Derek Featherstone at TodCon8

Doing a little live blogging this morning as Derek Featherstone is giving a presentation on user experience as the keynote to this year's edition of The Other Dreamweaver Conference (aka TodCon).

Derek is starting out with something a little different from what I've seen in other conferences, particularly keynote speeches. Instead of pontificating on his particular area of expertise Derek has been taking the pulse of the room, finding out who we are and why we're here and what brings us together.

Derek's speciality happens to be accessibility. He is speaking to the current view of accessibility, that it's all about hitting the requirements that are imposed by law or by an organization. Too often, however, accessibility comes into play *after* a web project is completed as if it is a plug-in that can be strapped onto an existing site. In this model "sites and applications are tested and then repaired to accessible."

Worse, "accessibility is seen as a barrier to getting things done. It causes timelines to slip and frustrates developers."

Using a real-world example, Derek illustrated how easy it is to design a form that, on first blush, seems to be more useable to the site visitor. But on the accessibility side, that same well-intentioned design can have a profound effect on how someone with a disability might be able to access a site. He also pointed out how a form might not break any rules of accessibility, but still be un-useable to a non-sighted person.

In another real-world example, Derek demonstrated how form labels can be modified to include additional information for screen readers.

In wrapping things up, Derek recommends that accessibility has to move beyond simple checklists to a process that tests the user experience early in the design phase and all the way through. In his vision of the future of accessibility sites will go beyond Pass/Fail, but focus on how the user is interacting with a site or an appication. Accessibility becomes a people issue, not just a checklist for compliance when you "look at accessibility as part of a person's experience using a site or application" and not just another hoop to jump through on your way to meeting a set of requirements.

TODCON '06: Summer Camp for Web Geeks

I'm finally mentally gearing up to head to one of my very favorite events of the year, The Other Dreamweaver Conference aka TODCON in Orlando. I fully expect this conference to be as fun and interesting and fun as all the previous events. In a sure sign of advancing age, I'm not sure how many of these I've been to, but I think this will be number 5 for me.

As much as I enjoy hitting the education conferences that I attend, TODCON is a totally different experience on a couple of levels.

First, it takes me completely away from my full-time job world of education and teaching and office politics and plops me down among some of the leading experts in the world on web development with Macromedia--now Adobe of course--products. Let's see, the authors of the "Bible" for Flash, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver will be there, along with leading members of Team Macromedia (now Adobe Aces or something? Sorry, I've kind of lost track of that part of the electronic world). Authors of tremendous numbers of tutorials, members of advisory boards to Adobe and the W3C, and on an on. People who really, *really* know their stuff. And little ole me.

But the cool thing is, and always has been, how accessible and funny and smart all of those same people are. Mixed in with their knowledge about web development is the simple fact that these are just quality people, the kind that you'd love to sit down with and have a beer and a long discussion about just about any topic. And you can bet that there will be lots of that going on. From short snatches of conversations between sessions, to late night passionate round-tables on everything and anything imaginable (fueled on occasion by some adult beverages). It's a rollicking good time with some of the nicest people you'd ever hope to meet.

And that's the second, more personal level to this particular conference. It's the one time a year that I get to physically connect with my co-workers and partners from Community MX, the little venture that Ray West got off the ground in Chicago, where TODCON was held a few years ago. These are some of my best buds, so getting to see them and hang out is a tremendous treat, and one that I wouldn't miss for the world. Hanging out and being bad with Laurie, laughing with the Flickster--usually at Tom Green's expense somehow--talking Fireworks with my evil twin, Jim Babbage, talking politics with Sheri, and generally having good grown-up fun. It's gonna be hard to match the group trip we took to Circ de Soleil while in Vegas last year, but I don't doubt for a second that with this group there *will* be some serious fun going on.

So, see you in Orlando tomorrow guys! And if you happen to be in attendance at the conference and we haven't met, please do say hello and let's talk. You can be sure that I'll be in a terrific mood 'cause I dearly love being at this show.

Our Own Magical Florida Moment

We had some excellent family bonding time this past Sunday, it being Mother's Day and all. In what I like to call Operation Enduring Domestic Harmony, I made sure my wife was feeling special on Sunday by delivering pastries, fresh orange juice, and a killer cafe' con leche from the local Cuban bakery first thing in the morning (well, after she slept in of course), by giving some handy and asked-for gifts, then taking a trip to the beach for the afternoon.

It was at the beach where we had one of those magical moments that happens so rarely no matter where you live, but particularly here in South Florida where mankind seems to have overwhelmed nature, gator attacks notwithstanding.

We were just settling in at the beach when we noticed lots of other beach-goers pointing at the surf and wondering what the four large shapes were that were just past the first sand bar, a mere 30 yards away. As we watched for a minute it became evident that it was a family of manatees, moving along the coast as the migrated to who knows where. There are only roughly 1,000 manatees in all of Florida, so while we see them from time to time, this was a special treat as we watched them gliding along, two big adults and two younger adults moving at a fair clip in the clear ocean waters.

So, this being one perhaps one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, I grabbed my daughter by the hand and we began jogging down the beach, trying to get ahead of the lumbering, but steadily progressing mammals. After a short run along the beach, we dove into the surf and made our way out to the sandbar, just in time to see these huge but gentle creatures go gliding by, just a few feet from us. As they stuck their noses into the air for another breath, they rolled their big labrador retriever eyes at us and regarded us for a moment before diving down to continue their journey.

It was one of those moments that embed themselves in your memory. A magical memory that sticks in your subconsciousness but is ready for retrieval at any time. The jog down the beach, the swim to the sandbar, the color of the water and the sky, and the excitement of seeing these rare and fabulous creatures passing mere yards away from you is one that my daughter and I will share for years to come.

I'm glad that nature is still out there to amaze and delight us, and that I had the chance to share why I love living here with my daughter.

6 Scariest Words Ever Uttered by a School Administrator

I'm addicted to studying testing data.

James Patterson to Kids: Make an Outline

When I heard that best-selling author James Patterson was going to be doing a book talk at a local theater for kids from area schools, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out of the office, make a recording of his presentation, and make it available as a podcast. We're far along in the process of launching a district-level blog and some great content seemed too good to pass up. So off I went with our own Podcasting Princess to record Mr. Patterson, and not coincidentally, hear what he had to say. (We're just a short while away from launching our district-level blog/podcast system. More later.)

The point that he dwelled on the longest was a simple concept that I'm not sure the restless crowd of teenagers were quite getting--make an outline. As he said, it makes just about everything in life easier, and leads to better grades. A good enough message to hear, but then he did something extraordinary.

As an example of how he might set a story into outline format, he started by imagining himself in the shoes of the students in the audience. "Your kind of cutting up, waiting for the bus, glad to get a day off from school. You don't really care all that much what you're going to do, as long as it's not sitting in class". Patterson then went on to briefly sketch each step in his story, from riding on the bus to the theater, crowding in while the teachers sought control and then the old white guy up on stage.

What was remarkable, and fascinating to watch, was the way the kids settled down as a master story teller wove his magic. With each point in his outline, and with few wasted words, he drew his audience of restless kids into his story. And hopefully made a few of them think about the power of words.

Patterson wrapped up the session by taking questions from the audience. Typically, you had to get the smart aleck kid asking that smart-alecky question.

"How much money do you make?"

Patterson's response was classic, and may have been the strongest message he sent all day.

"More than Shaquille O'Neil".

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It may be a while before a certain someone finishes all the bits and pieces of our district blog/newsgroup/podcast system and we get to a place where we can offer this sort of content to all the other kids in our district. While Mr. Patterson was able to speak to 1,000 kids on this particular day, we're looking towards the very near future when we can offer this kind of message to the other 60,000 or so teenaged students in our district.

More on How We Use Breeze in Education

I scanned this article yesterday when it popped up as a Google alert. At the T.H.E. Journal an article titled Staying Connected Is a ‘Breeze' details how our school district is using Breeze and includes a short interview where I discuss what we've done with Breeze in our district. (I'm not sure about being labeled as a "Point Man" in the photo that accompanies the story, but at least the picture that my daughter took came out relatively well.)

Working on our Breeze initiative is one of the cooler parts of my job, since Breeze is such a fascinating tool for connecting people and allowing them to collaborate. Here's a little bit from the article:

The technology enables schools and districts to deliver online communications and training to anyone who has access to a computer loaded with the Macromedia Flash Player. Specifically, the district uses Breeze Meeting, installed on a Dell dual-processor server in the district’s data center, for online meetings and training. The district also has multiple copies of Breeze Presenter installed on classroom computers so teachers can use their accounts to publish student presentations onto the district server.

Web Content Filtering Meets ACLU in Palm Beach County Schools

In today's local paper, a lengthy story appeared regarding how gay and lesbian web sites are blocked in Palm Beach County schools, and how some groups, even school board members, question how our web filtering is done.

This is a topic that runs pretty close to "lose your job" territory, so I'll forgo the usual editorializing here. Needless to say I have strong opinions in this area, but this is one of those things that's best kept at work.

As with most stories, this one is far from black and white. Our school district depends on federal e-Rate funds to help pay for a sizable bill for web access. When you accept millions of dollars you also have to accept all the restrictions that are spelled out in the laws governing how children are allowed to view web content. And of course, as a parent, the last thing I want to hear my daughter say when she gets home is that some boy sitting next to her in the computer lab was looking at dirty pictures.

So web filtering is a given in educational settings. It's necessary.

The difficulty that we have at the District office is finding the right balance between protecting our children, complying with the law, and yet providing access to information that is relevant and appropriate and necessary for their education.

The hard part occurs when you reach that line where someone has to decide what's relevant and appropriate, and what's not. And when you have to trust to technology to help automate the process there will always be those cases where judgement calls have to be made.

I'm actually glad to see this discussion being taken up by the community and my hope is that the school district engages in a dialogue about this serious topic. It's a worthwhile discussion to have.

Update: A local student newspaper has good details on the way filtering is done and some quotes from students with their opinions.

Net Neutrality and the Closed Door Telecom Bill

A couple of weeks ago, John Dowdell shared his concerns that the sudden rising conversation about Net Neutrality was based on fear and scant information. At the time I agreed with JD and for many of the same reasons. A lack of information and the hyperbolic language that was being used by the proponents of this new thing called "Net Neutrality". Even to those of us who follow web happenings pretty closely the rapid emergence of some new, what?.....standard? proposal? bill before Congress?.....well, it was a little difficult to follow what it was all about, and why I should care.

Turns out that there is some cause for concern, as the U.S. Congress is working on new telecom legislation. And why is it so hard to find any real information on what's going down? Turns out that the future of this bill and how content is delivered over networks in the U.S. is going to come down to only 12 members of Congress, as detailed in this Cox Newspapers syndicated story.

At issue here is how this bill will be passed into law. There won't be open discussions and the public won't have input into what is being crafted. In essence, the attempt is to get some kind of bill--any kind of bill--out of each house and into closed committee meetings where a cabal of lobbyists and activists will influence and seek to control the final outcome of the telecommunications law that goes before the full Congress.

Given past performances, it's likely that this bill would then sail through Congress and get signed into law during the middle of the night (metaphorically speaking at least). Lord knows George Bush hasn't met a bill yet that he wasn't willing to sign. All the better if it pleases lots of his true constituents--the wealthy and privileged and captain's of industry.

I don't consider myself an alarmist, but nothing about what's happening here sounds like a democratic process. And neither does this:

....so many persuasive and well-financed lobbyists are involved that they may battle themselves to a standstill, leaving Congress flush with campaign contributions but unable to agree on a final bill before adjournment.

"We're going to do all we can to put the citizens back into the process," (Celia Wexler, vice president for advocacy for Common Cause) said.

That won't be easy. The evolving telecom legislation is following a well-worn path that Congress often takes to craft spending, tax and other bills outside of public view.

Though Congress has held numerous public hearings on telecom issues over the past year, the legislation's details have been largely worked out in private. Several senators and their staffers have complained, off the record, that the process has been closed even to them.

To some, Congress' handling of an issue known as "network neutrality" illustrates the process.

Consumer advocates say that unless Congress spells out tough rules to ensure that providers of high-speed Internet service treat all Web sites and services in a neutral way, cable and phone companies will make content providers pay fees for quick downloads of their sites and services.

For example, if Yahoo paid such a fee, its search engine might work faster than Google's. Net neutrality proponents say that would forever change the free and open nature of the Internet, making it more like cable TV service where large companies choose what subscribers can see.

On Monday, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, revealed his 135-page draft bill after months of behind-the-scenes work. The committee is scheduled to consider the bill June 8, and the full Senate may vote on it before the August recess.

Stevens' legislation does little to preserve network neutrality. It calls only for federal regulators to prepare annual reports on the delivery of Internet services.

The 6 Mental States of Being Jerked Around at Work

We all have those "Jerk Around" moments in the workplace. Those moments where something totally out of the blue leaves us with a slack-jawed "Huh!?" expression on our faces.

It could be perpetrated by the boss, could be a coworker, or might be a client. No matter how you're forced into it or by whom, there seems to be a set pattern that many of us pass through when we get the unexpected kidney-blow to our well laid plans or expectations. It goes something like this:

1. Shock

Say what? But I.....but we........but they.......but didn't we just?.......ah crap.

2. Speculation

I wonder if this is about.....? Maybe they want to?......or it could be this other thing. Maybe it's something really really good. Or very very bad. Or just something mundane and trivial. Dang.

3. Anger

What the...?! You mean this is about...?!!!! Well I'll be damned. Now I'm just p.o.'ed.

4. Resignation

Alright, alright. Might as well make the best of this. No sense in going off the deep end here. Sit down, shut up, and do as you're told. Geez.

5. Endurance

Hmmm. This has gotten old already. Wonder if I can check my e-mail?

6. Resentment

OK, let's put today in this column over here. Yeah that's the one. The one where I keep track of episodes like this.

It's My Duty as a Geek to Want a New Computer

I dropped a little hint to my boss again during a meeting that it's time for him to get me a new computer. I have a nice shiny G-5 tower picked out with lots of RAM and a big sweet monitor. Nah, I don't want to wait for the new processors. I have work to do now.

That's my justification to the boss at least, and it is legitimate. I'm going to be expected to do more work getting video content online and that does require a production machine to replace my aging iMac.

Really.

But at a another level, I feel like I'd be letting my fellow geeks down if I weren't lusting after a new computer. Wanting better and faster computers is all part of the fun of being a geek. It's why we buy computer magazines, follow hardware development, read the reviews, and follow the rumors about new things that are coming out.

So the boss and my co-workers are going to have to put up with me until I:

A: Get a new computer

or

B: I'm told to forget the whole thing and never mention it in the boss's presence again.

'Cause we geeks have to be persistent too.