STC Austin - January Chapter Meeting and Program

[Brett Youngblood]

Learning Our ABCs: Accessibility, Bottlenecks, and Control in an Organized
Research Unit's Website


Dr. Clay Spinuzzi
University of Texas at Austin 

When: Tuesday, January 8, 2008

6:00-6:30 PM: Networking 

6:30-7:30 PM: Program 

7:45-9:00 PM: Networking Dinner at a local restaurant

In this case study, Dr. Clay Spinuzzi describes a public archive of work
done at the Computer Writing and Research Lab at the University of Texas at
Austin. The CWRL's website has long been an important resource for computers
and writing scholarship, but in 2004, it faced new challenges. On one hand,
the site had to conform to new accessibility guidelines, guidelines that are
sometimes difficult to follow. On the other hand, the site's users ranged
from expert HTML coders to neophytes, all of whom had knowledge to
contribute. These two factors had caused a severe bottleneck with the
previous, static website, causing delays and leading to slow site
development. The solution was to use an open-source content management
system to develop a new site in which accessibility guidelines are
programmed and enforced, allowing anyone with an account to contribute
accessible portions to the site while retaining centralized control over the
site's web standards. Dr. Spinuzzi concludes with thoughts about open
systems and their potential to improve accessible, distributed site
development in similar organizations.


There's Still Time to Volunteer


We still have several positions we need to fill this coming year. If you
would like to volunteer, or would like to nominate someone for a Director or
Officer position, please let us know. The positions available are listed on
the Officers <http://www.stcaustin.org/Board/officers.htm>  page. For a
description of the responsibilities for these positions, refer to the
Policies
<http://www.stcaustin.org/leadership/STCAustin_Policies_and_Procedures.pdf>
and Procedures document. 

Email your nomination information to our current president
<mailto:president at stcaustin.org>  TODAY. 


We want to hear from you!


As we begin to plan another year, please share with us your thoughts and
ideas so that we can grow the Austin STC community into an organization of
which you can be proud. 

Leah Eaton
Austin STC
President 2007 - 2008 

 

 

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