Overview

Well hello there 👋. This topic is slightly different to last week's posts, but it is still about IT class (especially web dev). If you have a good memory, you may think back to last week where I shared that I have an in-class test where I need to respond to an unseen prompt. I personally don't like this assessment type compared to normal project, but I don’t have any control (just have to accept it).

What was learnt

The only thing that we know about this exam is that it is going to be about the importance of WCAG. I know this because that is what the NOA (notification of assessment) said. The main issue that I have is that this was taught ages ago (like last year), so I don’t remember much of this. Luckily Google can help me with understanding with some research…

I also need to make sure I don’t forget about these points below as last time lots of people didn’t cover what was required (me included), so this is something I am trying to keep important.

• You should formulate an argument to accept or refute the provided statement.
• The purpose of the task is to demonstrate your understanding of the content, as well as your capacity to respond to the statement.
• What are the theory topics we've covered this semester and how could they be incorporated into your response?
• What are the societal impacts if the statement is accepted or refuted?
• What are the ethical implications if the statement is accepted or refuted?
• What are the long term effects if the statement is accepted or refuted?

The last three are the important ones to remember. For this task I am going to assume that I need to talk about hot WCAG has (or not) helped society by existing and creating rules. I also should consider the ethical implications of them (ie they have helped blind people understand websites by enforcing a standard). And how good they are long term, so I could say something like how with the better design and structure, the code is easier to maintain as a result of them (and how the blind people can comprehend it easier).

WCAG has four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. This is something that I need to remember, and I may choose to also know about their success criteria. As of yet, I haven’t created my notes sheet, but this is something that I will make sure to add.

Reflection

So, why no notes sheet yet?

A basic answer to the question of my lack of notes sheet could be that I spent more of my time preparing for my other tests (because IT is the last one and I forgot about the blog posts). While this is true, I should have had better time management to have done it in the whole week that I just had (which I instead worked more on my project). However, I plan to add mang things to my notes sheet such as the WCAG rules, some case studies where it was good and potentially bad, alternatives, and most importantly references (as I need to say that others have the same view as me).

You must be excited?

In a way I am excited as I know everything needed, but actually using that knowledge to write something is harder and potentially scary. I have done 2 of these in class tests before, so I should be able to pass again, but I am hoping to improve my skills and get better than that. IT exams feel weird but I can see the usefulness because they force you to think and learn about ethics and how you can impact society for the greater good or just be good.

What is your personal beliefs on W3C?

I have mixed feelings with the W3C. They seem cool and help with lots of things especially with accessibility, but their standards seem outdated. Lots of the warnings that they create aren’t an issue anymore (because of the capabilities of modern devices). I do understand that devises such as screen readers won’t be using the latest features and maybe not even JavaScript, but I don’t like the idea that I have to go more basic to follow the rules (especially as some frameworks don’t follow it and that's out of my control).