Better Web Posse

Part-Time Instructors - Web Design Program [Camosun]

gelsaby — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:07:49 +0000

The Camosun College Continuing Education department requires dynamic, qualified instructors to teach hands-on software and design courses in our popular Web Design Certificate program. Courses are 18-hours in length and normally scheduled two evenings per week (5:30-9:30pm) plus some Saturday mornings. Instructors are needed for the following courses: Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator and Graphic Design for the Web. Apply by Jun 2nd.

More details available in this PDF or email paterson@camosun.bc.ca .

Teampages seeks Senior Developer [Van]

gelsaby — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:02:43 +0000

TeamPages.com is a venture-backed company seeking a skilled, driven, and experienced Senior Developer to join our 4-person team in our downtown Vancouver office. We are a fast paced, Web 2.0 company that enables sports teams, leagues and athletes to manage their athletic schedules and communication online. We have a small, energetic team with an intense focus on execution and customer value. Our developers practice agile development methodologies while working in Ruby on Rails.

The Senior Developer will be responsible for supporting two of the chief development initiatives: enhancing site navigation and creating new user interface designs. This person will be a key player working with both the development and executive team in the planning and programming many features critical to existing and new web applications. A TeamPages Senior Developer is someone that loves to write code, yet has an eye for design. This position will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer.

Responsibilities will include:

Produce high-quality Ruby Code
Craft CSS and HTML to produce good-looking standards compliant web pages
Adjust backend services as required
Hack out JavaScript and enhance site usability
Communicate clearly with customers and staff
Mentor less experienced team members
Respond to other daily challenges as they arise

Learn more about the company and offered job benefits > [pdf]

Web Developer for the ETCL

gelsaby — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:20:21 +0000

The Electronic Textual Cultures Lab [ETCL] at the University of Victoria is looking to add a dynamic and resourceful web developer to our team. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of a rich internet application geared towards aiding professional readers. Programming work will be of an object oriented nature and will be done using a variety of open source software packages; plus, have the opportunity to work in a flexible and innovative environment!

The successful candidate will have a Bachelors degree in computer science or an equivalent combination of experience. Development will be conducted in an agile environment using the Ruby on Rails framework. Experience with Ruby and Rails is not mandatory, but experience with at least one other web development framework is necessary. The position will require knowledge of database architecture and design. Postgresq or MySql experience would be ideal. A strong understanding of, and 2 years experience with, object oriented programming is required. Knowledge of XML would be considered an asset.

Responsibilities of the position are listed below:

Developing and implementing object oriented designs
Designing database schemas
Writing documentation
Holding constructive discussion with other team members
Deploying web applications
Open source software research
Maintaining web applications
Preparing materials for academic papers and presentations

The salary range will be $41,594.00 - $46,813.00 per annum plus performance range (U Victoria PEA grade 6).

We are involved in a number of exciting research projects that are on the leading edge of web technology. The work environment in the lab is best suited for self motivated personalities, and supports individual development style and new ideas. For more information about the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab visit our website: http://etcl.uvic.ca/

Please submit your applications to uvic.etcl@gmail.com with an electronic copy of your resume attached.

Gettin Naked!

gelsaby — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:40:23 +0000

CSS Naked that is! The brainchild of standards wise developer Dustin Diaz, the third inaugural CSS Naked Day attests to the importance of Web Standards. That means using semantic markup, XHTML, and meaningful structure; form follows function!

This being a web standards biased group, how could we not participate? As Dustin puts it so well:

It’s time to show off your !

Since it’s inception three years ago, CSS Naked Day has been translated in at least ten languages with over a thousand participants.

Nanaimo makes it to TIME magazine (for being the most Googled)

gelsaby — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:26:07 +0000

Google Earthed, that is. According to TIME magazine [article], the city of Nanaimo grabbed the Google Earth train only five years ago and have been pumping municipal data like fire service dispatches, utility lines, restaurants - even lawn mowing schedules - into it ever since.

Google Earth’s CEO adds that “[Nanaimo] citizens have more information about their city than the people of San Francisco.” Which IS surprising for a coal mining town of 78,000, so aptly stated by TIME. If you’re reeling by now, you may or may not want to check this all out at earth.nanaimo.ca.

I’d also like to add that according to VIAtec, last year Victoria’s technology industry trumped the total revenue of tourism’s by pulling in a revenue of 1.7 billion. Is Vancouver Island Canada’s up-and-coming Silicon Valley? Only time will tell.

Facebook generates heat among academics

gelsaby — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:21:44 +0000

Ryerson University student Chris Avenir finally received comfort today after weeks on trial of facing expulsion over conducting a Facebook run studygroup for his Chem class [CBC article]. University officials originally pointed fingers at the online studygroup as cheating (in fact some members had posted answers to exam questions [canada.com]); however, Avenir himself did not condone the posts.

This is where I insert my indiscriminate plug for the research project I’m currently working on here at UVic: we’re building an app to facilitate academic research online (similar to Google Scholar) but that also enables collaboration not unlike that of Avenir’s Facebook group (if you’re interested, check us out etcl.uvic.ca). So the case like the one stated above is of concern as well as hope to us. The resolution here speaks to a slow understanding and adoption among academics; however, Ryerson’s action is not surprising. While apps like Facebook are rapidly gaining success for easy collaboration, they fail to recognize needs of a particular audience - and the constant voice of the academic audience will always be intellectual property and professional standards.

I’m not sure if this particular case is what spurred this upcoming event at University of Victoria, but if anyone is interested on following this topic I would highly recommend attending this lecture:

Facebook – A tool for Online Study Groups or Academic Cheating?

Thursday, April 10, 2008
1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM HHB 128, University of Victoria
Facilitator: Robin Sutherland, UVic Communications Services

–This open discussion forum will address the recent controversy over students using Facebook to form online study groups. While this tool can be used by students for peer learning, it can also be used to share assignments and test answers. This session can be an opportunity to discuss strategies for creating awareness amongst students and instructors about the fine lines between peer learning and academic cheating. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion.–

DemoCampVictoria

gelsaby — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:23:27 +0000

“Just like DemoCampVancouver, this group is all about demoing your innovative idea to people from all areas of business. High tech, art, non-profit, or anything else; it doesn’t matter!”

Welp, count me in! The event is free to attend, and it sounds like the round up so far is interesting (demo’s from the Flock guys in Vic, and an interesting new social commerce app called BountyUp). There’s one idea that’s missing that I personally think is really cool, called TeamPages; a social app that facilitates athletes, their coaches, and parents in organizing and scheduling teams (designed by MetaLab). But, that’s already been developed and DemoCamp seems more of a brainstorm-esque event.

Details

Held at 834 Johnson St at the Juliet Showroom (map)
Attendance is free.

For more info and signup at Victoria’s DemoCamp, check out the DemoCampVictoria wiki, or the Facebook group.

Welcome IE8 Beta!

gelsaby — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:35:00 +0000

Is it just me or was it only yesterday the hype for IE8 just started, and now they’re releasing the Beta! Couple of interesting things about IE8: it passes the Acid2 test (which technically means it’s more standards compliant than Firefox, which doesn’t pass the test), and if you’ve been following the discussion on IE8’s version targeting, Microsoft changed direction last minute on the meta tag specification which means your site will render just fine in IE8 (and if you want it to work in IE7-, THEN you have to specify).

I suppose the major concern now is “how fast is this getting adopted”? Because I need an excuse to not test for another browser :P

Non profit volunteer opp.

gelsaby — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:55:26 +0000

Open Cinema is looking for a person to volunteer 4 to 6 hours per month to work on the Open Cinema website in WordPress - opencinema.ca.

Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Valerie Elliott, Managing & Creative Director of iD2 Communications Inc., for more information.

Renegades!

matt salik — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:16:41 +0000

What up Posse enthusiasts!

There’s a new-ish web and graphic design group in Victoria meetin’ together every month to have a drink and talk about what it is we do. It’s a casual place to bounce ideas off each other, collaborate, maybe learn something new and bitch about the parts of the job that frustrate us.

If nothing else it’ll be cathartic.

It’s good, you should join up.

Thanks Gels!