Glossary

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Accessibility Advocacy(also: Accessibility Activism, A11y Advocacy)

The practice of promoting, educating others about, and pushing for the adoption of accessible practices in digital and physical environments. In online spaces, accessibility advocacy often falls disproportionately on people with disabilities themselves, who must repeatedly…

Accessible Publishing(also: Inclusive Publishing, Born Accessible Publishing)

The practice of creating digital publications — including e-books, journals, and documents — that are accessible to people with disabilities from the point of creation rather than through after-the-fact remediation. Accessible publishing involves using semantic structure…

Age-Related Functional Limitations(also: Ageing-Related Accessibility Needs, Age-Related Impairments)

The gradual changes in sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities that commonly occur with ageing, including declining vision, hearing loss, reduced dexterity and fine motor control, and changes in memory and processing speed. These functional limitations often overlap…

Aging and Accessibility(also: Age-Related Accessibility, Older Adults and Technology)

The intersection of age-related changes in vision, hearing, cognition, and motor skills with the design of accessible digital technologies. As people age, they commonly experience declining visual acuity, reduced contrast sensitivity, slower processing speed, decreased working…

Asynchronous Communication(also: Async Communication)

Communication that does not occur in real time, allowing participants to send and receive messages at different times. In educational and workplace contexts, examples include email, discussion forums, recorded lectures, and messaging platforms. Asynchronous communication…

C2C Marketplace(also: Customer-to-Customer Marketplace, Peer-to-Peer Marketplace)

An online platform where individual consumers list goods or services for sale to other individual consumers, rather than selling through a business intermediary. Examples include eBay, Etsy, Mercari, Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, Depop, Gumtree, and Craigslist. C2C marketplaces…

Code Literacy(also: Coding Literacy, Programming Literacy)

The ability to read, write, and understand computer code, increasingly recognized as a fundamental skill for education and employment in the digital economy. In accessibility contexts, code literacy education faces significant barriers for people who are blind or have low vision…

Computer Anxiety(also: Technophobia, Computer Phobia, Technology Anxiety)

Negative emotions and cognition processes — including fear, intimidation, apprehension, and hostility — evoked during actual or imagined interaction with computer-based technology. Computer Anxiety is a significant accessibility barrier particularly prevalent among older adults…

Computer Self-Efficacy(also: CSE, Technology Self-Efficacy)

A person's belief in their own ability to successfully perform tasks using a computer. Computer Self-Efficacy (CSE) is a strong predictor of technology adoption and is inversely correlated with Computer Anxiety — people with low CSE are more likely to experience anxiety, avoid…

Crowd Work(also: Crowdwork, Microtask Work, Gig Work)

A form of employment in which tasks are distributed to a large pool of online workers through digital platforms, typically broken into small, discrete units that can be completed independently and remotely. In the accessibility context, crowd work platforms present both…

DO-IT(also: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology)

A pioneering program founded at the University of Washington in 1992 by Sheryl Burgstahler, funded by the National Science Foundation, to increase the participation of students with disabilities in science, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. DO-IT…

Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship refers to the capacity to participate fully, safely and recognisably in online and digital public life - having roles, routines and voice in the platforms where shared culture and civic life are increasingly located. For disabled users, and particularly…

Digital Disability Divide

The gap between people with and without disabilities in both access to and effective use of information and communication technologies. The term extends the broader concept of the digital divide to emphasise that merely providing connectivity or devices is insufficient when…

Digital Divide(also: Digital Gap, Digital Inequality)

The gap between people who have effective access to digital technologies and those who do not, encompassing differences in internet connectivity, device ownership, digital skills, and the ability to meaningfully use technology. The digital divide disproportionately affects older…

Digital Financial Inclusion(also: Financial Technology Accessibility, Inclusive Fintech)

Ensuring that digital financial services — including mobile banking, mobile money (like M-Pesa), online payments, and digital wallets — are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Digital financial inclusion is a critical accessibility issue because financial…

Digital Labor(also: Digital Labour, Online Labor)

Work performed through digital platforms and online systems, including microtask crowdwork, gig economy jobs, and remote freelancing. Digital labor raises important accessibility considerations because it can offer people with disabilities flexible employment opportunities that…

Digital Literacy(also: Digital Skills, Computer Literacy, ICT Literacy)

The ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information using digital technologies. Digital literacy extends beyond basic technical skills to include understanding how to use technology safely and effectively, critically evaluating online information, managing privacy…

Digital Scaffolding(also: Inclusive Digital Scaffolding)

An educational framework that applies Vygotsky's scaffolding theory to the acquisition of digital skills by people with disabilities, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries. Digital scaffolding structures learning through four zones: the Out of Reach Zone (baseline…

Digital Self-Efficacy(also: Technology Self-Efficacy, Computer Self-Efficacy)

An individual's belief in their ability to effectively use digital technologies to accomplish tasks. Digital self-efficacy influences how people approach technology challenges, persist through difficulties, and recover from errors. For people with progressive cognitive…

Digital Skills Training(also: Digital Literacy Training, ICT Skills Training)

Structured instruction in using digital technologies effectively, including basic device operation, internet navigation, application use, and accessibility feature configuration. For people with disabilities in low-resource settings, digital skills training is often as important…

Digital Television(also: DTV, Digital TV, iTV)

Television broadcasting and receiving technology that uses digital signals rather than analogue, enabling additional features such as interactive services, electronic programme guides, on-demand content, and multiple channel packages. Digital television accessibility is a…

Digital by Default(also: Digital-first, Digital-only)

A public-sector service design strategy, formalised in the UK from 2012, that treats online channels as the primary (and often sole) means of accessing government services, with phone and in-person support positioned as exceptional fallbacks. While framed as delivering…

Distance Education(also: Distance Learning, Long Distance Education, Remote Education)

A mode of education in which learners and instructors are physically separated, with teaching and learning mediated through communication technologies rather than face-to-face contact. Distance education predates the internet, historically using mail, radio, and television, but…

Double Digital Divide

The intersection of two layers of digital exclusion that compound each other, creating amplified barriers to participation. In disability and global accessibility contexts, the term describes how disability-related accessibility barriers (such as inaccessible interfaces and lack…

E-Learning(also: Electronic Learning, eLearning, Online Learning)

Education and training delivered through digital technologies, primarily via the internet and computer-based platforms. E-learning encompasses a range of approaches from fully online courses to supplementary digital materials, enabling learners to access content at their own…

Endangered Sign Language(also: Minority Sign Language, Under-Documented Sign Language)

A sign language at risk of falling out of use, typically because the Deaf community that uses it is small, geographically isolated, or under pressure to adopt a dominant sign language. Most of the world's estimated 300+ sign languages are poorly documented, with African sign…

English as a Second Language(also: ESL, ENL, ELL)

English as a Second Language (ESL) refers to the teaching and learning of English by speakers of other languages. In accessibility contexts, language barriers are recognized as a significant form of exclusion, affecting over 1.5 billion English learners worldwide who may…

Esports(also: Competitive Gaming, Electronic Sports, E-Sports)

Organised, competitive video-game play — typically involving tournaments, teams, audiences, and professional players. Esports has grown into a major global industry and a site of accessibility research, because conventional game controllers and high-speed inputs can exclude…

Extended Digital Scaffolding(also: WhatsApp-Based Scaffolding)

A new zone in the Digital Scaffolding Framework that extends classroom-based digital skills training through ongoing support via digital communication platforms such as WhatsApp groups. In this zone, trainers continue to assist participants after formal training ends,…

Financial Accessibility(also: Accessible Banking, Inclusive Finance)

The design and provision of financial services, tools, and platforms that are usable by people of all abilities, ages, and levels of digital literacy. Financial accessibility encompasses making banking websites and mobile apps compatible with assistive technologies, designing…

Financial Literacy

The knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions about money — including understanding income, expenses, saving, debt, interest, credit, taxes, insurance, and benefits programs. For accessibility, financial literacy intersects with numeracy, reading accessibility, and…

Fintech(also: Financial Technology)

An umbrella term for software and digital-service innovations in the financial sector, including online and mobile banking, payments (e.g., Apple Pay, PayPal), budgeting apps, investment platforms, digital wallets, cryptocurrency services, and Buy-Now-Pay-Later products. Fintech…

Friendsourcing

A practice where people with disabilities turn to friends, family members, or social network contacts to obtain assistance with accessibility-related tasks, such as describing images, identifying objects, or verifying visual information. Unlike crowdsourcing from strangers,…

Functional Illiteracy(also: Low Literacy, Limited Literacy)

A condition in which a person has basic reading and writing skills but cannot effectively understand or use written text for everyday tasks such as reading instructions, filling out forms, or comprehending web content beyond simple sentences. UNESCO defines functional illiteracy…

Gig Economy(also: Platform Economy, On-Demand Economy)

An economic model characterized by short-term, flexible, and freelance work arrangements facilitated through digital platforms, rather than traditional permanent employment. For people with disabilities, the gig economy presents both opportunities and challenges: it can provide…

Grey Digital Divide(also: Gray Digital Divide, Age-Related Digital Divide)

The gap in technology adoption, usage, and digital skills between older adults and younger populations. While older adults may be interested in using technology for communication, health management, and entertainment, they often face barriers including interface complexity,…

Health Literacy(also: Digital Health Literacy, eHealth Literacy)

The degree to which individuals can obtain, process, understand, and act on health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. In the digital context, health literacy extends to the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from…

Inclusive Esports(also: Accessible Esports)

A framing of competitive gaming that enables players with and without disabilities to compete on common terms — through universal input modalities (e.g., EMG, motion sensing, eye tracking), accessible controllers, software-based player balancing, or game designs that avoid…

Indian Language Accessibility(also: Indic Language Accessibility)

The set of challenges and solutions involved in making digital technology accessible to people with disabilities who use Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and others. Indian languages use complex scripts with features like consonant conjuncts…

Internationalization(also: i18n)

The process of designing and developing software, websites, or applications so that they can be adapted to different languages, regions, and cultural conventions without requiring engineering changes. Internationalization involves architectural decisions such as supporting…

Mobile Disability Gap(also: Digital Disability Divide, Smartphone Disability Gap)

The disparity in mobile phone and smartphone ownership, access, and usage between disabled and non-disabled populations. In Kenya, smartphone ownership among disabled individuals is only 12% compared to 41% for non-disabled people — a 72% gap. The mobile disability gap is driven…

Mobile Health Technology(also: mHealth, Mobile Health, MHT)

The use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to deliver health services, information, and interventions. In accessibility contexts, mobile health technology is significant because smartphones are often the most accessible and affordable computing device available to…

Multilingualism(also: Multilingual Accessibility, Language Diversity)

The use of or support for multiple languages within a system, platform, community, or society. In the context of digital accessibility, multilingualism refers to the design and development of websites and applications that can present content and interfaces in multiple…

National Accessibility Portal(also: NAP, South African National Accessibility Portal)

A South African government-supported web portal developed by the Meraka Institute (CSIR) to provide accessible information sharing for the disability sector. The NAP was designed from inception as an accessible platform, featuring alternative CSS stylesheets for different font…

Offline Access(also: Offline Mode, Disconnected Access, Offline-First)

The ability to use digital content, applications, or services without an active internet connection. Offline access is an important accessibility consideration because it ensures that users in areas with unreliable, expensive, or nonexistent connectivity — including many rural…

Open Data(also: Open Government Data, Public Data)

Data that is published and made freely available to everyone without copyright or patent restrictions, following the premise that transparency enables public accountability and innovation. In accessibility, open data initiatives publish information about the accessibility of…

Open Data(also: Open Government Data)

Data that is freely available to anyone to use, redistribute, and republish without restrictions from copyright, patents, or other control mechanisms. In the accessibility context, open data initiatives by governments and transport authorities — such as publishing station…

Renarration(also: Content Renarration, Web Renarration)

The process of re-telling, re-presenting, or re-styling existing web content to make it accessible to new audiences who face barriers the original content was not designed to address. Renarration goes beyond traditional accessibility remediation by enabling transformations that…

Smart City(also: Intelligent City, Smart City Accessibility)

An urban area that uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the quality and efficiency of city services, infrastructure, and governance. In accessibility contexts, smart city technologies — including real-time public transit tracking, connected…

Social Networking Site(also: SNS, Social Network, Social Media Platform)

A social networking site (SNS) is an online platform that enables users to create profiles, connect with others, share content, and engage in social interactions. Examples include Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp. For accessibility, SNS design presents…