Week 11

This week we read about disabilities and accessibility to the Internet. I think this is a topic that receives far too little attention. The Badge and Introduction to Web Accessibility articles reminded my of the importance of making web sites accessible to those with different disabilities. While the Badge article did little more than expose some different facets of the problem, I appreciated how the Introduction article offered some suggestions on making web sites more accessible.

Some suggestions include: providing alternate text, ensuring links make sense out of context, and providing headings for data tables, etc. For me, these suggestions were the most valuable thing I took away from the two articles.

I do understand that it does take more time to modify content. However, it is a very valuable thing that can help those with disabilities receive whatever important message is being communicated through the web site. Particularly in education, this would be very valuable as we want to work with all students.

Also, this week, we learned about two more technologies useful in distance education, wiki tools and Google Chrome. I really enjoyed the wiki tools presentation. I was reminded of the great possibilities that exist with wiki tools. Not only can wikis be used with students in the schools, but also among faculty. I think it would be an excellent way to share ideas and build curriculum in a collaborative manner.

As for the Google Chrome presentation, this was very interesting because I have not had much experience with Google Chrome. I like that it is fast, simple, and secure. It may not be quite up to the level of Mozilla, but knowing how Google has already done so much to better the Internet with its other software, I'm sure their browser is not far behind. The presentation was easy to understand and I like how the differences between Chrome and other browsers were explained.

We have been introduced to so many exciting technologies this semester, and I am looking forward to being able to see what I can implement this next school year.