Andrew Macpherson - Web Accessibility for Javascript Developers
Details
Hey there Javascripters!
Last year was a fantastic year for LeedsJS and we're kicking off our new year with a cracking talk from Andrew Macpherson about the all important topic of accessibility. Spending so much time on the Javascript Hype Train we can sometimes forget that new, better, awesome frameworks may not be the silver bullet we are hoping for and no matter what we do it is important to consider our choices from an accessibility perspective!
Here's a bit from Andrew:
"Accessibility has been one of the most transformative promises of the Web - making information and services available everywhere, though a variety of interfaces to suit anyone. Yet, 25 years on, web sites are still difficult (or impossible) for many people to use, while accessibility skills and awareness are too thinly spread across professional design and developer communities.
Tonight's session will be a journey to OTHER DIMENSIONS - no less - as we look at the accessible experience of today's web pages and applications. The aim is to provide a gentle introduction to help developers get started on the road to building more accessibility into daily practice.
- Who benefits? We'll start by looking at the spectrum of abilities, a range of hurdles, and an astonishing collection of gadgets.
- Learn to find your way around a web page without using a mouse, trackpad, or any other pointer device!
- Discover how the use of CSS can help accessibility, or hinder it.
- Experience the various ways of getting around a page using a screen-reader.
- Find out what "semantic" HTML really means, and why it's at the core of any accessible experience.
Along the way we'll follow the development of an accessible javascript UI component, and discover how a handful of SIMPLE techniques can make a world of difference to web users.
Plus: in a radical departure from most of the LeedsJS sessions in 2015, there will actually be... drum roll... some HTML !!!"
You can follow Andrew on twitter at:@MartianWebDev (http://twitter.com/martianwebdev)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This month's meetup is not in the Adelphi, instead we are in the Rose Bowl (https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Rose+Bowl,+Portland+Cres,+Leeds,+West+Yorkshire+LS1+3HB,+UK/@53.8030819,-1.5478625,16z/data=!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x48795c03332e22a5:0xf197031b7d1a10e8!2sLeeds,+West+Yorkshire+LS1+3HB,+UK!3m1!1s0x48795c032cd9e061:0x15796bebb82e6900). We will update this page with more info on how to get to the venue over the coming days
Parking for the venue can be found here (http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/woodhouse_lane/ls2/leeds/) As ever we will have demos of last month's challenge to build something using hardware and javascript from Thiru where we will all hopefully have flashing LEDs! We have some awesome prize sponsors and some great swag to give away.
We hope to see you there at 6:45 for a brief chat before the main talk starts at 7:30. Most people show up early to network and talk about all things JavaScript before the talk.
Please note the group is intended for developers looking to expand their knowledge in a recruiter free zone. Whilst interest from recruitment consultants is nice we have a no recruiters policy.
Code of conduct (http://leedsjs.com/code-of-conduct/)