly dependent on the information architecture – especially labelling – an optimised
structure of the site puts less of a burden on working (short-term) memory and demands less in the
way of making inferences about the underlying content.
Redish and Chisnell [17] argue that all users perform better with shallower hierarchies, but that older
adults are disproportionately affected by depth in hierarchies. Therefore, it is recommended to have
more topics closer to the top hierarchy level which suits users better than creating deep, narrow
13
information hierarchies. They state that information two or three clicks away may not be a hard to
access, but shallower hierarchies (needing fewer clicks to get to the right content) are better than very
deep/interlaced ones. Additionally, implementing advanced organizers such as process bars that
illustrate processes or steps and where the person is within a given process will help mitigate memory
and attention issues.
Other recommendations:

The organisation of the web site should be simple and straightforward.

Use explicit step-by-step navigation procedures whenever possible to ensure that people
understand what follows next.

Carefully label links.

Use single mouse clicks to access information, wherever possible.

Use a standard page design and the same symbols and icons throughout the whole site.

Use the same set of navigation buttons in the same place on each page to move from one web
page or section of the web site to another.

Incorporate text with the icon if possible, and use large buttons that do not require precise
mouse positioning for activation.

Provide a site map to show how the site is organized.

Use icons in combination with text as hyperlinks.

Avoid dynamically changing menu structures.

Implement a breadcrumb menu showing recently visited pages.

Change colours of links in order to mark already visited pages.
Buttons and Styles [1], [17]
Buttons are important interface elements not only for navigation. Seniors face two major problems
when interacting with buttons: Many of them have difficulties to identify what is clickable and once
they have identified a target, they often have problems of actually hitting the active area of the target
due to fine motor movement related problems.
Some recommendations to make buttons more comfortable to use:

Buttons should be logically arranged.

Buttons should be large enough (the same applies to other symbols including text used for
button labels);

An easy to read font (preferably sans-serif: e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, etc.) should be used
for text labels;

The colour chosen should have sufficient contrast to the background,

The functionality of the button should be clear from the label on it, its shape, etc.,

Buttons might be linked to an audio signal, e.g. keystroke. In order to provide optimal audio
output for older adults affected by varying degrees of hearing loss, spoken language should be
loud, clear and audible.

Space between buttons and other elements on the interface should be sufficient.
14

In order to facilitate order adults to identify buttons as clickable the cursor may change when
hovering over a button.

Additional feedback might be given that the button has been activated (sound, mouse pointer
changes, etc.).
Sitemap [17]
The purpose of a site map is to provide a quick overview of the entire web site which may take the
form of a table of contents. This will help users find their way through sites more efficiently and gives
an idea of the structure of the visited web site.
Search Function [1]
 Search form should be clearly differentiated from other content of a web site and should be
labelled with the word “Search”. A magnifying glass icon can be a helpful hint.

Help and important instructions for using the search functionalities should be provided.

A search functionality offered on a web site should tolerate spelling mistakes or should offer
suggestions for improved search results.

A search engine should consider different grammatical versions of a word and suggest
synonyms.

Search results should be presented without the need of scrolling.

Search results should be arranged according to relevance.
Language and Terminology
Redish and Chisnell [17] point out that older adults are just as likely as younger web users to “read to
do” – or skim or scan text on web pages to get what they need as quickly as possible. They even state
that older adults can be even less patient than younger users, and they may abandon a site or give up
on an online task faster than their younger peers. This only emphasizes the importance of good design,
targeted specifically at elderly users [1], [16].

Present information in a clear and concise way to reduce the number of inferences that must
be made. Use positive statements.

Use active voice.

Write short, straightforward sentences.

Keep paragraphs as short as possible.

Organize the content in a standard format.

Break lengthy documents into short sections.

Use lists.

Use vocabulary familiar to your readers, i.e. avoid technical vocabulary or foreign language
expressions if possible. When users encounter terms they are unfamiliar with, they simply skip
them – often missing opportunities to get closer to their goals.

Avoid contents stigmatising or discriminating age but point out positive approaches, creative
solutions, demanding products, success stories, etc. instead.
Multimedia [16]

Use text-relevant images only.
15

Use short segments to reduce download time on slower connections.

Provide text alternatives such as open-captioning or access to a static version of the text for all
animation, video, and audio elements.

Give the user the possibility to control the playback of animations, videos, etc. (i.e. pause/stop
buttons).

Be aware that plugins or additional software needed may not be installed on the computer and
users might be unfamiliar with the installation procedure.

The printing and storage of all information (for instance through pdf-files), should be possible.
Many users, not only the elderly, prefer to read information in print.
User Customization
Many computer users are unaware of the customization possibilities available, including font size,
display colours, contrast, icon size and typefaces or are not aware of new pointing devices (trackball
mice, ergonomic keyboards, etc.). Often physical discomfort can accompany the use of computers
precisely because the user is unable to adapt the settings to his / her own needs.
Eyestrain and dry-eyes are a common complaint of computer users which may be relieved by
upgrading from a small monitor to a larger one (LCD display).
Browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Microsoft Internet Explorer allow a high level of
customization including text size, fonts and colours. Even more changes to fonts, icons and colour
preferences can be applied via the operation system, e.g. resizing the cursor and selecting cursor icons,
mouse sensitivity, enabling single-click option, etc.
Two major issues commonly hinder the full use of these tools:

Lack of knowledge from the user’s side;

Web design that does not take into account standards (valid XHTML / CSS code, WCAG 2.0
guidelines etc.)
In order to overcome these barriers, it is recommended to provide basic information on how to adjust
the browser or operation system settings and keep to approved web design standards [1].
Documentation and Feedback
Holt [10] points to two types of help that should be provided on a website:

assistance with the technical use of the web environment and

assistance with content.
Therefore, the learning environment should provide a help menu with several means of getting
assistance in both contexts. One possibility is to provide a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section,
which has to be updated and reflect the feedback from the visitors about problems they experienced.
Another possibility is to place help icons next to various items on the site, which open a pop-up
window with additional information or the use of tooltips.
Accessing certain services requires registration, submitting a valid e-mail address or simply logging in.
Include direct assistance on what to do and explain errors, if for instance a required field was not
completed correctly.
For complex environments offering a series of different functionalities it is recommended to include a
short tutorial to teach visitors how to use it. Provide a feedback form for persons seeking help, if
possible, offer a telephone number for those who would prefer to talk to a person [16].
16
Additionally, most aspects dealing with appropriate use of language and terminology apply to the
tutorial as well.
17
MOBILE WEB 2.0
“Available anywhere, anytime” is becoming a reality on the Internet, especially with the steadily
increasing number of smartphone users. With the 3G / 4G and Wi-Fi coverage mobile network
operators can provide these days in most countries of the world, it is possible to stay connected
(almost) all the time.
Smartphones are more than just a typical mobile phone. They are equipped with advanced operating
systems, relatively larger displays and often QWERTY keyboards. Smartphones are surely preferred
over traditional mobile phones if you need access to email account on the go, want a device to keep
track of your contacts and schedule, or just plan on browsing the web from remote locals. It also
provides easier, quicker access to news, games, multimedia, and weather information. In addition to
calling functionality, smartphones offer most basic features of a personal computer.
Smartphones are all the rage recently and can be seen not only in the hands of nerdy youngsters, but
are accessories cherished by tech-savvy seniors. The age-related problems enumerated above can
represent significant barriers in using this technology at its full potential. In order to overcome these,
some basic guidelines have to be followed. With little historical data to fall back to, the absence of
unified guidelines and standards is understandable, even in the case of younger users (e.g. how has the
software of a smartphone to behave, when the original web page has a special “mouse roll over”
behaviour). However, here are some criteria that need to be taken into account, when choosing a
phone and designing applications that will be used by seniors.
Of course, not all smartphones are made equally. When looking for a new smartphone, there are a
variety of features which seniors should be aware of. Seniors are prone to a variety of age-related
deficiencies and bio-mechanical problems; to a certain extent, there are a number of features that can
help compensate for these sorts of problems.
1. Interface: Generally speaking, smartphones are somewhat harder to operate than traditional
mobile phones. With so many options for functionality, it is no surprise that efficiently
manoeuvring a smartphone might be challenging for certain seniors who are not familiar with
the technology. To counter this, certain smartphones are designed with ease of use in mind.
Seniors with relatively slow cognitive processing might want to look for a smartphone with
simple, easy to use, intuitive navigation.
2. Weight: While smartphones are equipped with a number of interesting and useful features,
they also have the potential to be infamously heavier than a typical traditional mobile phone.
This is because smartphones are notoriously power-hungrier than their barebone
counterparts. The fact of the matter is that users need to move the phone around with ease,
whether that be up to the ear to talk or up to the eyes to take a picture. In terms of lightweight,
it seems as if anything that weighs less than a pound is a solid choice.
3. Bluetoooth Connectivity: Broadly speaking, Bluetooth functionality refers to wireless
technology that allows one to exchange data over short distances. In references to
smartphones, Bluetooth has two main functions: a wireless bluetooth headset allows one to
engage in a conversation on the headset and Bluetooth in cars allows having a conversation
while driving, through the car’s stereo system. Both cases help to make life easier for ageing
adults, who don’t need to worry about holding up the phone to their ears. This is particularly
important for driving seniors, who should always keep both hands on the wheel while driving.
In addition, by finding ways to sync phones to hearing aids via Bluetooth and ensuring that the
speaker quality on the phone is high, the life of senior users might be a lot easier. Another
trend is to connect wireless medical peripheral devices, like a blood glucose monitor.
18
4. Large Screen: It is no real surprise as to why seniors might want to look for a smartphone
with a large screen. Large LCD screens for a smartphone can help compensate for age-related
sight decline. Cameras on phones can also be very helpful to older people. They can easily take
a photograph of something they cannot read, for example, an entry in the menu. Then, if the
mobile phone in question is a smartphone, an OCR app in the mobile phone can be activated
that will read aloud what is written in the photograph.
5. Ease of Use: While smartphones come equipped with touchscreens, for some seniors the
touchscreen interface is too difficult to use effectively. Because decline with eye-hand
coordination frequently accompanies age, one who cannot properly use a touch screen, but still
wants to have a smartphone, can opt for the keyboard option. A good smartphone QWERTY
has buttons that are large enough to see and soft enough to press, though still outlined by a
definite shape.
Applications directly targeted at a senior audience are already surfacing, especially in the area of ehealth services, where companies have recognized the huge potential of the market and are starting to
tap into it. (e.g. Jitterbug, Doro, EHS Innovators)
An alternative in telecommunication, embraced by a growing number of seniors is Skype. It is an easy,
economical program that uses computers linked to the Internet, inexpensive web cameras and
microphones. This service meets their needs to keep in touch with family members, who live far from
them. The added possibility of video-conferencing is a large plus. But Skype is not pinned to desktop or
laptop PCs. With mobile apps that let the user run Skype on their phones, a Wi-Fi connection is the sole
prerequisite for virtually free and unlimited conversations.
But other (often simple) applications can make a difference for seniors.
Severe memory impairment creates crippling problems for people at work, at home and in their social
interactions. Memory Link is one example of an innovative approach to brain health from Baycrest. It
teaches individuals facing these problems how to use hand-held communication devices, such as smart
phones, as memory aids. Patients learn how to program the devices to trigger a series of reminders
that compensate for the loss and help them live more normal lives. The program is a clever marriage of
smart phone technology and a training method built on understanding of how multiple memory
systems work, and how injury to one can be compensated for by another. By focusing on nonconscious brain systems through a repetitive sequence of learned behaviours, patients’ preserved
“procedural” memory allows them to learn new things, even as their impaired “episodic” (or
conscious) memory causes them to forget.
19
CONCLUSIONS
The report summarizes good practice guidelines for senior users with an emphasis on the importance
of not treating seniors as one homogeneous group either age- or genderwise but building on their
experiences, interests and the expectations of the targeted seniors when designing applications for
them. The rationale of the learning effort in their everyday life must have an immediate, perceivable
application for the learner.
Getting to know how to use e-mails or how to search purposefully for specific information should be
primary learning targets which basics would enable the prospective user to move on to more
interactive, web 2.0 services. Contents preferred by seniors seem to be suggestions for travelling,
health information, services, cultural information, information related to hobbies, web shopping and
Internet security.
The wealth (or rather glut) of information available on the web, in so many shapes and flavours can
cause disorientation, especially if the way it is served is unstructured and does not take into account
the basic needs of a senior user. On top of that, this confusion and lack of experience can be taken
advantage of by scammers. It is therefore the steadfast belief of the authors that beside usability,
safety is an equally important issue to be taken into account when designing with seniors in mind.
20
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
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Baier, E. (ed.): IT-basierte Produkte und Dienste für ältere Menschen – Nutzeranforderungen
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Heindl, M.: Gestaltung von Computersystemen für Ältere. Warum müssen Computersysteme
für Ältere besonderen Ansprüchen genügen und wie gelingt dies am besten? Hagenberg,
2003. URL: http://cblinux.fh-hagenberg.at/~cbl01005/paper/dokumente/paper1.pdf
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Lebenslauf. Bonn, 2005. URL: http://www.die-bonn.de/esprid/dokumente/doc2005/iller05_01.pdf
Kirchmair, R.: Bedürfnisse und Anforderungen der Best Agers an IT Produkte. In: Kimpeler, S.
and Baier, E. (ed.): IT-basierte Produkte und Dienste für ältere Menschen –
Nutzeranforderungen und Techniktrends. Stuttgart, 2006. pp. 31-42
Lewis, S. and Ariyachandra, T.: Seniors and Online Social Network Use, 2010 CONISAR
(Conference on Information Systems Applied Research) Proceedings, Nashville Tennessee,
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[20] Stadelhofer, .C.: www-senioren. Interneterschließung – auch für ältere Erwachsene! In:
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22
ANNEX I – LIST OF WEB SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS FREQUENTLY USED BY SENIORS
E-COMMERCE
Link
Description
Language
Usability
eDreams offers a wide selection of flights, hotels and vacation packages. It
works like a travel agency. Consumers can either search themselves through
the offers, or enter the dates, time and destination and the system will look for
the best prices among many different flight companies which could offer this
service.
Same as eDreams
Spanish, Italian,
French, English
A bit more complex
website than others
due to the wide range
of offers.
Flight company. Consumers can only book and buy flights for this company
through the website. Mostly cheap flights.
From this site consumers can also check and book availability of hostels and
car rental services in Ryanair destinations, as through Ryanair clients can be
redirected to hostelworld website (www.hostelworld.com) and to Hertz rental
car.
Registered users can do the shopping online. They can go through all the
products, choose what they need and send the command. Clients can either
pick it up directly at the supermarket or arrange an appointment to get the
shopping at home by paying a small fee.
Most of languages
spoken in European
countries
www.renfe.es
Users can check the availability of train tickets by choosing destination, date,
time, etc. Registered users are able to purchase train tickets.
Spanish, English
http://www.booklooker.de
Book seller: flea market for books, films and music
German
http://www.amazon.de
Book seller and other stuff
www.gondrom.de
Book seller
German, available
also
in
other
countries
German
www.baur.de
www.otto.de
Web presence of catalogue companies
German
www.edreams.es
www.edreams.it
www.rumbo.es
www.ryanair.com
https://www.capraboacasa.com/
TiendaPortal/com/caprabo/cac/ti
enda/seleccionIdioma/Seleccion
IdiomaController.jpf
23
Spanish
As it is mainly
designed for flights
booking, it is easy to
manage and the
booking process is
very clear.
Catalan, Spanish
The font is too small
for senior users.
http://www.hermespaketshop.
de/paketeversenden.php
http://www.preisvergleich.de
Package dispatcher
German
Price comparison for different products
German
http://www.seniorentreff.at/ka
ufen.html
Online “shop” of a platform of elderly people. The shop does not differ
from any other online shops on the Internet at a first glance but
looking closer there are no goods available directly – only links to
other online shops.
de
http://www.tiscover.at/
Travel platform offering information, a shop and booking services.
de/en
http://www.wohnbausparen.at Platform by the Raiffeisenbank Austria on home purchase savings
incl. special advisory for elderly people.
de
http://www.ltur.com
de
Travel shop offering last minute travels. Last minute booking is
probably not common for elderly people at the moment but the
proportion of elderly to use this service is estimated to raise.
24
Very low. Interested
persons seeking
products may be
distracted by
external links – why
not call it a shopping
linklist? Use of colors
and fonts is weak;
Low. Too much
information
presented on one
page – older persons
may feel
overwhelmed by the
possibilities or get
lost soon.
Ok. The front page
offers a considerable
amount of
information but the
parts tailored to the
needs of elderly are
good. Easy to read,
interesting and
useful links, nice use
of colours; 3colomns-layout could
be changed to 2colomns in order to
improve accessibiity
Very low: Layout
breaks if using
slightly larger font
http://www.lila-se.de/
Internet supermarket: According to their own advertisement the
service is for people who cannot / do not want to carry heavy loads
any more, e.g. people aged 50+. On the platform it is possible to buy a
broad range of food and commodities.
de/en
(product
description
in
German only)
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.de
www.ebay.es
www.ebay.fr
www.ebay.hu
www.elvira.hu
Bidding, selling, buying,... users are given a possibility to buy and sell
(almost) anything.
Depending
on
national
domain
name
Train schedules
Hungarian,
German, English
www.netkozert.hu
On-line food store
Hungarian
www.netpincer.hu
On-line food delivery service
Hungarian, English
www.tesco.com;
www.tesco.ie
Tesco is a chain of supermarkets throughout UK and Ireland. They
also offer a typical internet shopping service via these two websites,
one for UK and the other for Ireland. You need to register to use the
service. They deliver to the door.
English
25
sizes; colours are
very “special”;
Naviagion is very
complex and difficult
to understand (e.g.
last minute / super
last minute offers)
Developers of the
site tried to make it
easy to navigate –
the payment solution
seems to be easy to
understand; use of
fonts and colors is
not recommendable.
Easy to use; high
information density
Easy to use, table
with results could be
improved slightly
Drop-down menu for
different classes of
products; step-bystep shopping
Accessibility for the
blind (unfortunately I
could not figure out
whether it works or
not)
Quite user-friendly,
with large text,
images, and no
clutter. Simple to get
round. I would say
www.sainsbury.co.uk
Sainsbury is a UK chain of supermarkets. This site offers internet
shopping to registered users. They deliver to the door.
English
www.expedia.co.uk
Expedia is the UK's largest online travel agent where users can book
holidays, find cheap flights and browse through hotel deals and car
hire. They also offer a selection of last minute, ski and cheap holidays
English
www.interflora.co.uk
This website is for buying or sending flowers to loved ones, as
presents, for special occasions, for weddings. Provides information
about flowers and plants native to most countries in the world.
English
www.directgardenproducts.co Direct Garden Products is an internet shopping website that sells a
.uk
range of patio heaters, barbecues, garden sheds, play equipment,
solar lighting, trampolines, sledges, toboggans, furniture, chimeneas,
garden cabins, summerhouses, hammocks, garden parasols, pet
houses, and preservatives, etc. It also delivers free within the UK on
orders over £100.
26
English
this would be quite
manageable for
seniors.
Not as
straightforward as
the above. Pages
are more cluttered
and text is quite
small.
Easy enough to use.
However the small
text and the
“information
overload” of the
presentation may
prove daunting to
beginners and
seniors.
User-friendly
website, with images
of bouquets which
users can click on to
purchase. Text may
be a bit small in
places.
Given the huge
interest that seniors
have in gardening,
especially in the UK
and Ireland, it is a
pity that the font of
this website is so
small. Hardly
suitable for the
average senior who
would have impaired
vision.
www.cie.ie
Irish website belonging to the national transport authority for the online purchasing of train and bus tickets. Also provides timetables.
English
www.wesleyowen.com
The Premier Christian Music web site, belongs to the Christian
Bookshop -Wesley Owen, and provide access to over 40,000
Christian products including: Books, Christian Music, software, video
and gifts. The user can choose from a wide range of Christian musical
styles - from traditional hymns to the latest hip hop and metal. The
user can also access interviews with Christian artists and find out
about forthcoming tour dates.
Irish low fares airline, offering mainly internal flights within Ireland a
small number of continental flights.
English
www.aerarann.com
27
English
Text is for the most
part quite small.
Other than that the
site is simple and
easy to use.
Very easy to use.
Simple clear
presentation. No
information clutter.
E-GOVERNMENT
Link
Description
Language
http://www.gencat.net/

Forms to ask for grants (studies) can be filled out and sent directly to the
institution

Fill out forms asking for finance assistance when a child is born

Ask for finance assistance in case of disability

Fill out a form to ask for a library member card. Ask for information about
a book/document to know in which library could it be found, and finally,
book it

Payment of traffic fines

Public transport: users just have to choose where they are and where do
they want to go and lot of different connections using public transport will
be given

Check the weather forecast

Etc.
This is the website of Barcelona city.
Legal procedures which can be arranged online, like starting / settling a
business in the city
Institut Municipal d’Hisenda de Barcelona. In the website, citizens can
download several forms, check conditions for different kind of fees and get
information related to it, check the payment state, check conditions of fine
payments, etc.
Catalan,
Spanish,
English
In the website of SS in Spain, there is a “virtual office” through which citizens
can consult and apply for procedures like:

Check current work situation

Check deductions and incomes on the IRPF

Check social assistance through Europe in case of travelling

Etc.
Travel warnings of the German Federal Foreign Office
Spanish
www.bcn.es
http://www.bcn.es/hisenda/cat/in
dex.htm
http://www.segsocial.es/inicio/?MIval=cw_usr_v
iew_Folder&LANG=1&ID=10432
http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/de/Laenderinformat
ionen/01-ReisewarnungenListe.html
www.ulm.de
Ulm.de is only an example for a website of the own hometown
www.ris.bka.gv.at
Law information system of the office of the Federal Chancellory
(Bundeskanzleramt). Federal law and laws of the federal regions of Austria
28
Usability
Catalan,
Spanish
Catalan,
Spanish
German
(Federal Foreign
Office’s website
in general also
in English,
French,
Spanish, Arab)
At least German
de/en
Good in general: Images on
the right colomn used as
as well as laws published in other media.
www.bmsg.gv.at
Austrian ministry of social security, generations and consumer protection.
The site offers a podcast service as well but there is only one file available
outlining that there will be a raise in pensions despite rumours of a shortcut...
de
http://help.gv.at/
Platform of the Austrian government to facilitate different administrative
issues, e.g. filling in forms, help on legal issues, etc.
de/en
www.magyarorszag.hu
Official information portal
Hungarian
www.apeh.hu
Tax Office
Hungarian
www.citizensinformation.ie
Citizens Information is an Irish eGovernment website, which provides public
English
29
links to other resources
could have better
resolution. A table of
contents at the beginning
would facilit navigation – at
the moment users have to
scroll down the whole page.
The detailed search mask
should be improved.
Good. Colours are used to
assist navigation; Start
page is well organised;
fonts are small and grey
colours used on the right
navigation bar have too little
contrast to the background.
Although different colours
are used to differentiate
between “Services” and
“Contact” in the navigation
bar the colours used in the
content pages of both
sections are the same.
The site has been
redesigned with assistance
of the University of Linz and
showcases some examples
of good practice in eaccessibility. Remarkable:
The use of sign-language
videos
Possibility to find rather
quickly information about a
specific topic; possibility of
contacting directly some
officials (by mail) for further
help; very dense, small font
On-line tax return; very
dense, small font
The font is a good size and
http://www.ros.ie/PublisherServl
et/home
service information for the citizens of Ireland. It provides information on social
welfare services, training (including life long learning), information on
procedures following death and bereavement, money and tax, the justice
system, etc.
The Revenue Online Service (ROS) is the Irish Revenue's interactive facility
offering business and individuals with a service to method to manage their
Tax Affairs online.
30
there are also simple
instructions on how to use
the site.
English
Large font. Not so relevant
for retired seniors.
E-BANKING
Link
www.lacaixa.es
http://www.caixacatalunya.es/cai
xacat/introflash.htm
Description
Language
Its clients can do a large number of operations through the internet: check the
accounts and credit cards amounts; transfer money to other accounts either
from the same bank or from others; check, manage and update investment
trusts; request to open more accounts as well as investment trust; investment
of money in the stock exchange and manage it through the website, the stock
exchange is updated every 15 minutes. Clients can also request for pension
plans, insurance, book foreign currency, etc. as many other services.
Its clients are offered more or less the same the same services mentioned
above.
Spanish,
Catalan,
English, French,
German, Italian,
Portuguese
www.postbank.de
Several times “Internet banking” was mentioned without a statement at which
bank house, only once postbank.de was stated
https://banking.raiffeisen.at/html/
login.jsp
ELBA Internet: Probably the most common internet banking platform in
Austria. Developed and maintained by the Raiffeisenbank Austria. Used by
other banks as well.
https://online.baca.com/bach/de/login/index.html
Internet Banking platform of the Bank Austria
www.raiffeisen.hu
Homepage of Raiffeisen Bank Hungary
www.erstebank.hu
Homepage of Erste Bank Hungary
www.otpbank.hu
Homepage of OTP Bank Hungary
www.postoffice.co.uk
This portal which belongs to the UK postal service, also offers a range of ebanking services: Credit card; Personal loans; Foreign currency; Postal
31
Usability
Catalan,
Spanish,
English, French,
German
German
de (used in
Eastern
European
countries as well
– no indication
on available
languages)
de (used in
Eastern
European
countries as well
– no indication
on available
languages)
Hungarian,
English
Hungarian,
English,
German
Hungarian,
English
English
Good. Documentation and
help texts/services are very
good. Navigation menu
offers very many
possibilities – not all of
them are probably really
needed.
No tests possible. Login
screen uses hard to read
fonts (in grey!); Layout is
puzzled in Firefox 2.0
It is rather easy to get lost
Registering is very difficult
(applies to all sites) The
technical terms used are
not very easy to understand
Nice lay out. Simple to
follow, however, again the
www.boi.ie
Orders ; Money transfers; Paying your bills; Personal banking; Cash
withdrawal, etc. I also enable travel, car and home insurance to be
purchased, among other types of insurance.
On-line banking services from the Bank of Ireland. Typical range of on-line
banking, such as accessing account details, making on-line transfers,
accessing information about mortgages, loans, requesting credit cards, etc.
32
font might prove too small
for many seniors.
English
Very nicely presented. No
clutter. Font is a good size.
E-LEARNING
Link
http://www.uoc.edu/
http://www2.ceac.es/
www.vile-netzwerk.de
Description
Language
The Universitat Obertat de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia) provides
people with training through an intensive use of information and
communications technologies, mainly internet. The students, professors and
administrators interact and co-operate on a Virtual Campus. This university
community uses the Internet to create structure, share and disseminate the
knowledge.
It offers a wide range of Official University Degrees, Graduates, Masters,
Refresher courses among others.
A wide range of courses can be followed online: languages, informatics,
health, tourism...among many other subjects. The material will be available in
paper but consultations with teachers and other students can be done
through the internet.
Homepage of the Virtual and real learning and competence network of older
adults
Catalan,
Spanish,
English
http://dict.leo.org/
Online dictionary for German-English, -French and -Spanish
http://www.dict.cc/englischdeutsch/relapse.html
http://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikti
onary:Hauptseite
www.brockhaus.de
www.zawiw.de
Online dictionary German-English
www.senioren-redaktion.de
Website of senior online editors with project description and restricted area
for participants with learning units and communication tools
Search engine
www.google.de
http://www.suchfibel.de/
www.computerbetreuer.at
Spanish
Usability
Too small font
German (some
projects
/
courses
in
different
languages)
German
German,
English
German
Wiki open content dictionary
Website of a lexicon editor
Homepage of Centre for General Scientific Continuing Education
Everything about search engines (Mentioned without explicit links to the
Internet: Learn how to use search engines)
Computerassistance and training services offered by Reinhold Schachner
33
German
German, partly
in English,
French, Polish,
Russian
German
German
(available in
other
languages)
German
de
Very good. Use of white
fonts on grey background
should be changed.
www.memofit.net
memofit® Kopf.Training: Online cognitive functions training for elderly people
(not limited to this age group). Additionally information on memory and the
brain are offered. Training materials are available online as well as CD-ROM.
1-Month access costs 4,90€
de
Good.
http://www.lisa-net.info/
Different projects by GEFAS on learning and training of elderly people. The
different project pages offer general information as well as results of the
projects. eLearning is not central in most projects!
This cooperation between University of Linz, bitmedia, Microsoft and other
institutions developed an accessible version of the ECDL.
Target grousp of the project include
* visually impaired
* hard of hearing
* mobility impaired persons
de/en
Difficult to differntiate the
different sections and
projects of the site.
Not tested (only HTML
version works on Linux
system).
http://www.barrierefrei.ecdl.at/
http://www.onlineakademia.hu/
http://www.mindentudas.hu
www.open.ac.uk
http://www.york.ac.uk/teaching/c
ws/wws/elearning.html
Additionally people with learning difficulties and special learning needs are
included in the target group.
On-line courses on various topics: software use, lifestyle, hobbies
On-line material, videos on various scientific topics spanning from natural
sciences to humanities
Special e-learning section under test (demo version) – topics: astronomy,
genomics, other cultures
The Open University (OU) is the United Kingdom's only university dedicated
to distance learning. They have around 150,000 undergraduate and more
than 30,000 postgraduate students. 10,000 of their students have disabilities.
The Open University's style of teaching is called supported open learning.
They offer some 600 courses from a huge variety of fields, spanning
business, humanities, law, science, mathematics, etc.
e-learning at the Centre for Women’s studies at the University of York in the
UK. They have a programme called Wired Women's Studies offering the
flowing courses:
An option module Feminist Perspectives on Web Fiction.
Sessions on theory and methodology for the Master's programme (eg
cyberfeminism; web page design) as well as digitally-based class
assignments which are integrated into more 'traditional' teaching sessions (eg
34
de
Hungarian
Hungarian
English
English
Quick registration; small
font, especially on top,
where some tabs are
placed
Too small font
Simple to navigate. Font
quite small
http://silverageyoga.org
http://musictheory.com/seniortour.html
the body; popular culture).
MPhil/ PhD supervision which incorporates aspects of e-learning (online
discussion and journaling).
Online worksheets for topics in the Females, Femininity and Feminism
modules (eg sexualities).
Supervision and assessment of electronically-submitted master's
assignments and dissertations.
A small web room with both electronic and print resources (networked
computers, printing and scanning facilities, books and magazines).
Incidentally, this room is deliberately designed to offer a relaxed and creative
environment, with pictures, flowery chairs and plants, and is not set out as a
standard 'computer room'.
An American site:
Silver Age Yoga Senior Teacher Certification
Senior Yoga Class
This is a senior yoga teacher certification program composed of two
segments, a basic on-line program, and an advanced, hands-on two day
intensive workshop. The program offers special teaching skills to teach the
senior and the physically challenged population. This certification is for
Certified or Registered yoga teachers (CYT, RYT) only.
An American site:
Music Theory On Line offers on-line courses in music theory.
35
English
Designed specifically for
seniors. Clear, large font.
Easy to follow.
English
The site has been designed
for seniors.
E-HEALTH
Link
http://www10.gencat.net/catsalut
/cat/serveis_visites.htm
http://www.netdoktor.de/
http://www.laborlexikon.de/
www.medizinfuchs.de
http://www.schwabe.de/mentalaktiv/index.php?/online.html
http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/de/Laender/Gesun
dheitsdienst/Uebersicht.html
Description
Language




Catalan,
Spanish,
English
Make an appointment with the doctor
Check the available hours
Ask to change your current hospital or doctor
In case of lost, order a new health-card
News about labor medecine
Price comparison for medecine
Exercises for concentration, coordination, creativity, memory
Infornation of the Federal Foreign Office’s health service
German
German
German
German
Fonts can be enlarged
German
(Federal Foreign
Office’s website
in general also
in English,
French,
Spanish, Arab)
English
http://www.amazonherb.net/Def
ault.aspx
www.diabetes-austria.com
Medical herbs from Amazon
Diabetes Austria: A platform for people with diabetes including background
information, product recommendations, links and a shop. Online
consultation of different doctors is possible via a webform.
de
www.aponet.at
Portal of the Austrian pharmacies offering information on travel and holidays
precaution, different services (e.g. pharmacy finder), a shop etc.
de
www.mendoc.at
Mendoc is a team of urologists and scientists who have specialised on men
specific problems at different age levels.
http://www.medlist.com/Magyar/
Orvosok/index.html
Online index of Hungarian physicians
de/en (short
versions in
Croatian,
Serbian and
Turkish)
Hungarian
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/inde
x.asp
NHS Direct Online is a website providing high quality health information and
advice for the people of England. It is uniquely supported by a 24-hour
nurse advice and information and helpline
36
Usability
English
Low. Navigation bars on the
left and the right are filled
up with dozens of items.
Scrolling
Fonts are much too small.
Information is well
structured in general.
The fonts used are not easy
to read.
Nice tree structure based
on geography of country,
one can find local area
quickly;
I think it is well designed
and suitable for use by
seniors.
37
E-COMMUNICATION
Link
http://www.skype.com/helloagai
n.html
http://www.voipbuster.com/es/in
dex.html
www.icq.com/
http://get.live.com/messenger/ov
erview
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/
intl/es/about.html
Description
Language
Usability
Software which can be downloaded for free. It allows users to call to other
Skype users for free with a good quality. Users can also make free video calls
if they have a webcam. It can also be used to chat and not just with one
person at a time but with up to 100 people in a group chat. It is also possible
to call landlines and mobile phones at low rates.
Users can download the software for free and make free phone calls to
landlines to several popular destinations for free and to landlines and mobile
phones at low rates all around the world.
More than 20
languages
Very easy to use.
Icq software can be downloaded in the website. With it, the users will be able
to chat with other icq users. But it also allows users to chat in the website
itself, take part in forums, search for people, join interest groups, arrange a
date, play online and download games, etc.
Windows Live Messenger allows users to chat and make free video calls. It
also allows them to create common folders with their friends where any kind
of file can be filed. This software will allow its users contact other users from
hotmail but also from Yahoo.
E-mail service which can be downloaded for free. Users can send e-mails, file
them up to 2.500mb, organize a contacts’ list, chat, etc.
www.blogger.com
Users have to create an account and they get a place on the internet, called
blog were they can publish their thoughts and post photos. They can get
feedback and therefore stay in touch with other people through these blogs.
www.gmx.de
www.web.de
www.t-online.de
www.telekom.at
Email and further information portal
Email and further information portal
Email and further information portal
Telekom Austria is the leading enterprise in telephone and internet services.
The website is available in an optimised version for accessibility as well.
Users can find information on different products and links to other portal of
Telekom Austria, e.g. www.aon.at This is the website dedicated to internet
services (broadband acess etc.) and offers a series of entertainment
possibilities (games, forums, chats, photo centre, music download, etc.
38
German,
English,
Spanish,
French,
Portuguese
English
Many
38 different
languages:
Spanish,
English,
German,
Catalan, French,
Italian, etc.
English, French,
Italian, Spanish,
German,
Portuguese
German
German
German
de
The usability of the
accessible version is good.
I found it quite difficult to
differentiate between the
sections (telekom.at /
aon.at and others) of the
www.neophone.hu
“The meeting place for people aged 50+ with the feeling of being at home.”
(http://www.oldieszuhause.at/). A chat room offered at the site seems to be in
good use – when visiting the website 21 people chatted. A forum contains
42563 postings (6.2.2007).. Additionally links to games, quizzes, live TVstations etc. are offered.
Low price VoIP
mail.yahoo.com
www.freemail.hu
www.citromail.hu
www.chat.hu
Yahoo! Mail service (free 1 GB mailbox)
Popular Hungarian mail server
Hungarian mail server
Web-based chat
Hungarian,
English
English
Hungarian
Hungarian
Hungarian
www.iwiw.hu
Social networking
Hungarian
http://www.oldieszuhause.at/
39
de
site.
The colours are quite
strange and the navigation
is irritating. Clicking on the
live TV link the layout
breaks.
Extra software needed;
login page not user-friendly
1 GB free storage
25 MB free storage
100 MB free storage
Advantage of not needing
any extra plug-in or
software, but sometimes
very slow
Invitation of a member
required for registration
E-INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT
Link
Description
Language
http://www.icatfm.cat/
Online radio station
Catalan
http://www.tv3.cat/ptvcatalunya/t
vcHome.jsp
It offers the TV program for some days in advance and for many different TV
channels. Also information about every program can be found, as well as
videos with some parts of programs, interviews, etc. Also last news are
updated during the day (http://www.telenoticies.cat/pnoticies/notHome.jsp).
Last news is constantly updated.
Catalan
The daily newspaper is available online.
This site offers lot of games to play online
This site allows its users to find any place on the map: country, cities,
business, hotels, restaurants, shops…It can also find a concrete address or
tell you how to reach a certain place.
Online photo management and sharing application
Online free encyclopaedia
Spanish
Many
Many
http://www.laultima.com/
http://www.elpais.com/
http://es.games.yahoo.com/
http://maps.google.com/
http://www.flickr.com/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haup
tseite
http://www.lexikalinks.de/index.htm
http://www.dradio.de/
http://www.faz.de
www.spiegel.de
www.sueddeutsche.de
www.welt.de
www.zeit.de
www.lerncafe.de
http://www.reutlinger-computeroldies.de/
http://www.atlantiscity.de/ac/show.php3
http://www.feierabend.de/cgibin/channel/channel.pl
Links to lexicons on the web
Website of nationwide German radio stations “Deutschlandfunk” and
“Deutschlandradio Kultur”
German newspapers
Search for events on websites of the own home city and holiday places
Online-journal for older adults who are interested in continuing education,
made by seniors
Website of seniors from German town Reutlingen who are interested in
computers
Portal for senior citizens
Portal for senior citizens
Spanish
Big fonts
Big fonts, simple to use,
clear instructions.
English
German (also
aivalable in
other
languages)
German
German
German
(spiegel.de with
English version)
Used for press overview
and interview
Search for texts for projects
German
German
Large fonts
German
German
40
Usability
Font size can be changed
www.wetter.com
www.wetter.de
www.t-online.de
www.telefonbuch.de
Weather
German
Information portal
Telephone directory
http://www.wissen.de/wde/gener
ator/wissen/ressorts/index.html
http://www.htwm.de/wbildung/bil
dungsportale.htm
Knowledge portal
German
German,
English, French,
Turkish,
Spanish
German
Collection of links for people in the post-professional phase
German
http://www.krautwer.privat.tonline.de/BiPortal/Wohn.html
www.herold.at
Habitation
German
Electronic telephone book (Yellow pages online): Herold is a search engine
for contact information available for free at the Internet. A CD-ROM version
can be bought as well.
de
www.50plusHotels.at
50plus Hotels Austria is a web platform for elderly people: The slogan of the
site is “Holidays for experienced bon vivants”. The platform, which is
combined with a print magazine offers information on wellness, sport, culture
and hiking issues as well as on accommodation possibilities.
The “Tiroler Seniorenbund” (~Tyrolean seniro association) is an organsiation
for seniors affiliated to the conservative party in Austria (ÖVP). As a service
organisation the website of the Seniorenbund offers service and help as well
as offerings for spare time, education and amusement.
de
Hungarian
www.radio.hu
Directory for all cultural events (including theatre, cinema, concerts,
exhibitions, radio, TV, etc.)
National radio channel
www.mtv.hu
National TV channel
www.tiroler-seniorenbund.at
www.port.hu
41
de
Hungarian,
English
Hungarian
Very good. Menus are
clearly structured,
possibilities for searching
information are limited at
the beginning but can
extended if necessary.
-
Very good. Using the font
resize utility the layout does
not break (what it does in
using the webbrowser
tools). The menu is clearly
structures, font size is big
enough, colours are used in
a way that makes the text
appealing as well as easy
to read.
Easy to use
RealPlayer necessary for
listening in; no live feed
Easy to use, friendly
interface, live feed using
www.tv2.hu
www.hirtv.hu
Private TV channel
Private news channel
Hungarian
Hungarian
www.winamp.com
www.xfm.co.uk
Very popular MP3, CD and video player, also supporting live stations
Online radio station.
English
English
http://news.sky.com/skynews/ho
me
www.ireland.com
News section of the Sky TV website. Offers updated news.
English
On-line version of an Irish national daily newspaper called the Irish Times
English
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detail
ed/Society/CenNet_Seniors_Online_Magazine_6€83.html
CenNet - Seniors On-line Magazine has been designed by the over 50s for
the over 50s. According to the seniors themselves, its classy colour
supplement style comes as a refreshing change from the flashing lights
format of many addresses. Articles are changed every month in eight
sections: Entertainment; Travel; Money; Shopping; Well Being; Food & Drink;
Pastimes; and Shopping. There are links to hundreds of other vetted sites
which may be of interest (like
theatre bookings) and lots of interactive sections (like recipe exchanges).
English
42
Windows Media Player
(high bandwidth)
Easy to use; no live feed
Easy to use, friendly
interface, live feed using
Windows Media Player
(high bandwidth)
Easy to use
This site is simple to use,
but very much geared
towards a younger listener.
It is a cluttered website with
small font.
Easy to navigate. Plenty of
images and headlines in
larger font. Article text is
quite small though.
Big fonts
ANNEX II – LIST OF WEB 2.0 SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS
Name
Animoto: The end of Slideshows
Web Link
animoto.com
blip.tv: Your Video - Your Way
blip.tv
BlogTV: Broadcast your own TV Show
blogtv.com
BubbleComment: Easily Send a
Bubble Comment
bubblecomment.com
Del.icio.us - A collection of Favorites Yours and Everyone Else's
http://www.delicious.com
Description
Animoto is a web application that
automatically generates professionally
produced videos using their own
patent-pending technology and highend motion design. Each video is a
fully customized orchestration of userselected images and music.
blip.tv is a video sharing site. blip.tv
mission is to make this even easier by
taking care of all the problems a
budding videoblogger, podcaster or TV
producer would run into. You should
have to worry about creativity. blip.tv
will take care of the servers, the
software, the workflow, the
advertising and the distribution.
place where you can show off your
talent, build a fan base and share your
opinions LIVE! You bring the webcam,
BlogTV bring the stage. BlogTV here to
help you get your 15 minutes of fame.
Broadcast your own live shows, just
plug in your webcam and Start
Broadcasting
A free service that enables you to
share personal video comments with
others on virtually any web page.
Del.icio.us let you keep links to
your favorite articles, blogs, music,
restaurant reviews, and more and
access them from any computer on
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Languages
English
Usability
Fee based, videos of
maximum 30s can be
created for free
Large fonts
English
Fairly simple to use
Fonts could be larger
English
Small font
Cluttered interface
Layout not the most
intuitive
English
More business orientated
Login possible with
Yahoo! ID
Small font
Easy to use
the web. Share favorites with
friends, family, and colleagues.
Discover new things. Everything on
del.icio.us is someone's favorite they've already done the work of
finding it. Explore and enjoy.
Digg is a technology news website
that combines social bookmarking,
blogging, RSS, and non-hierarchical
editorial control. With digg, users
submit stories for review, but
rather than allow an editor to
decide which stories go on the
homepage, the users do.
Digg - Technology News Website
Combined with Social Bookmarking
http://digg.com/
DNAStream.tv: Mutant Television
dnastream.tv
Dropbox
dropbox.com
Facebook - Connect with your
Friends
http://www.facebook.com Facebook is a social utility that
connects people with friends and
others who work, study and live
around them. People use Facebook
DNAStream is a Web based
application that allows you to watch
video clips and shows right from your
browser, in a very good streaming.
Among the site TV channels you'll
find:Documentaries, Music Videos,
Live Music Concerts, Trailers, Sports,
Pixel Perfect Episodes, Animation, Ads
clips and many more Internet videos
from all kinds.
Dropbox allows you to upload any file
to the system, and share it with
anyone you want.
44
Good, easy to use
interface
Reduces ID management
problems, by allowing to
use Twitter or Facebook
ID to sign in
English
Difficult to use interface
English, French,
German, Spanish,
Chinese
2 GB free space
Simple interface
Requires download &
installation
68 languages
supported
No accessibility toolbar,
but (rumoured) to be
introduced shortly
Safety issues are
to keep up with friends, upload an
unlimited number of photos, post
links and videos, and learn more
about the people they meet.
described on FAQ-style
pages; special sections
dedicated to teachers,
but not to seniors.
Famento is a place for you to record
personal and family history. Famento
lets you keep in touch with people you
care about, and tell them about your
life using photos, videos, stories, and
more.
User friendly Beta version
(does not seem to work)
FarmVille - Grow your own Farm with http://www.farmville.com
your Friends
Grow delicious fruits and
vegetables and raise adorable
animals on your very own farm,
with the help of your Facebook
friends.
Facebook login required
flauntR: One Click Effects
flauntr.com
flauntR is a free online photo editor
and effects software. Apply 1000s of
digital photo effects to your images
with just one click. Get images directly
from FlickR or your PC. Use the online
photo album feature for photo
storage, and access your albums
online. Share your creations by email,
edit pictures online for embedding on
your web page and blog.
English, Dutch,
French, German,
Spanish
Flickr - Online Photo Management
and Sharing Application
http://www.flickr.com/
Flickr want to help people make
their photos available to the
people who matter to them.
Maybe they want to keep a blog of
moments captured on their
cameraphone, or maybe they want
to show off their best pictures to
the whole world in a bid for web
English,
German,
French, Spanish,
Portuguese,
Italian
Famento: Your Family History
famento.com
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celebrity. Or maybe they want to
securely and privately share photos
of their kids with their family
across the country. Flickr makes all
these things possible and more!
Flixlab: Make Great Movies. Together flixlab.com
Gawkk: Share Videos with Friends
gawkk.com
Graabr: Grab Your Screen
graabr.com
InTheMO: Find and Recommend the
Best Spots Out There
inthemo.com
JingProject: Add Visuals to your
Online Conversations
jingproject.com
Like fm: An Easy Way to Share your
Music
like.fm
Flixlab is the fast, free, and fun way to
turn the videos and pictures on your
smartphone into great movies to
share on Facebook.
Gawkk is a social video community
where members discover, share and
discuss videos from around the web
with their friends by answering the
question: What are you watching?
Graabr is an application and hosting
service which uploads your screen to
graabr.com, with the option of sharing
to social web sites like Twitter,
Facebook, etc with just a few mouse
clicks.
Watch videos. Get Recs from friends
and local experts. Know more.
InTheMO gives you personalized
recommendations for the best
restaurants, nightlife, shopping,
hotels, entertainment, services and
more, in cities around the world.
With Jing you can quickly capture a
picture of your screen, record video of
onscreen action, and share instantly
over the web, IM, email.
Like.fm learns your music tastes from
the songs you play so you can easily
tell your friends what music you like,
46
Only for iPhone
Easy to use interface, videos
categorized
Download & installation
required
Horizontal scroll
Seems to be US only
Easy to use
Download required
Facebook login possible
and discover new music from them.
LivingMemory: A Place for Close
Friends and Family
livingmemory.com
LivingMemory is for everybody to use
everyday. It is a robust online world
that allow their Members to create an
online memory of their existence on
this planet in an ongoing and easy
manner.
Magisto is a web app that will simply
make your video worth sharing:
Magisto will take a long and boring
video, take the gist of it and create a
great-looking clip you’d be proud to
share. And it is all done in a few clicks.
Capture photos, videos, music, tweets,
posts, and much more.View and share
your entire life online. Create stories
of your best memories together with
your friends. Explore and search your
life and the lives of your friends
online.
Magisto: Make You
magisto.com
Memolane: See, Search , and Share
your Life
memolane.com
MessageHop: Cool Way to Create
Personal Messages
messagehop.com
A fast and easy way to create a
special message for loved ones.
English
Free service, big fonts and
images, extremely simple
usage, might be
interesting for older
people
Midomi: Search Music With Your
Own Voice
midomi.com
Midomi allows you to find and
discover music and people. Use your
voice to instantly connect to your
favorite music, and to a community of
people that share your musical
interests. Sing your own versions,
listen to voices, see pictures, rate
singers, send messages, and buy
English, Italian,
French, Spanish,
Portuguese,
German, Polish
Easy to use
May pose privacy and
security issues
47
Free
Easy to use interface
Horizontal scroll
Example video does not
work
Easy to use
Simple interface
Integrates other social web
applications
(security?)
music.
Mixlr: Brodcast Live, High Quality
Audio
mixlr.com
Mogulus: Live Broadcast
mogulus.com
molv: Stream Live Videos from
Mobile to Web
molv.com
Moof: A Social Web-Based Music
Player
moof.com
Mixlr makes professional broadcasting
easy. Broadcast live, high-quality
audio across the web, iPhone, iPad
and mobile devices. Free.
With Mogulus, you can blend your
webcam, video clips from YouTube,
and your own original content into
your own unique TV program - and
you call all the shots. When you’re not
broadcasting live, turn on the autopilot and let it drive your playlist.
Mogulus gives you a wealth of
broadcast graphics including ticker,
bumper, lower third name, and logo
bug. Additionally, you can customize
these graphics using your own logos
and colours.
molv lets you stream live videos from
your phones to the world. So its like
carrying a ready to shoot and
broadcast camera in your pocket
wherever you go. Share those
incredible moments, be an eye
witness. molv streams your video live
as you are shooting it, so you don't
have to wait till you finish shooting
video.
Search for and listen to any song you
like, online, on-demand, for free,
whenever you want. All the
functionality of a full desktop media
48
Free trial only
Requires a smartphone to
stream video from
Simple to use
Adds YouTube results to a
playlist
player, in your browser.
Movieclips: Watch & Share Movie
Clips
movieclips.com
Movieclips is a premium online video
destination offering audiences the
largest and most diverse collection of
movie scenes. Movieclips allows fans
to find, watch and share more than
12,000 movie clips from the libraries
of major Hollywood studios.
mufin is a music discovery engine,
which you can easily discover new
music in a large database with millions
of songs - most likely that you fine
exactly the sound that you dig.
Mufin: Discover Music Engine
mufin.com
PhotoPeach: Fresh Slideshow to Go
photopeach.com
Automatically make your own free
slide show in seconds. Upload
photos, pick music, add captions in
the show, and more.
PhotoShow: Make your own
PhotoShow
photoshow.com
Upload photos from your computer,
any MySpace account, or photo URL.
After uploading photos, you can
customize your music, captions,
transition styles, and more.
PicasaWeb - Google Web Album
picasaweb.google.com
Pictarine: Zest of Life
pictarine.com
Picasa Web Albums is Picasa’s
Multilanguage
newest feature, designed to help
users post and share their photos
quickly and easily on the web. With
picasa can now upload and share
video's for free.
Create your photo albums with
your friends. Easily create a medley
of your photos and contacts from
Facebook, Flickr and Picasa.
49
Simple to use
1 GB space free
Intended to share music
between devices
Interface may be confusing
Needs download and
installation of application
Good interface, easy to
use, yet powerful set of
tools
Free
Facebook, Picasa, flickr,
Gmail or Yahoo! Account
required
Pix.ie: Make your Photos Come Alive
pix.ie
Pixavid: Share And Host Your Images
With Ease
pixavid.com
Pixenate: Photo Made Easy
pixenate.com
PlaylistNow: Playlists Based on
Activity
playlistnow.fm
RadioTime: Easy to find Local Radio
Stations.
ce.radiotime.com
Rounds: Video Chat. As It Should Be
rounds.com
Pix.ie provides you with a safe place to
upload, share and permanently store
your photos. The service have loads of
cool features to make photo sharing
on the Internet fun, safe and easy.
Right now Pix.ie offers a massive
500MB upload limit per month. That's
up to 6GB per year for free.
pixavid is free image sharing site that
allows you to easily upload a picture
and share it on social net working sites
such as Facebook, Digg, Reddit,
Twitter, Stumbleupon and more, or
embed it in a message board or blog.
A quick and easy way to design and
edit your image online.
Playlistnow is all about changing the
way people think about music in the
web. PlaylistNow is a big believers in
the situation and the playlists that can
make improve your experience.
Find and listen to podcasts, music and
local radio stations online .
Rounds is a place where friends can
video chat and simultaneously watch
videos together, browse Facebook,
play real-time games and collaborate
together on a unique and interactive
social entertainment platform.
Register today and enjoy a truly rich
50
Beta version
Safety seems to be better
addressed than with other
sites
No content filtering
English, Spanish
Intuitive interface, yet not
very comfortable page
layout
Simple, but powerful
Interface might be slightly
confusing
Big fonts, simple navigation,
can browse stations in
multiple countries
Interface slightly buggy
No registration
More appealing for younger
groups,
Beta version
and fun video chat experience.
Screencast O Matic: Create
Screncasts Easily
screencast-o-matic.com
Screencast-O-Matic is the free and
easy way to create a video recording
of your screencasts and upload it for
free hosting all from your browser
with no install.
Showzey: Take Control of your
Photos
showzey.com
Shuffler.fm: Channel Surf the Music
Web
shuffler.fm
Shufflr tv: Social Video Browser
shufflr.tv
SlideBomb: Ultimate Mashup for
Media
slidebomb.com
SnapPages: Website Creation For The
Rest Of Us
snappages.com
Showzey is service which liberates all
your photos. Showzey will collect all of
your photos along with shared photos
from your Gmail mailboxes, Facebook
account, Picasa albums, and Flickr
albums. You can share photos, copy
them between sites, make funny
captions, create RSS feeds, etc.
A fun way to navigate through
thousands of music blogs. The web is
your player, blogger are your DJ's.
AIR-based application Shufflr ,is a
social video browser where videos
find you. A slick way to discover,
watch & share online videos.
SlideBomb lets you create mashup
slideshows... Embed Youtube videos,
images, Google Maps, and more. Its
Free, Fast, and embeddable.
Easily create your own professionally
designed website online with
SnapPages. You can share your
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EN
Straightforward, but might
be more relevant for
trainers
15 minutes maximum
length for free
Watermarked video in free
version
Requires Java plugin
Simple tool
Requires access to Gmail,
Flickr or Picasa account
and social network
Under maintenance at the
time of editing
Easy to use interface, good
contrasts, large fonts
Simple registration
Free account up to a limit of
5 pages and 1 GB
Simple, but powerful web
Songr: Finding Music You Like
songr.com
Splashup: Multiple Image Editing
splashup.com
Stupeflix: Video Creation Made Easy
stupeflix.com
Tango: Mobile Video Calls Wherever
You Are
tango.me
theRADIO: Click, Search, Listen
theradio.com
photos, organize your calendar,
connect with friends, and more all in
one place.
With songr, you can find music others
are listening to in real time. Being
bored has never been more
interesting.
Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a
powerful editing tool and photo
manager. With all the features
professionals use and novices want,
it's easy to use, works in real-time and
allows you to edit many images at
once. Splashup runs in all browsers,
integrates seamlessly with top
photosharing sites, and even has its
own file format so you can save your
work in progress.
Stupefix is a rest web service that
turns your pictures, videos, and text
into professional videos. Differentiate
your service with video produced from
your own content. Create one or
thousands of video ads and spread
them all over the web. Instantly
expand your product line to video
(mobile, web, and dvd).
Tango brings friends and family closer
together by offering free mobile video
calling on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch,
and Android devices. Tango works on
Wi-Fi and 3G. Make free video calls
anywhere with Tango.
With theRADIO search engine for
music, users are allowed to listen to
52
page creation tool
Large fonts
Simple music sharing
Powerful, interface similar
to commercial image editing
software (e.g. Photoshop)
Not really recommended for
beginners
Fee based
Free option offered, with
limited capabilities and
branding
For mobile devices only
Fee based download
Free online listening
free and enjoy the site 190+ online
pure digital channels.
Tracking Shot to help you create
videos that you will want to share with
your friends and family. Essentially all
you have to do is click upload and
then select the photos and music that
you want to use.
Troovi is an easy photo exchange
English, German
platform to share your photos in high
quality. There's no need to register Simply choose the photos you want to
share and upload them. To share the
photos with others all you have to do
is to send them your unique link.
Tracking Shot: Making Movies Out of
your Photos
trackingshot.com
Troovi: Exchange and Share your
Photos in High Quality
troovi.com
Twitter - What are you Doing?
http://twitter.com/
A global community of friends and
strangers answering one simple
question: What are you doing?
Answer on your phone, IM, or right
here on the web.
UJAM: Now Everyone Can Make
Great Music
ujam.com
ViewBook: Professional Online
Presentations, Photo Albums and
Portfolios
viewbook.com
UJAM is a cloud-based platform that
empowers everybody to easily create
new music or enhance their existing
musical talent and share it with
friends.
Viewbook.com is an online service
that helps you to create and share
professional clean looking
presentations, portfolios and photoalbums on your viewbook domain
(yourusername.viewbook.com).
Viewbook is simple, clean and refined
in its user interfaces and
53
English, French,
German, Italian,
Spanish,
Turkish, Russian,
Chinese,
Japanese
Small fonts
Confusing interface
Small font
Sharing via direct URL (may
be confusing)
No accessibility toolbar,
but well structured and
clear interface
Good “Help Center”
Simple tool for creating
music from scratch
For professional use or
seasoned photo hobbyists
Fee based (30 days free
trial)
presentations. Viewbook aims at
professional users such as
photographers, designers, artists and
anyone who wants to present images
without fuzz.
Wahwah.fm: Location-based Music
Sharing App
wahwah.fm
We Are Hunted: The Online Music
Chart
wearehunted.com
Yogile: Easy Photo Sharing
yogile.com
Wahwah.fm is a music service, based
on your smartphone. With
Wahwah.fm, you listen to your music
and broadcast it at the same time.
Other Wahwah.fm users can tune into
your broadcast and hear the exact
same music you are listening to. It's
like running your own mobile radio
station. Anywhere you are. Anytime
you like.
We Are Hunted gives the latest music
news from around the globe. It's
aggregate social networks, forums,
music blogs, Torrents, P2P Networks
and Twitter to develop a daily chart of
the 99 most popular songs online.
Mobile application
Under construction
Yogile is a photo sharing service
that makes it incredibly easy to
share images privately and within
groups. Take a wedding for
example. Dozens of attendees take
their own photos, all from different
cameras and angles. While you
might try asking everyone for their
shots afterward, Yogile offers a
smart alternative by giving
everyone your customized album
URL or e-mail address.
Simple interface
Small font
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More applicable to young
generation users
Stripped down, confusing
interface
Zoom And Go: Hotel Reviews,
Pictures, Videos - Over A Map
zoomandgo.com
Zoom And Go is about inspiring
travelers about where to go, what to
see, what to do and where to stay
based on the experiences of other
travelers or on the recommendations
from locals around the world.
Map on start page with
posts straightforward to use
Simple upload process
Zoom it: Zoom Any Image
zoom.it
Zoom.it is a free service for viewing
and sharing high-resolution
imagery. You give us the link to any
image on the web, and we give you
a beautiful new way to experience
it - along with a nice short URL.
API could be useful to
make websites zoomable
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