the 200ok weblog

I've often been asked if I know of a good, comprehensive set of standards-based web development tutorials. Something to give a student or keen newbie so they can learn the right way to build websites from the ground up, instead of learning outdated techniques they'll just need to replace.

Sadly, I've often been at a bit of a loss. Most of the tutorials I could find out there either taught old methodologies or they jumped straight to an intermediate or advanced level. Or, they simply couldn't cover the entire topic of standards-based web development.

I've also been frustrated at the slow pace of change at many universities, where students are still being taught techniques that are well past their use-by date. Don't get me wrong here. I know academia is not the easy life that popular opinion would have you believe. So I think the industry should do its best to support academics, as they are training the next group of bright young developers.

So with all these things in mind, I was really happy to be one of the authors for the Opera Web Standards Curriculum (WSC). It's a comprehensive resource for students, teachers, corporate trainers and developers. The first 21 articles have just been released; and there are about 30 more in the pipeline to be released soon.

Check it out! I hope you find it useful. Head on over to the WSC homepage or jump straight to the WSC table of contents if you're keen to dive right in. If you have any feedback the best way to go is to get in touch with Chris Mills, the mastermind of the project. There's also a WSC forum if that is more your style.

Labels: curriculum, education, opera, tutorials, web standards

CATS: Home: The CATS Project has established a framework for good practice that provides information and resources to assist universities to create equitable access for students with disability and to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Standards for Education.

There are a huge number of accessibility/equity challenges involved in education. The CATS resource not only covers the what and why of accessibility, it goes beyond discussion and into the practicalities. For example, Making information systems accessible recommends that you should Consult with students with disability... and it then links on to a guide on how to actually go about it (Accommodations: Consulting with students with disability about their needs).

Well done to all involved!

Labels: accessibility, education