Introduction and Updates As we’ve reached the September accessibility deadline, I’d like to look back on the progress that’s been made in making the University’s web estate a more accessible, inclusive space and service for all of our users.   With almost 1500 sites hosted by and affiliated with the University of Edinburgh, it would […]

A few of us recently took part in DrupalCon Global 2020, an online conference which took place over three days, from 14 – 17 July.

What is Heading Structure and why is it important for web accessibility?   Designing websites with sound heading structure in mind is critical to making your websites are truly accessible, as websites with good heading structure make it easier for screen readers to successfully and quickly navigate pages to find relevant information.   As much […]

At last month’s Web Publishing Community session, we conducted an experiment in mass remote collaboration. Using a technique called liberating structures, 40 people generated ideas, before sifting through them all and finding the strongest one — all within 20 minutes.

What is Reflow?   Reflow is the process of fitting content to the width of a page so that site material remains within the boundaries of the page window when users zoom in to enlarge content. The layout and distance between objects on a page might change with enlargement, but all content on the page […]

What is Colour Contrast? Effective colour contrast means that there is sufficient contrast between text and background for all users, especially those with low contrast sensitivity.   What is classified as sufficient Colour Contrast? The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) states that normal text and images of text must meet a contrast ratio of at […]

As more of our services than ever move online, our web estate has become the face of the University. Inclusivity of all our users has never been more important. A Practical and Ethical Approach With September’s legislation deadline rightly also attracting attention, we want to help our devolved web community improve the accessibility of their […]

Help to celebrate the University’s commitment to Open Source and showcase your projects by entering into the OpenUK Open Source Awards. Nominations are open until midnight 15 June 2020 Championing Open Source – a student perspective Before we start to discuss and understand why the University hired a 3rd-year student as their Open Source Champion, […]

Last week I attended the Service Design in Government conference, held here in Edinburgh. This event brings together design practitioners from across the public sector and beyond, from across the UK and beyond.

OpenUK created a Universities Committee in late 2019. During our last OpenUK conference call we were joined by STEM Volunteer Outreach Program Coordinator from Red Hat. OpenUK are now looking into organising an event in June for academics run by the Teaching Open Source and POSSE teams. And we need your help spreading the word […]