This academic year, it was brought to my attention that there have been some great things that schools have done with functionality that currently exists within Lists.  One of these things, is actually using Lists to give the user 'real time' updates right on the Portal of Attendance that has been recorded at the school.  I imagine that this is really helpful functionality not only for a classroom teacher, or advisor but also for an Attendance Manager who wants to see those students that are absent without having to run a report or access the various Attendance Manager tasks. 

All someone needs to do is create a simple list through Lists and make the results available on a channel.  Then from the portal, the list that was just created can be placed in a channel and the attendance data that is recorded for the day will automatically appear! 

Below is a quick video (no audio) that illustrates the creation of this list as well as what it looks like when the list is placed on the portal.  To those of you who have already done this on your Portals, great job!  And if you have any other great things that you have done with Lists, please don't hesitate to share it with us so we can share it with others.

It's 2010. More and more companies and organizations are taking their information online. Why?  It's not only for reasons like the Green Movement or to cut back on production costs, it's because of the way people are consuming their information.  There is not much that cannot be done electronically these days and the majority of people are now at a point when they feel inconvenienced to have to do otherwise.

Education is not an exception.  From online courses, sports scores, admission applications, to even health forms or parent/teacher conferencing, schools are taking their communication strategies online.  While it is important to keep up with the times and change the way we deliver our information, it is also important to make sure that your message is getting across to everyone that wants to receive it. 

Web Accessibility is an important consideration that should be included in everybody's website strategy.  If we are changing the way we expect people to get their information, we must also consider that not everyone can receive that information or communicate in the same way.  People with disabilities such as visual, auditory, cognitive, neurological, or even the elderly still need to access the web, they just may not be able to access it in the same way.

Organizations like W3C outline ways that web developers and designers can create websites that are accessible to all.  Taking into consideration certain details during the development process, can go a long way in making your overall web strategy accessible.  There are also great companies and organizations out there that specialize in creating software to support web accessibility.  Ecosystem Partner, eSSENTIAL Accessibility, has created downloadable software that can be easily plugged into any website, so that disabled viewers can browse the site with the aid of various accessibility tools.

WhippleHill as well as schools like Upper Canada College, are taking advantage of this software through a subscription that allows them to incorporate a "clickable" logo on their site.  By clicking the icon, a disabled viewer can download the accessibility software at no cost to them.  This is simple way to take an important step in making a website more accessible. 

On Thursday, February 4th, at 2pm (EST), WhippleHill and eSSENTIAL will be co-presenting a webinar on "Making your site more accessible".  The webinar will be a great time to find out more on web accessibility standards and see a demonstration of the eSSENTIAL Accessibility software.  For more information or to sign up, check out our webinar page now!