Abstract—Internet use by older people has increased dramatically
during the past 10 years. According to different sources,
the number of users over age 65 has more than doubled since
2000. Besides, the inevitable effect of younger users aging will
increase the number of older people using the Internet the next
decades. Unfortunately, older people face several challenges when
using the web due to diminishing capacities related to aging,
such as vision decline, hearing loss, decremented motor skills
and cognition issues.
On the other hand, e-learning can be an opportunity in helping
older people become integrated with the rest of society. In this
context, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) bring great
opportunities to enhance the quality of life of older people by
enabling lifelong learning and inclusion in learning communities.
However, MOOCs can present some barriers that could hamper
full participation by elderly students. In order to avoid these
barriers, MOOCs have to meet different user needs, skills and
situations: MOOCs have to successfully address web accessibility
challenges for elderly students. The purpose of this paper is
to raise awareness towards a better understanding of the web
accessibility challenges that elderly students of MOOCs face.