MCU: Accessible web design training course

Hi,

There are still a few places left on the training course: Accessible Web
Design in Practice - on the 26th (Wednesday) and 27th (Thursday) of
February. This is a two day training program for web designers and website
managers who interested in  building and maintaining accessible websites.

The venue for the training is the GO Training Centre in the centre of
Glasgow - close to Queen Street train station, and Buchanan Street bus
station.

Please note, there are discounts for charities, the education sector and the
individuals (i.e. individuals not being paid for organisations) who would
like to take the course.

Here are some quotes from previous attendees of MCU/ScotConnect web design
courses:

I found the course content extremely well structured and presented.  The
course also highlighted the need to incorporate 'accessible web design' as
good practice."
Liam, One Plus

"Demystified HTML but better still gave me a solid foundation from which to
go on and develop further knowledge and skills - very empowering! Taught you
all you needed to know about how to produce a basic accessible site and put
it online. "
Linda, Enable Scotland

There is a outline of the course at
http://www.mcu.org.uk/services/training.html.
You can register for the course now at
http://www.mcu.org.uk/services/bookingform.html

Further information about the course from Course Tutor Jim Byrne:

This course is not about creating unattractive 'text only' pages; accessible
design is about designing for disabled people and non-disabled people.

The training combines off-line discussion and learning, with online
experience and examples - including hands-on experience of surfing websites
with text browser, a screen reader and using the keyboard only. Hands-on
activities include using online checking tools to check the validity and
accessibility of websites - and interpreting the results.

The first day of the course builds an understanding of what is meant by
accessible web design, and give a 'framework for thinking' - that provides a
context for the topics covered in day two. I consider this an important
aspect of the course; but it is not addressed, as far as I am aware, on any
of the other accessible web design courses. This first day also gives and
understanding of what HTML is, how it should be used, and makes makes it
accessible or not accessible.

The training is aimed at helping publishers manage their web content in a
more efficient and flexible manner; accessible web design is about more than
learning individual HTML techniques (although you learn the techniques as
well).  Accessible web design is about understanding how to manage and
publish web content in the most flexible way - cutting down the work web
publishers have to do to reach their widest possible audience.

The second days is more 'topic' based, i.e. how do you make PDFs , web text,
forms accessible, making pages accessible for people with particular
impairments, and so on.

The course is taught in a very 'interactive' manner - questions and
discussion are the basis of the learning - with frequent reviews of what has
been learned.

In addition to the training itself, all course participants will take away
extensive notes and articles for all of the topics (listed on the course
outline at http://www.mcu.org.uk/services/training.html) for both days.

There is a outline of the course at
http://www.mcu.org.uk/services/training.html.

About The Making Connections Unit
The Making Connections Unit, set up by Jim Byrne and David Donald in 1996,
has been a pioneer in the area of Internet accessibility. It is based in
Glasgow Caledonian University and provides web accessibility consultancy and
services to nation and local government, as well as the voluntary sector,
not for profit and private sector.

About your tutor Jim Byrne
Jim is a recognised expert in the field of accessible web design and has a
thorough awareness of practice and policy issues. A former Disability
Information and Training Officer, he has extensive experience delivering
staff development and training programmes within the public, private and
voluntary sector. He has written and spoken widely on the subject of
accessible Web design, including publications for The Scottish Accessible
Information Forum, and articles for The Times Higher Education supplement
and a host of online magazines. He has also spoken about the subject of
accessible web design on radio and television. In 2001 he was identified as
one of Scotland's 'movers and shakers in e-commerce in Scotland' for his
work in the area of Web accessibility (NB Magazine, June, 2001). Jim has
been using and programming computers on a daily basis since 1979, and
learning about how to design accessible websites since 1996.

Register for the course now at
http://www.mcu.org.uk/services/bookingform.html

Please don't hesitate to get back in touch with me if you would like further
information about the course.

All the best,
Jim
p.s. Please pass this information on to other people you know who are
interested in accessible web design.
-- 
Jim Byrne Project Director, The Making Connections Unit, Glasgow Caledonian
University, Glasgow G4 OBA, 0141 331 3893

Everything you need to know about publishing accessible information on the
Web.

Services: Website Accessibility Audits, Accessible Web design, Accessible
Website Management Training.

The Making Connections Unit: http://www.mcu.org.uk/
Scottish Disability Information Mailing list:
http://www.mcu.org.uk/mailinglists/


-- 
Jim Byrne Project Director, The Making Connections Unit, Glasgow Caledonian
University, Glasgow G4 OBA, 0141 331 3893

Everything you need to know about publishing accessible information on the
Web.

Services: Website Accessibility Audits, Accessible Web design, Accessible
Website Management Training.

The Making Connections Unit: http://www.mcu.org.uk/
Scottish Disability Information Mailing list:
http://www.mcu.org.uk/mailinglists/