Power of IDEAS conference with Joe Clark and Derek Featherstone
In about two weeks the area web folks will have the oppertunity to see Joe Clark along with a whole host of other great presenters (Derek Featherstone – UW Alumni – for one) at the Power of IDEAS conference here at UW. For on-campus people it is a free event but please register. For off-campus there is a very small $50 charge that will get you a great lunch and access to all the presentations during the day. From the site:
On August 15th, discover The Power of IDEAS at the University of Waterloo, a conference that explores how Innovative Design and Delivery Engenders Access and Academic Success.
New technologies and alternative strategies can enhance teaching and learning. This conference will provide an environment for:
- exchanging ideas in key areas of research,
- teaching methodologies,
- learning strategies and
- applications of technology.
Sessions include topics based on sound pedagogy, factors that affect performance outcomes for persons with disabilities, meta-cognitive learning styles, and technology applications that promote learning outcomes for all. Vendor exhibits will provide opportunities for viewing adaptive hardware and software designed to invigorate the senses and enhance learning, teaching, and research.
Get ready for IE 7 because it is coming automagically
CNET has a nice warningarticle on how IE 7 will be pushed to users via Windows Update. It was reported on Slashdot where you can find the typical insightful conversation about it (a little bit of scarcasm, yes). What this essentially means is that you should probably start to think about getting those hacks out of your CSS and learn a bit about conditional comments. You also might want to read up on the known issues with CSS and IE 7 on the CSS discuss wiki. I would assume the CSS tweaks are pretty much done but if you want to hold out until the end it is still worth your time to identify potential problems and workarounds.
For UW sites there doesn’t appear to many CSS issues beyond printing. Not sure if anyone will be effected by other changes but it is worth you getting your hands on IE 7 to find out. Hopefully I can look at that in August although I would prefer to see a near final beta to be sure it is worth my time.
Update: I left out a buzz post discussing the end of IE 6—which points out that the automatic update is a good thing although it likely won’t mean the death of IE 6.
UWdir authetication in WordPress
Just in case any of those UW web folks are working on blogging this summer… Mitch has created a plug-in for WordPress that allows it to autheticate users against our Kiwi application which means you can autheticate users with UWdir and not need to manage a whole set of passwords somewhere else.
Does that mean I am switching to WordPress? No. It means we have yet another cool use for Kiwi that is helping it prove itself as a really cool potential service. If you are working with WordPress on campus and want to know more about it, send me an email. We will document it soon.
Gone fishing… posting should be slow over the summer
As I make some attempt to find balance I will try and post less over the summer. You might have noticed the reduced frequencey lately and that was mostly due to being busy, not I am trying to catch my breath. A couple projects will keep going… UW Events Beta is now running on FCGI so it should be faster. Features are being added and once the production server gets an upgrade it will be out of beta and replace WebEvent.
The Daily Bulletin’s RSS feed should settle down as we stop messing with some automatiion of posting and the UW search app should be on to version 3 in a week or so. I will post from time to time but I thought it’s worth posting something about how it is summer time 
Oh and there will be a drop in web clinic on July 26nd. Come by the flex lab and we can chat CLF, CSS, Microformats, or whatever tickles your web fancy:
- Date: Wednesday, July 26th
- Time: 9am-noon (anytime)
- Where: Dana Porter Library 329 (LT3’s FLEX Lab)
- RSVP: by Monday, July 24th via this registration form
Have a good summer!
BarCamp in Waterloo?
In my sleep deprived state an idea has been brewing for weeks. It’s not new but it is trendy… does anyone around here think a BarCamp in Waterloo would be well attended? I have been asking around about a venue on campus and trying to feel out folks I know, but what about those I don’t that lurk around this blog. What do you folks think? Topics could cover (because I know people are working on them around here):
- Developing web apps with students for the community
- WordPress, Textpattern, Drupal? I just want a blog… what are you using and why?
- Various projects by students like say Nirbi (created by a student who is working for me this term).
Loads more come to mind. There must be things going in the larger Waterloo Region as well… maybe a Barcamp is what we need to meet each other?
