Inclusive Learning on a Single Platform

How alsterarbeit breaks down digital barriers

Key data & facts

Goal: To make digital continuing education accessible to people with varying cognitive abilities.

Target audience: People with disabilities and employees covered by collective bargaining agreements

Solution: Inclusive Learning Academy based on eFront LMS with intuitive user guidance and a multi-level language concept.

Key Features: QR code login, plain language, four levels of comprehensibility, accessible UX design

Result: Approximately 2,500 learners on a shared platform for greater digital inclusion.

Learning, Inclusive, Online

How do you create a learning platform that people with a wide range of abilities can use independently and equally? This was precisely the question that sparked the project.

The goal was not simply to find a learning management system, but rather a digital learning environment that actively supports inclusion and provides access to continuing education for people with disabilities as well as employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.

In collaboration with clickandlearn, the digital Learning Academy Lio—Learning. Inclusive. Online—was created. Developed using the eFront LMS, it focuses on digital inclusion and demonstrates how accessible learning can work in practice.

About alsterarbeit:

alsterarbeit GmbH is a nonprofit organization based in Hamburg and part of the Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf network. The company’s goal is to offer people with disabilities and mental health conditions employment and training opportunities—as close as possible to the general job market.

The focus is on person-centered workplaces and internally differentiated learning opportunities that take individual abilities and support needs into account. Learning is a central component of this approach, designed to promote participation, independence, and personal development in a sustainable way.

The challenge

Many digital learning platforms are designed for a standardized target audience and take individual learning needs into account only to a limited extent. That wasn’t enough for alsterarbeit. The company was looking for a solution that would be open to both employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and people with disabilities-without separate systems or different learning environments.

Technical accessibility in accordance with established standards, such as the WCAG guidelines, was only part of the challenge. The key was to create a learning platform that people with varying cognitive abilities could use intuitively and independently.

In day-to-day work, it quickly became apparent just how diverse the users’ needs are:

various media literacy skills,
different support needs,
various orientation requirements,
simple language versus everyday language,
large, high-contrast elements versus traditional user interfaces.

The conclusions drawn from this were clear: It is not people who must adapt to a learning platform—the learning platform must adapt to people’s needs.

The solution

Together with clickandlearn, alsterarbeit developed a digital academy that was consistently designed from the learners’ perspective. With Lio—Learning. Inclusive. Online.—a learning platform was created that breaks down barriers simply through its design.

Instead of complex navigation, the focus is on clear user guidance, large visual elements, and easy navigation. A QR code login further simplifies access and reduces technical barriers to getting started.

Another key feature is the option to switch the user interface to plain language. This makes learning significantly more accessible for a variety of target audiences.

Lio demonstrates that digital accessibility can go far beyond legal requirements.

One Platform Instead of Many Custom Solutions

A key goal of the project was to avoid creating separate learning environments for different target groups.

For the first time, people with disabilities and employees covered by collective bargaining agreements are learning together on the same platform—tailored to their individual needs.

This creates an inclusive learning environment that not only enables participation but also actively promotes it.

A technical platform thus becomes a tool for equal opportunity.

Learning at the Right Level

Today, Lio offers around 200 digital learning courses for approximately 2,500 users.

The courses cover the following subject areas, among others:

Work-Related Topics
Me and My Work (Professional Competence)
Academic Knowledge
Digital Skills
Office 365
Workplace Safety
IT Security
Communication
Feedback
Time Management
Learning How to Learn

A distinctive feature of the platform is the way the content is presented for educational purposes.

Many courses are available at several different levels of difficulty:

Level 1 – easiest to understand
Level 2 – very easy to understand
Level 3 – easy to understand
Level 4 – everyday language

This allows learners to access the same content based on their individual needs without being excluded.

Learning Together—With Individualized Support

Everyday experience shows that different people need different forms of support.

That’s why Lio focuses on clear visual guidance, reduced complexity, and structured navigation.

At the same time, alsterarbeit, in collaboration with clickandlearn, is pursuing a long-term vision: adaptive user interfaces and intelligent support modes that will be even more closely tailored to learners’ individual needs in the future.

Results and Added Value

With Lio, we have succeeded in making digital professional development accessible to a target audience that is often only partially reached by traditional learning management systems.

The key results at a glance:

Launch of the Digital Academy in 2022
Approximately 2,500 users
Nearly 200 digital courses
Four levels of comprehensibility for the same learning content
QR code login for easy access
Switchable user interface in plain language
Shared learning platform for employees and people with disabilities
Digital inclusion instead of separate learning systems

Additional Key Figures

Number of courses completed: 3,250
Average number of courses completed per month: over 150
Active users per week in 2026: 80 on average
Average study time: 0.85 hours per week per person
Total study time since January 14, 2025: 222 days and 5 hours

Why eFront LMS?

eFront LMS provided the technological foundation for a project that goes far beyond traditional learning platforms.
The platform’s flexibility made it possible to adapt existing features to the specific needs of an inclusive target audience while also creating a future-proof foundation for further developments. In collaboration with clickandlearn, the result was not a standard solution, but a custom-designed Learning Academy that actively supports digital inclusion.

Conclusion

Lio impressively demonstrates that modern corporate learning doesn’t end with the delivery of learning content.
If learning is to reach everyone, learning platforms must take into account the diversity of their users. Lio is a digital academy that breaks down barriers, promotes independence, and enables people with different cognitive abilities to learn together.

In doing so, alsterarbeit not only makes an important contribution to digital continuing education but also sets new standards for inclusive learning management systems.

Testimonials from platform users:

“Dear Lio Team, even though I haven’t taken many courses yet, I’m really excited about the learning opportunities you offer. I especially appreciate that the courses go beyond the level of the course booklet and can really help people re-enter the primary job market. I really enjoyed the ‘Agile Mindset’ course. Thank you so much!”

“I’m totally satisfied with the courses and am also looking forward to one of the newest ones- ‘Communication on the Phone’ – or something like that 😉 It’s nice to have a little business-related content included.”

“I think it’s a great idea to offer a website like this with courses. I’m sure there are plenty of people who want to expand their knowledge, etc. Thank you very much!”

“I think Lio is great. Thank you for making Lio :)”

Visualizations of the system

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