conferences


What SXSWi 2010 panel am I dreaming about? Without a doubt, it is:

Open Web Education Alliance: Educating the Next Generation

In the world of web standards, industry forms best practices, education instructs emerging talent—and neither the twain shall meet. A decade on, the rate of standards adoption across the school/street divide is dishearteningly poor. Join us to discover how curriculum building and strategic industry alliance can close the gap.

Don’t miss your chance to hear about the revolution that is occurring in web education. Vote for the Open Web Education Alliance: Educating the Next Generation panel in the SXSWi 2010 Panel Picker.

Knowbility Extends Early Deadline Discounts for The John Slatin Access U Training Institute, Austin, TX – May 11-12, 2009

Two days of classes in accessible information technology to help meet state and federal accessibility requirements.

In response to current economic conditions, the deadline for Early Bird discount registration rates for the John Slatin Access U training have been extended indefinitely. The announcement was made by the sponsoring organization, Knowbility, Inc.

WHAT: Offered since 2003, Access U provides one to three days of comprehensive web and IT accessibility classes led by world renowned accessibility and policy experts and administrators. The Institute promotes a better understanding of both the need and the techniques for inclusive IT design, with a focus on the most recent changes in federal and global standards for Web Accessibility. Register now.

WHEN: The John Slatin Access U will be held at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas on Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12, 2009, with Post-Conference sessions on Wednesday, May 13.

  • May 11th and 12th – Classes in four professional tracks: Technical, Content, Administrative, Usability New this year! – Usability certificate program is available.
  • May 13th – Intensive Courses: Molly Holzschlag and Derek Featherstone in small venue.
  • 3-Day Design Intensive – May 11 – 13, 2009 Molly Holzschlag, Web standards advocate, instructor and author, offers three days of advanced techniques in HTML/XHTML and CSS for accessibility, SEO, and superior web site performance.
  • Post Conference All-Day Sessions – Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Derek Featherstone: Breaking New Ground: Designing for Accessibility in Emerging Technologies. Molly Holzschlag: CSS Floats, Positioning and layout, best practices, cross–browser and interoperable design solutions, and a look at some of CSS3’s juicy features.

WHY: Web accessibility is important…and it’s required by law. Websites can be designed for accessibility or they can shut people out. Four million Texans are among the more than 54 million people in the U.S. who live with disabilities of all sorts, many of whom cannot fully benefit from the Internet and the World Wide Web because too many Web sites are designed with no thought of accessibility. Accessibility is not only the right thing to do, but now there are federal, state and local mandates requiring accessibility, and Access U is here to help IT professionals and administrators meet those requirements.

WHO: Access U sponsors and partners include St. Edward’s University, Adobe, Ability Awareness and the Usability Professionals Association. Knowbility, Inc. is the non-profit organization that produces Access U and many other accessibility training programs.

I’m thrilled to be speaking at Web Directions North (WDN) in Denver this February 2-7, 2009. This intimate conference is the perfect opportunity to sharpen your professional skills and rekindle your passion for all things web. The program has been handcrafted for web designers, developers and UX professionals to soak up the latest best practices. What makes WDN so special? It is geared towards the intermediate to expert level web professional, not beginners.

I can’t wait to hear John Allsopp share his research on The State of the Web 2009, a survey of practicing web designers and developers, which aims to capture how people are developing for the web right now. And how can you resist these sessions:

The special Ed Directions Symposium on Tuesday, February 3rd will focus on the challenges of educating the next generation of web professionals. How do you developing curricula and training for web designers and developers? In the constantly evolving web profession how do you make sure your employees and/or students are equipped with the foundational knowledge of current best practices and standards? I’m looking forward to sharing a realistic glimpse of the state of web standards education on my campus, the University of Texas at Austin. Key speakers for Ed Directions include:

You can’t afford to miss this chance to learn, be inspired and refuel on practical and valuable insights and techniques.

Did I mention, the conference has an optional ski trip at Breckenridge? Imagine swooshing down the mountain on the perfect ski trail, then meeting up at the lodge to sit by the fire and talk about semantics and interactive design. (Sigh)

What is the best way to learn about social media?

Face-to-face!

Can’t I just read a book and hang out on Twitter and Facebook and figure out how to use social media to promote my business?

Sure, but if you really want to dive deep, step back from your keyboard and come out and play/learn at BizJam08 Seattle July 9-10.

BizJam08 has a delicious speaker list and topics including:

Did I mention that over half of the speakers are women and that ratio occurred naturally? What else what you expect from the folks at Biznik and Textura Design? Without a doubt, this is business networking that doesn’t suck!