Hi Iris,
> > I think you're being very unrealistic to expect staff
and
> > students to start producing HTML via any editor, be it Word
> > or Dreamweaver. We have enough difficulty getting
> > even appointed departmental web co-ordinators here to use
> > any editor other than Word or Netscape Composer. As for
> > writing standards-compliant/disability friendly code,
> > forget it!
> Iris <[log in to unmask]>
> there is a very problematic conflict between the increasing demand
> for accessibility as is becoming obvious in increased court cases
> and legislation to that respect and the increasing number of people
> who create material for the web who don't know any html and use
> wysiwygs to do that. wysiwygs can not and will not for a while
> provide accessibility.
>
> i see both side, creating webpages is fun and home users can
> definately benefit from these programs, but we're talking university
> websites here, aren't we? and if you're teaching it in a university
> course, why not do it properly from the beginning. just give them a
> few lessons of html before letting them onto dreamweaver. please?!
I wasn't suggesting that we as web designers/managers
abandoned accessibilty; far from it, we should be embracing
it and promoting it as you note. But it is my experience
that if you teach staff and students how to create
HTML (and include wysiwyg editors), they will use whatever
is easiest for them, and to hell with the finer points of
compliant code and accessible pages. We do teach our staff
HTML hand coding prior to teaching them web editing
software, and point out to them during training the
importance of making accessible pages, but at the end of
the day, most don't bother.
People will always go for what is easiest and
most convenient for them, which is why I think it is
unlikely that you will get either (the majority of)
students writing HTML or (the majority of) lecturing staff
accepting it in the near future - everyone is still stuck
in the Word paradigm.
Mike
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Mike McConnell
Web Team Manager
Directorate of Information Systems and Services
University of Aberdeen
[log in to unmask]
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/web/
01224 27 2602
University Open Day - 28th August 2001
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