Archive for the ‘General’ Category
WCAG2 Masterclass workshop – Roger Hudson interview
27 May 2010
In the first of our interviews with presenters for the upcoming Masterclass series of workshops, we talked with Roger Hudson. Roger is one of the world’s leading accessibility experts and has a wonderful blend of theory and practical insight. Roger’s also one of the FullCodePress organisers.
We asked Roger about the current state of accessibility and what attendees can expect at the workshop.
Webstock: Hasn’t the accessibility battle been won already? Don’t most developers already take accessibility into account when they build websites?
Roger: Well things are getting better, no doubt about that, but there are still an awful lot of poor sites. Recently, when preparing a paper for the CSUN conference, I did a quick review of the 7 most visited sites in Australia and the 7 most visited in the US – only one of these 14 sites did not have accessibility errors on the homepage. Conference slides and speakers notes from my presentation are available here.
Webstock: How important is WCAG 2 and how widely used it is?
Roger: In my opinion WCAG 2 is a great improvement on WCAG 1 and I believe that when developers understand how to use it they will find complying with WCAG 2 easier. WCAG 2 is going to be the accessibility benchmark for many years to come, New Zealand adopted WCAG 2 in March 2009 and Australia endorsed a year later. However, the way the NZ authorities have adopted WCAG 2 is going to present some interesting challenges for the web community on your side of the Tasman. The draft of new US section 508 is also closely aligned with WCAG 2.
Webstock: What’s WAI-ARIA and why is it important?
Roger: WAI-ARIA defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user controls like those developed with AJAX. Work on WAI-ARIA is moving pretty fast. To varying degrees, ARIA is now supported by several browsers and screen readers, and is likely to become a W3C Recommendation in the near future.
During the workshop I will be showing a number of examples of how ARIA can improve the accessibility of web page components including forms and slider controls. Some in the web community believe once ARIA is more widely supported it will be here for the long term, other see ARIA as a temporary accessibility fix until HTML 5 becomes fully endorsed and supported – either way WAI-ARIA is one of the exciting new things happening in the area of accessibility. An increasing number of sites are now incorporating some ARIA – for example the BBC.
Webstock: I suspect a number of developers see accessibility as being “too hard for too little return”. How do you answer that attitude?
Roger: Accessibility is not too hard. When you come down to it, accessibility is largely about following the specs and making sites that are semantically correct. There are one or two slightly tricky bits, but as I said earlier, I strongly believe WCAG 2 will make it easier for developers to make accessible sites – not more difficult! What is very hard/difficult is trying to retro-fix accessibility problems on sites that were badly made in the first place.
With regard to the ROI, even if we forget the several hundred thousand New Zealanders with disabilities who will benefit from having sites that are accessible, there is an explosion in the different devices which we all now use to access the web and accessible sites are much more likely to work effectively on these new devices.
Webstock: What are three key takeaways attendees will leave your workshop with? How will these help them do their job better?
Roger: 1) An understanding of how the different elements of WCAG 2 fit together. You’d be amazed how many people still don’t know the difference between ‘normative’ Guidelines and Success Criteria, and ‘informative’ Techniques.
2) Practical real-world examples which demonstrate that complying with the WCAG 2 Success Criteria is not difficult.
3) An ability to test the accessibility of sites with different tools and experience using sites with the NVDA screen reader.
And for a fourth, we will also a various easy ways of meeting the WCAG 2 requirements relating to multi-media content such as video material.
Webstock: Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background, how did you get involved in accessibility, what keeps you working in this area?
Roger: I started in the film and television business as a writer/director and then became involved with the web. During 1996/7 I coordinated one of the first online teaching research projects called the Virtual Classroom. Started providing web usability services to clients in 2000 and then drifted into accessibility. I keep working in the area because I like doing it, when it stop being interesting and challenging I will probably move onto something else. You can find out more about me on the Web Usability site and my blog.
Webstock: Thanks Roger. We’re looking to having you here for the workshop and FullCodePress!
The end of rehab
21 May 2009
Rehab is always tough. Especially for Webstock who, let’s face it, enjoys many of those things that lead one to needing rehab occasionally. But we’re back – invigorated and rejuvenated and looking forward to the rest of the year.
Three years ago to the day, our first conference, Webstock 06 had just finished. Just under one year ago, Tash and I left our full-time jobs to work on Webstock. We’re not doing this with a multi-million dollar exit-strategy in mind; we’re not following a business plan and we’ve long given up hopes of world domination! But along with our partners, Deb and Ben, we’re having an absolute blast trying to do something good in this industry we so believe in. Good in the sense of making a difference (hopefully), and good in the sense of quality. We want to provide events and experiences that really matter to people and we want to show that this can be done in New Zealand as well as anywhere in the world.
This relaunched site, along with the ONYA web awards and the revitalised FullCodePress competition, is a lot of what we’ve been working on for the past couple of months. We hope you enjoy it.
There’s now a shop to buy the oh-so-collectible Webstock merchandise (dog not included). Recordings from our events are back online and over the course of the next few weeks we’ll be adding those from Webstock 09. And we’ve even embraced this new Web 20 thing, with embedded videos, user-generated tags and commenting. W00t!
We’ll also be launching the Webstock Master Class series of workshops very soon with the wonderful Garr Reynolds coming back in early July.
And don’t forget to mark February 15-19 in your diaries for Webstock 2010!
Tags: General
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Things to do while in NZ: your recommendations
10 February 2009
Some of our wonderful speakers have been wondering what to do while in New Zealand when not Webstocking. Here’s what some lovely folks recommended for both one’s stay in Wellington, and further afield…
Why not share your recommendations too.
Andrew’s list of awesome:
- Visiting the Waipoua Kauri Forest (north of Dargaville) followed by Sandboarding at Opononi
- Stay at the Treehouse Backpackers after catching the car ferry from Opononi
- Short walks at Waiohine Gorge (near Carterton)
- Surf Trip to Mahia, Hawkes Bay, followed by a trip around the East Cape
- Mountain Biking in the Redwood Forest , Rotorua
- Pancake Rocks , West Coast South Island
- The Catlins – Southland
- Steward Island (the whole thing!)
- Tongariro Crossing
- Tora – wicked part of NZ coastline only 40 mins from Martinborough vineyards
- Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park
- A beer or three at the Mussel Inn
- Margaritas at Capitol
- Train to Martinborough, bike around the wineries, dinner at the French Bistro and a night at Parehua. All a bit romantic.
- Degustation at Citron. (Wear a loose fitting trouser.)
- Gisborne/East Coast. Good beaches and good wines.
- The West Coast of the South Island.
- Milford Sound and that neck of the woods. Charming.
- Cuba St Carnival
- Get a car and just drive and see where it takes you. Sometimes the best trips are the unplanned ones.
- The Treaty at the Archive
- The old fort on top of the Miramar Peninsula
- The Beehive
- Mighty Mighty
- Aunt Daisy’s boatshed in Titahi Bay
- Walk out past the Turbine through the hills toward the south west coast
- Desolate Coast at Tora (East coast Wairarapa)
- Try to find the wreck on the beach at Waiterere beach (near Levin)
- Picnic in the botanic gardens
- Martinborough wine tour
- Bay of Islands
- Tongoriro mountain walk (I’ve always wanted to do this in summer)
- Mouraki Boulders (just north of Dunedin)
- Farewell Spit
- West Coast, South Island
- Milford Sound
- Rotorua & Lake Taupo
- Napier
- Kaikoura
- Down South
- Nelson and surrrounds
- Up North
- The Cuba Street Carnival
- yummy Noms
- Rent a car. Gather road trip companions (if required)
-
Drive from Wellington towards Taranaki. Pause for a pie at the Hot
Bread Shop in Otaki. Stop in Wanganui to visit the Sarjeant Gallery,
McNamara Gallery, and Ross Mitchell-Anyon’s extraordinary studio on the
banks of the Whanganui river. - On the way into Hawera, marvel at the giant dairy cow monument.
- On the way out of Hawera, abandon the country driving in favour of
Surf Highway 45. -
Stop off at Oakura beach (10 minutes before New Plymouth). Surf,
swim, or just check out the lifesavers. - In New Plymouth, visit the Len Lye show at the Govett-Brewster Art
Gallery. See if you can surreptitiously film yourself dancing in front
of ‘Tusalava’ and load it up to YouTube - Walk the whole 7km of the coastal walkway; take your togs and stop
off at Fitzroy beach. -
Climb Mt Taranaki – it’s a surprisingly easy day trip (she says
confidently, having last done it as a teenager). I’ve heard the best
experience is the very early morning climb, timed so that after reaching
the summit you see the sun rise over the North Island. - Have a romantic (if somewhat blingy) evening stroll around Pukekura
Park during the Festival of the Lights. Also good – although perhaps
less romantic – with kids in tow. -
Rent a bach in Mokau (about an hour north of New Plymouth) for a
night or two of sumptuous downtime. If you time it just right, you’ll be
able to stop in at the Urenui Rodeo (the national finals!) on your way
north. - Go to the vineyards in the Wairarapa. Stay in Martinborough and you can walk to a whole lot, or find yourself a driver
- Fur Patrol’s free gig after Webstock
- Breakfast Burritos at Sweet Mothers Kitchen
- Red Wine, Buffalo Mozzarella and Vitello Tonnato from Maria Pia’s Trattoria
- Cuba Street Carnival (The Saturday after webstock), street stalls, carnies, what more could you ask for?
- Go to Mighty Mighty on a Fri/Sat night, dance, observe and enjoy a toasted sandwich in the wee hours of the morning.
- Visit The New Dowse, similar to the Old Dowse, but with a mix of latte and the Arts and Crafts movement.
- Laugh at the obsession with Cuba icons, Fidels, Havana, Ernestos, propose a new cultural narrative?
- Talk to some kuwis, they have a habit of talking too fast, but you get used to the twang after a while.
- Foxton Fizz, it may be like sugar water, but at least it ain’t made by a multinational. Raspberry Spiders from Deluxe are always good on a hot day.
- Fly to Nelson and explore Golden Bay – drive from Collingwood through Kahurangi National park, have kai (food) from the super isolated Nugget cafe and then emerge on the West Coast.
- Road trip within the North Island – laugh at the parochial obsession with building large cultural icons from corrugated iron – Te Kuiti and its large Kiwifruit, Taupo and its Trout, rinse and repeat up and down State Highway One.
- National Parks and day trips
- Raglan – Sleepy Surf town turns it on, but the surf is a killer.
finally, - As is always the case, the New Zealand dialect is an interesting one, much as the Canadians have aboot and aye, the New Zealanders have sweet, and “yeah nah” observe and ask questions, us Kiwis will always be happy to clarify for the non-locals.
Tash’s list of awesome
Waiheke’s rather nice too. Good wine.
Ben’s list of awesome
And further afield:
Mike’s list of awesome
Mike claims to not get out much hence the brevity of this list.
Sue’s list of awesome
This list was complied by sue who grew up visiting every single spot of NZ every summer holidays
so she knows what she’s talking about, although she’s never been stupid enough to bungy jump
there is a whole pile more things you can do but that’s just a taster
Sue is also available to take you on a tiki tour because nothing makes her more happy than gushing about how much she loves wellington
it might smell a bit but the geothermal activity around rotorua is pretty special
don’t miss out on Waimangu Volcanic Valley for a mix of geothermal and nature
and if you are wanting to experience a bit of Maori culture Whakarewarewa the Living Thermal Village
or for you trampers why not try Tongariro Crossing
NZ’s art deco capital is just half a days drive away
along with the building you can check out the most excellent vineyards
If you have a thing for penguins why not visit marineland for a penguin encounter
go whale, bird and dolphin watching
it’s a little wrong to pack all these amazing national and world heritage parks into one number, but experiencing just one of these will make you smil
Mitre Peak & Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park
skip queenstown, it’s a bit of a tourist trap, however if extreme tourism is the name of your game
visit the worlds original bungy jumping site and ride the rapids in the shotover jet
check out Able Tasman National Park
farewell spit and some lovely vineyards and boutique beers and pottery around nelson
it’s hot it’s sunny there is a total fire ban at the moment, but the bay of isalnds is so lovely
check out tours to go swimming with dolphins
the kauri coast home to the great Kauri tree Tane_Mahuta
Public toilets in Kawakawa – by artist Hunderwasser
being held on the weekend after webstock this is NZ’s vibrant street carnival
you get all the fun of cuba street and the nz music scene in one day
the night parade kicks off at 9pm but we recommend getting a good spot well before then
Everyone has to eat so here’s a few place we love
- capitol, home to the best margarita in wellington and also some pretty great food
- hot and spicy, for south asian influence visit Monsoon Poon, for some indian food balti house (yes we know balti is an english thing)
- citron. there is something rather special about their Degustation menu
- Coffee & Cafes, we love our cafe culture in wellington so most places serve lovely coffee, we are also big on cake in NZ
Courtney’s list of awesome
With a Taranaki slant, in homage to her home province – go the Naki!
Joanna’s list of awesome
Kris’ list of awesome
Wellington:
Nue Zild (translation: New Zealand)
The glorious people at the Wellingtonista have also provided an outstanding list of Wellington based activities.
Thanks to Andy, Ben, Mike, Sue, Courtney and Kris for sharing. Have you something or somewhere to recommend? Do tell!
Tags: General · Webstock09
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