Abstract
In today’s society, which is characterised by the pervasiveness of information, it is essential to encourage everyone to develop active competences to access the resources that are available on the Web.
The active access is intended on the one hand to develop the creative, metacognitive and critical thinking skills that are necessary to manage the lifelong learning process actively, and on the other hand to implement opportunities to participate effectively in democratic life, which is essential to build a profile of active and responsible citizenship with regards to the various contexts of real and digital life.
From this point of view, the access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) assumes a key role for every user, including the ones with disability problems.
Through digital technologies people with any disabilities can improve their chances to have access to products, services and environments that may represent real opportunities to develop their life plan and, therefore, they become enabling opportunities.
Consequently, this makes it even more evident that e-learning is a strategic resource to try to fill the distances represented by obstacles set by the traditional educational and informational methods.
The products, services and learning paths that are characterised by Web access must be designed in order to be able to be used and managed in an open and inclusive way, taking into consideration all the different special needs of every single person. This design must go beyond the technological standards identified so far, in order to include the pedagogical and methodological aspects necessary to develop a range of courses aiming at providing everyone with opportunities for a “barrier-free” access to the available resources.