Re: Pedagogic validation

Hi Lars,

> I have written a blog post about what *might* a validator feature, an
> extra setting for a "pedagogic" profile.
>
> http://itpastorn.blogspot.com/2009/09/pedagogic-validation-of-html.html
>
> Is is quite long, so I will not paste all of its contents into this
> mail. The idea is to have options in the validator that can be of use in
> a teaching situation.

I agree and have commented before that validators create a teachable
moment. A moment of great opportunity. A time to educate. A time to
get action. A time to get people to actually fix their pages. Flagging
errors and giving warnings is a very good thing indeed.

The W3C HTML/XHTML validator is currently used as a web accessibility
teaching tool. For instance, I have my students use it in the
accessibility classes that I teach to flag missing alt attributes. One
of their first lessons is to validate HTML with the W3C validator to
ensure that it is error-free and that they have indeed examined each
image. It makes a BIG impression that text alternatives are mandatory
not just for WCAG but as well for valid HTML4 and XHTML. It is an
undeniable advertisement that it is needed. It is a first step in
getting that vital message across.

Henri's image report feature on Validator.nu is a great step in the
right direction. A W3C validator could do the same but with the teeth
to flag missing text alternatives as an error...and then perhaps
explain or point people to what they need to do and why.

Best Regards,
Laura

-- 
Laura L. Carlson

Received on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 23:55:30 UTC