Category: expert

AccessU West Keynote by Web Axe Host

Post author By Dennis
Post date November 5, 2010
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Web Axe host and founder Dennis Lembree is giving one of three keynote speeches at the AccessU West conference (previously CalWAC) in San Jose, California, January 10-12, 2011. The accessibility event is three full days and is held at San Jose State University. Dennis is also the author of Accessible Twitter.

A superb lineup of experts are providing sessions including Derek Featherstone, Jim Thatcher, Lainey Feingold, and Deque Systems. Topics include HTML5/CSS3/ARIA, testing accessibility, Drupal, and legal issues (U.S.). If you’re more interested in a particular topic, tracks are offered in Usability, Policy/Admin, and Design Development.

Fees are relatively low, about $235 to $820 depending on the package you select. Register here and say hi to Dennis at the conference. We hope to see you there!

Podcast #84: Web Axe 5-Year Anniversary

Post author By Dennis
Post date September 9, 2010
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In celebration of its 5th anniversary, Dennis and Ross discuss the history of Web Axe and several memorable moments. Then, nine special guests provide excellent insight and information relating to web accessibility including Paul Boag and Bruce Lawson. It’s great stuff, don’t miss it!

Download Web Axe Episode 84 (Web Axe 5-Year Anniversary)

[Transcript of podcast 84]

Some History

Dennis Lembree launched Web Axe in September 2005 with a boost from the Detroit Podcasters Network.
Co-host Ross Johnson joined September of 2006 in Lists and Accessibility — How and Why? (podcast #26).
Readership continues to grow; over 5,400 Web Axe RSS subscribers (85% of my RSS subscribers are using Google Reader or iGoogle). Number of Twitter followers continues to grow (@WebAxe).
Interesting topics for web accessibility: business reasons, bandwidth and loadtime, and screen resolution.

Memorable Moments

Nominated three years in a row in the .net magazine Best of the Web awards.
Web Axe featured in BBC Podcast, segment on accessibility in Pods & Blogs show.
First interview: Jared Smith of WebAIM, Podcast #27 (September 2006).
Podcast #74: Awards, Events & Back to Basics recorded from Santa Cruz, California (September 2009).
Podcast #35: Usability and Accessibility Conference recorded from event in Lansing, Michigan (November 2006).
Visit to Yahoo! Accessibility Testing Lab (July 2009).
NFB vs. Target Lawsuit is Settled!
Critiques invoke responses: Recovery.gov, ca.gov, section508.gov

Special Episode Podcast Contributors

Bruce Lawson (Opera, HTML5Doctor) – great HTML5 info.
Denis Boudreau (A11Y_MTL) – French Canadian up very late recording.
Jennison Asuncion – Accessibility tester, researcher, and all-around nice guy.
Karen Mardahl (STCAccess) – Wicked good technical communicator.
Mike Gifford (OpenConcept) – Drupal expert.
Paul Boag (Boagworld) – Well, everyone knows this guy!
Steve Grobschmidt – User Experience Lead and blogger.
Terrill Thompson – A cool musician, basketball fan, and Technology Accessibility Specialist.
Tom Babinszki (Even Grounds) – Accessibility consultant and blogger.

Addendum: Podcast Corrections

Steve Grobschmidt’s last name was announced incorrectly (it’s not “Aquinas”, that’s part of his Twitter handle).
We state that there are 8 guest speakers; there’s actually 9!
We mentioned that Boagworld is no longer podcasting, but failed to mention that they plan on returning in January 2011. (Paul mentions this in his commentary.)

expert html5 interview podcast video

Podcast #81: HTML5 and John Foliot

Post author By Dennis
Post date May 24, 2010
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HTML5 is hot. It’s new, powerful, and exciting. But what is it exactly, and how will it make the web more accessible? Dennis discusses these issues and more with web accessibility veteran John Foliot. Topics include background on HTML5, browser support, new form functionality, how Canvas can be accessible, and much more!

Mr. Foliot runs the Stanford Online Accessibility Program. He is an active member of the W3C and is an integral part of the web accessibility community. He writes a blog entitled Unrepentant and you can find John on Twitter.

Download Web Axe Episode 81 (HTML5 and John Foliot)

[transcript of podcast 81]

Mentioned Resources

HTML: The Markup Language
HTML5 differences from HTML4
HTML5 Doctor
Bruce Lawson
Remy Sharp
Dive Into HTML5
Book: Introducing HTML5 by Bruce Lawson and Remy Sharp (there’s also HTML5 For Web Designers by Jeremy Keith)

Other HTML5 Resources

Test cases with HTML5, ARIA Roles & Screen Readers
HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives
Slides from Access U presentation HTML5 & Accessibility
Future Web Accessibility: HTML5 Semantic Elements (Part 2 in a series)
HTML5 Demos and Examples

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Interview with Jennison by Steve

Post author By Dennis
Post date April 2, 2010
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If you missed it from Twitter a month-and-a-half ago, Steve Grobschmidt (@AquinasWI) published an interview with accessibility expert Jennison Asuncion (@Jennison) in a 3-part series. It’s published on Steve’s blog “the art of web accessibility”. I recommend reading the interview as well as checking out Steve’s blog. Both Steve and Jennison are excellent contributors to the web accessibility community.

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Accessibility Lists on Twitter

Post author By Dennis
Post date March 30, 2010
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Here’s a list of Twitter Lists targeting web accessibility.

http://twitter.com/webaxe/web-accessibility from me, @webaxe