Education Task Force
Mission Statement
The WaSP Education Task Force was created in 2005 to work directly with educational institutions to help raise awareness of Web standards and accessibility among instructors, administrators, and Web development teams.
Objectives
- Encourage instruction of Web standards and accessibility best practices in all Web design, interactive media, informational and computer science programs in order to prepare students for Web-related careers.
- Promote the creation of standards-compliant, accessible public Web sites and instructional tools. Understanding that legacy sites and tools exist, our goal is to help institutions aim for policies which, at a minimum, require that all new sites and instructional tools use valid, semantic markup and follow WAI Accessibility Guidelines.
- Liaise with educational institutions and related communities to promote and address the implementation of Web standards and accessibility best practices through discussion, Web standards users groups, and presentations as well as attendance and participation in industry events.
Discussion
The Education Task Force hosts a mailing list and has set up an IRC channel to encourage discussion among developers and educators working to promote Web standards in higher education.
Resources
We offer an expanding list of resources which includes a library of learning objects, archived presentations, white papers, and other resources helpful to those working with Web standards and education.
Interviews
Periodically, the Education Task force conducts interviews with those in higher education who are using Web standards, either in their curricula or in their projects. These interviews help provide information about the challenges faced and how changes are made.
Events
Find out about upcoming events such as: conferences, workshops, and webcasts. See reports from task members and others attending these events.
Examples
How institutions of higher ed are incorporating Web standards into their curricula or public sites.
We have more ideas, and would like to hear yours! Contact the WaSP Education Task Force.
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
Recent Task Force Buzz
Web Design Course Materials Licensed to W3C
By Christopher Schmitt | February 8th, 2012
As professional web builders we know that the web is constantly changing and our methods and practices must respond and adapt as well.
There are so many new disciplines web professionals need to be know about, if not specizlized in, that weren’t around ten or even five years ago.
It’s not always easy to keep on the latest and greatest in web and mobile tips, tricks and techniques.
Sometimes it’s downright difficult.
If it’s hard to keep up with the changes as professionals, so it must be even more so for our teachers of the craft.
InterACT Curriculum
For the past several years, a group of dedicated and talented volunteers have been working to help fix that.
Our Education Task Force has developed a world-class curriculum – we’re talking about tools for teaching.
Materials such as syllabii, quiz questions, recommended readings, and more aid in creating web professionals that are ready for the job market that so desperately needs young, competent web builders.
With such a strident resource, professors, educators to teach standards-based web design and development in their own classrooms.
Available on our web site, Web Standards Project InterACT Curriculum have found their way into some forward-thinking classrooms all over the world.
And it’s totally free.
Web Standards’ Textbook
In addition, the Education Task Force published a textbook based off the curriculum titled InterACT with Web Standards.
This web standards textbook is a available from Peachpit, which has published classics such as Jeffrey Zeldman and Ethan Marcotte’s Designing with Web Standards and Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlag’s The Zen of CSS Design.
InterACT and W3C Join Forces
Today, I’m happy to announce that the curriculum reaches even more people than ever before.
The InterACT Curriculum developed through Web Standards Educational Task Force has been licensed to W3C.
Through their resources and network, the curriculum will be used to teach companies and organizations, large and super-large, about standards-based education.
And it only seems appropriate that InterACT finds yet another home that is the W3C.
The Educational Task Force’s InterACT was one of the primary catalytics that led to the formation of the Open Web Education Alliance (OWEA) under the W3C.
We Need Your Help
To continue to expand the curriculum, the Education Task Force needs your help.
You don’t need to be a self-proclaimed web guru or a mobile ninja to help.
We people that specialize in all facets of web and mobile design and development that includes copywriters, content strategists, user experts, project managers, and more.
There’s room for everyone and, frankly, it has been and will continue to be people like yourself reading this message right now that will make world-caliber educational material.
Join the Team
Contribute to a curriculum that gets in the hands of tomorrow’s builders today.
Fill out the contribution form or reach out to EduTF leaders, Glenda Sims and Mark DuBois to ask how you can get more involved.
More Buzz articles
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| InterACT With Web Standards Book Released | June 9th, 2010 |
| Six New Courses Added to the InterACT Curriculum | March 17th, 2010 |
| Introducing The Open Web Education Alliance | June 29th, 2009 |
| The Dawn of the Education Era | March 16th, 2009 |