Using Broadband to lower carbon emissions and improve education

At the Web Standards Group Canberra meeting I will be talking on "Learning to lower costs and carbon emissions with ICT", at the National Library of Australia, 2.30pm, 15 October, 2009. This is a free talk with all welcome, but you need to RSVP for catering purposes (the WSG would welcome sponsorship of the coffee).

Recently I was in Tasmania, talking about how the state might make use of the new National Broadband Network for Green Broadband Jobs. I thought I might expand on that a little at the WSG as well.

Meetings

October Canberra WSG meeting

Please log in to RSVP for this event. 8 people have registered

Date: Thursday 15 October, 2009

Event Details

Time: 2.30pm - 4.30pm

Where: NLA Theatre, lower ground floor, National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Parkes, ACT 2600 http://www.nla.gov.au/library/locationmap.html

Cost: Free

---

First presentation: Tom Worthington

Topic 1: Learning to lower costs and carbon emissions with ICT

Learning to lower costs and carbon emissions with ICT Tom Worthington FACS HLM Designer of the ACS and ANU Green ICT Courses Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Australian National University

The first globally accredited Green ICT course for computer professionals commenced on 18 January 2009. The course designer claims trained ICT professionals could triple the Government's 5% greenhouse target and achieve a 15% reduction in emissions by 2020.

ICT professionals can now enhance their career prospects by skilling up to meet the carbon emissions requirements the federal government is imposing on private and public sector organisations. Higher energy costs will require new skills to assess new aspects of computer procurement and also create new opportunities to help business re-engineer its operations and scope to expand the ICT function into new technology areas.

Tom Worthington is an independent IT consultant and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University. He has been an expert witness in several court cases involving computer issues. After a career in IT policy with the federal government, he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for his contribution to the development of public Internet policy in Australia.

Tom teaches the design of web sites, e-commerce and professional ethics at the ANU. He designed the Australian Computer Society's Green ICT Strategies course.

Second presentation: Pia Waugh

Topic 2: TBC

Please log in to RSVP for this event

Building location aware websites

Paul Hagon from the National Library of Australia will talk on "Where am I? Building location aware websites" at the July Canberra WSG meeting, 24 July 2009 at the NLA in Canberra.

Mobile devices with inbuilt GPS, such as the iPhone, are leading to the development of location aware applications. This trend isn't just limited to the mobile arena. Advances are being made to bring this technology to desktop and laptop browsers. Services exist to allow you to share your location to a variety of applications. How can we incorporate this technology into our websites and what are the technical and social implications of doing so? ...

From July Canberra WSG meeting, Web Standards Group, 2009

Canberra Web Standards Group, 4 February 2009

The Web Standards Group will meet in Canberra, 4 February, 2009. These are excellent free events for people interested in web design:

Event Details

When: Wednesday, 4 February 2009 ... National Library of Australia ...
Cost: Free

First presentation: Jessica Enders, Formulate Information Design
Topic 1: Zebra striping: the mouse that roared

In 2008, Jessica conducted research into the efficacy of zebra striping, which is the faint shading of alternate rows of tabular data. It was meant to be a straightforward experiment to arm web developers with some statistics to support their design decisions.

Instead, the research yielded some rather unexpected findings, garnered a surprising amount of interest and triggered some very "enthusiastic" responses. Come hear what all the fuss was about, and what the implications are--both big and small--for the web community.

Jessica Enders is Principal of Formulate Information Design, a business specialising in the design of electronic and paper-based forms. Jessica's employment history includes 5 years as a survey methodologist at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 5 years as a survey designer for private research agency Colmar Brunton Social Research and almost 2 years as an interaction designer at Australia's premier user-centred design firm, The Hiser Group.

Jessica provides her clients with a holisitic service, advising on all elements of the form including graphic design, language, psychological & sociological influences, technical aspects and usability. When it comes to presentations, Jessica aims to make these (often complex) ideas accessible, relevant and timely.

Second presentation: Donna Spencer, Maadmob
Topic 2: Involving Users: Why is it so hard to do the right thing?

Why is user involvement in projects the exception rather than the rule, despite the fact we know it is the 'right' thing to do? Taking a practical standpoint and without the boring and irrelevant theory, this presentation discusses the role of user involvement in web projects covering:

• What types of projects need (and do not need) to involve users
• Determine the value of involving users or the risks of not involving them
• Methods and techniques appropriate for different situations
• Low-contact, quick methods you can use to learn about users with little effort
• Tips to help other people understand the value of user involvement

Donna Spencer is a freelance information architect, mentor, writer and trainer. She has 9 years experience working in-house and as a consultant doing strategic and tactical design. She has designed large intranets & websites, e-commerce & search systems, business applications, design patterns and a CMS.

Donna is an experienced speaker who has taught workshops and presented sessions at local and international conferences, on information architecture, interaction design and whatever else crosses her mind. She spends her (little) remaining time doing IA community work and writing a book on card sorting. Sometimes she even gets time to weave, sew and garden. ...