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Wake-Up Call: Open Source LMS
http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/oct2005/adkins.htm
Are Open Source LMS platforms taking the lead in learning technology innovation? "Some would say we should be fiercely competitive with Open Source, but our point of view is there's a tremendous opportunity for co-existence between commercial and Open Source software to deliver the best solutions to the e-learning market." Chris Vento, chief technology officer, WebCT, June 2005. There is a growing market demand for Open Source learning management system (OS LMS) products. This demand has attracted the attention of many corporate and government clients. Clients have begun to ask if Open Source LMSs are now viable alternatives to commercial platforms. Essentially, they are asking, "Are OS LMS platforms as good as commercial products yet?" The answer to date has been tentative and conditional. I answer that Open Source LMS platforms will be competitive when two market conditions occur: The market for commercial platforms reaches the commodity stage and OS LMS products exceed the level of innovation of the commercial systems. Is accessibility being considered in open source programs? The advantage of open source is that anyone can contribute to making a program more accessible, but the disadvantage is that anyone (or no one) can contribute to making a program more accessible. How can we ensure that accessibility features are included and actually work?
Contributed on Tue, 15 Nov 2005 01:48:05 GMT.
Microsoft to Scan Brit Books
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3562056
Scanning 25 million pages is a big job. Scanning the collection of the prestigious British Library is a plum job -- and Microsoft has snagged it. On Friday, Microsoft and the British Library announced a long-term strategic partnership to digitize 25 million pages from the library's collections in 2006. The partnership will add approximately 100,000 books to the new MSN Book Search service, announced last month, with an initial public beta expected next year. Microsoft and the British Library said they would only scan works in the public domain. And the partnership covers not only scanning and indexing books, but also working to create the software infrastructure for the National Digital Library, an initiative announced in June.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:41:18 GMT.
Students, Teachers Invited To 'Speak Up'
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryRSS.cfm?ArticleID=5934
Students and teachers across the United States are invited to voice their opinions on how technology affects their teaching and learning. The means of being heard is Speak Up Day 2005, an online survey that gives K-12 education's primary stakeholders the chance to suggest how technology should be used in their schools. Educators and students can register to participate in the survey until Nov. 18. NetDay, the national nonprofit organization that sponsors the annual survey, hopes to collect feedback from 250,000 K-12 students and teachers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American military bases worldwide. "There is so much that we need to learn about how children want to use technology and how teachers are actually using it, and that's the primary driving force behind doing this survey for the third time," said Julie Evans, chief executive officer of NetDay. "The Speak Up surveys provide a unique opportunity for students and teachers to share their authentic, unfiltered ideas about technology and education with both their local administrators as well as national policy makers." Be sure to 'speak up' for inclusive technology, universal design, and accessibility for all!
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:40:25 GMT.
Praat 4.3.28
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15855
Praat is a free computer program for the Macintosh with which phoneticians can analyze, synthesize, and manipulate speech and create high-quality pictures for their articles and doctoral theses.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:39:33 GMT.
Migrating from HTML to XHTML and XML
http://www.winwriters.com/articles/migrate/index.html
This is the first part of a two-part article describing a detailed methodology for migrating HTML files to the structure and flexibility of XHTML and/or XML. By using XHTML to add structure and separate content from presentation, you'll be better positioned for a move to XML. Even if you never move to XML, your XHTML files will be easier to create and maintain, and will be more accessible.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:38:56 GMT.
BBC helps make the Web more accessible
http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k5/nov/nov33.htm
MUMBAI: BBC, along with computing and disability charity AbilityNet, has launched a new site designed to help people with disability to get the most out of the net. My Web, My Way (bbc.co.uk/accessibility) equips anyone using their computer with the tools and understanding to enable them to make the most of the Internet, whatever their ability or disability, and regardless of the operating system (Windows, Mac or Linux) they use. The site provides advice and help to all those people who would benefit from making changes to their browser, operating system, or computer by giving advice on a wide range of specialist hardware such as alternative keyboards and mice, and software such as voice recognition, screen reading and word prediction. BBC digital accessibility editor Jonathan Hassell says, "As a public service Website, bbc.co.uk's goal is to ensure that we serve all of our users. In creating My Web, My Way, our work with AbilityNet helps make this objective a reality."
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:37:36 GMT.
Amazon, Random House throw book at Google
http://news.com.com//2100-1025_3-5931569.html
As Google put thousands of public domain books online Thursday, Amazon.com responded by announcing plans to allow people to read books on the Web. Meanwhile, Random House, the world's largest publisher of trade books, said it had come up with a business model for allowing people to pay to view its books on the Internet. Amazon's new "Amazon Pages" program will let people purchase online access to anywhere from a few pages of a book to an entire work. The e-commerce company also announced a program called "Amazon Upgrade" that will let customers pay extra to be able to access books electronically that they've had shipped to them in printed form. "Buy a cookbook and you will not only have it on your shelf, but also be able to access it anywhere via the Web," Amazon said in a statement. Digitized media can be particularly useful for students with disabilities, allowing them to access the material in a format that best suits their need - but only if the materials are developed with accessibility in mind.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:37:04 GMT.
Writers Call For Blind Book Funds
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4415406.stm
Leading authors have called for the government to act to help end the "book famine" faced people who are blind: Crime author Ruth Rendell and Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes are backing a Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) call for government funds. The RNIB, which is marking its talking book service's 70th anniversary, says 96% of books are not available in audio, large print or Braille form. Mr Fellowes said the government needed to "get involved" in funding services.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 23:36:15 GMT.
FCC Says Emergency Alerts Should Move Online
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5931419.html
When conceived in the dark days of the Cold War, CONELRAD and the Emergency Broadcast System were intended to alert Americans to an impending nuclear attack. Such an assault never happened, of course, but EBS--best known for its "this is a only a test" pronouncements--is occasionally invoked when hurricanes or tornados loom. Now the federal government has extended the emergency alert system to digital cable, satellite TV and satellite radio. Digital cable and satellite radio have until the end of 2006 to comply, and satellite TV has until May 31, 2007. Also, in a one-page statement released Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission said without elaboration that it was contemplating an extension of the alert system to the Internet, wireless systems and video delivered over fiber--such as what Verizon Communications plans to do with its Fios service. If vital information is going to be transmitted via the internet, it is essential that the information and interactivity be accessible to everyone - especially persons with disabilities.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:05:21 GMT.
Ethical SEO?
http://www.accessibilityblog.com/2005/11/03/ethical-seo/
From Matt Bailey 's Accessibility Outlook Blog: Yet another example of how SEO can screw up a site at Wait till I Come! I guess this has become my crusade - a defense of SEO and an offensive on crappy SEO. How to do both at the same time? That's the question. There is no central standards organization - the closest thing to some kind of standard is the search engines themselves. Google is the only engine that provides a full list of recommendations and warnings against specific SEO tactics. I was actually in a conversation about his last night - there is no actual definition of what an SEO does. Anyone who messes around with a site's title attributes and stuffs a few keywords into alt attributes carries the same "SEO" title as one who works with the site as a whole, considering usability, accessibility and overall site performance. In other words - anyone can be an SEO. The only way I have found to separate the different "types" of SEO is to find that person's view of the goal of a campaign. Sadly, many SEO's consider better rankings the ultimate measurement of a successful site marketing campaign - welcome to the late 90's of SEO.
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:04:17 GMT.
An Open Letter to Disney Store UK
http://webstandards.org/buzz/archive/2005_11.html#a000589
From the Web Standards Project (WaSP): Dear Disney Store UK, I would write this to you directly via your site feedback page but it is throwing Access database errors. The email appears to be down as well. So instead, I'm going to write my letter here in a public forum in the hopes that someone from your team sees it and takes heed. Your so-called redesign is a travesty, a tragedy, and an embarrassment. Your prior store was not only far more beautiful visually, but was a magnificent example of standards-based design. Perhaps more importantly, the site was also accessible under the UK's Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). You now have a site that regresses back to all the bad habits that have hurt the progress of Web development and design. Here's what you can expect from what you've done to your site: Read Isolani's comments on the redesign as well: Spacer Image - Disney Store's number one gift idea this Christmas
Contributed on Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:02:36 GMT.
IE7 Conditional Comments
http://webstandards.org/buzz/archive/2005_11.html#a000588
From the Web Standards Project (WaSP): In mid October, the IE Blog urged developers to stop using CSS hacks to workaround IE's problems, and start relying on Microsoft's proprietary conditional comments. I wrote up my thoughts about the new syntax, and it seemed practical enough considering that IE7 is looking to address most of the reasons you'd hack in the first place. But it was clear that some of you have discovered non-trivial problems in working with conditional comments - for instance, they don't work in a one-PC, multiple-IE testing environment, and XSL doesn't peacefully co-exist with them. So when I heard certain WaSP members would be meeting with the IE team, I compiled a few direct questions for them to pose. Here are the replies from Chris Wilson and Brian Goldfarb of Microsoft, as transcribed by Molly Holzschlag.
Contributed on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:48:55 GMT.
Web Accessibility Toolbar for IE - Update
http://accessify.com/2005/11/web-accessibility-toolbar-for-ie.php
From the Accessify Weblog: This is a bit of a lazy post (it's late, need sleep!), so I'm just passing on info sent to me by Steve Faulkner over at the Vision Australia. More on this as I get a chance to try it out for myself. The Web Accessibility Toolbar EN 1.2 is now available. There are a heap of new and updated features including: * Integrated colour contrast analyser application. * New source menu with some old favourites and new functionality: including source highlighters and 3rd party DOM inspectors. * Bug fixes galore * New functions such as, show blockquote and Q, Show internal links, Show Titles, Show Table headers and Navigation via link element. * A new IE options dialog interface for screen reader and keyboard only users. * Popup blocker detection for functions that open in new windows. And * Enable/disable hot keys for users who encounter key combination conflicts.
Contributed on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:48:05 GMT.
TAW3 - Free Accessibility Testing And Reporting Tool
http://accessify.com/2005/11/taw3-free-accessibility-testing-and.php
From the Accessify Weblog: We all know that automated testing tools are not the be all and end all when it comes to assessing a site's accessibility. Nonetheless, they're a useful tool in the accessibility conscious developer's arsenal, provided that their results are cross-checked and complemented by all the necessary manual checks. In that vein, here's a little gem that I recently stumbled across (via a news item over on Barriere Kompass): TAW3 is a free tool to test web pages against WCAG 1.0, developed by the Fundacion CTIC. It is available both as an online version (which only offers a basic, single page check) and as a powerful stand-alone java application for a variety of platforms (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris, among others).
Contributed on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:47:14 GMT.
WaSP Microsoft Task Force Update: Upcoming Products, XAML, Acid2, SXSW, and IE7 Revealed
http://webstandards.org/buzz/archive/2005_11.html#a000587
From the Web Standards Project (WaSP): The WaSP Microsoft Task Force held another face-to-face meeting with available members on Tuesday. We met in a Starbucks along the waterfront in rainy Seattle. While the setting might have been a bit predictable, the conversation was unique and at times, very encouraging. WaSPs at the meeting were DL Byron and myself. Microsoft was represented by a number of Web platform program managers such as the ever-amiable Brian Goldfarb, Sam Spencer, Rob Mauceri, and the legendary Chris Wilson, the lead program manager for Internet Explorer who has worked on IE since 1995. We discussed a number of issues including standards support in new software, the role of XAML and the Microsoft agenda, the Acid2 test, SXSW, and last but most decidedly not least, IE progress.
Contributed on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:46:25 GMT.
Assistive Tech Could Aid Aging Fed Workers
http://www.fcw.com//article91248-10-31-05
Federal agencies will rely on assistive technologies to accommodate the needs of an aging federal workforce, according to policy experts who say that more government employees will soon be working beyond the age of 65. Information technology companies developed assistive technologies partly in response to the passage of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires federal agencies to make their IT systems accessible to people with significant disabilities. But faced with an aging workforce, federal agencies will soon rely on those technologies to keep older employees working longer, said W. Roy Grizzard, assistant secretary of disability employment policy at the Labor Department.
Contributed on Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:45:32 GMT.
Government Web Standards Usage: New Zealand
http://standards-schmandards.com/index.php?2005/10/31/29-gvmt-new-zealand
From the Standards Schmandards Blog: In this article we have a look at government web sites in New Zealand. Testing NZ government websites is interesting as there is an official document, the e-government web guidelines, that regulate how they should be made. Out of 280 tested sites 16 were using valid HTML. However, 30 sites had between 1 and 5 errors.
Contributed on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:09:27 GMT.
Required Form Fields
http://simplyaccessible.org/examples/required-form-fields
From the Simply Accessible Blog: Over time a standard seems to have emerged for denoting required fields: changing the style of the label making it bold and/or red, and often including an asterisk beside the input text form control. Often times this asterisk is placed to the right of the input box, and consequently after the text box when examining the source order.
Contributed on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:08:59 GMT.
Form Error Messages
http://simplyaccessible.org/article/form-error-messages
From the Simply Accessible Blog: The techniques used in the Required Form Fields example to place the asterisk after the input control can easily be reused to apply to an equally important scenario: displaying error messages for a form.
Contributed on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:08:28 GMT.
Search Form Layout
http://simplyaccessible.org/article/search-form-layout
From the Simply Accessible Blog: As we've seen in the first two examples, forms provide some interesting issues to users of assistive technology like screen readers, in particular as it relates to visual layout versus the linear source order. In this example we'll take a look at a search form that includes some "optional" radio buttons for refining the search. A typical example might appear as illustrated as follows:
Contributed on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:07:54 GMT.
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