Accessibility can sometimes be very abstract and we might not completely understand how users with disabilities will be affected by our designs or if we’ve implemented a technique correctly. The monthly "Explore with Hadi" meeting is a place where we can evaluate these things together, identify any issues and hopefully find solutions together to address accessibility/usability issues.

The Explore with Hadi discussion is held on the second Tuesday of each month. It is an informal gathering where everyone involved in the development and maintenance of websites can bring their accessibility questions to an open dialog. We will examine how potential accessibility issues in the web development process can impact a wide range of disabilities. This includes looking at the overall design, determining how screen reading software shows the page, discussing usability issues and best practices using HTML/CSS/Javascript and how to incorporate the latest accessibility techniques like WAI ARIA. We strive to present an overall universal design approach to help you not only improve web sites and applications but also gain a more informed understanding of what that takes.

All of this takes place in a friendly, comfortable environment. The discussion is always instructive and helpful in bringing best practices and techniques to light in a practical, hands-on format.

View upcoming meetings View past meetings

Online meeting info:

  • Second Tuesday of each month
  • 11 a.m. to noon Central Time
  • Join Zoom meeting online
    • Password (if prompted): EWH
    • Or by phone at (312) 626-6799 (Find a local dial-in number)
    • Conference ID: 867 6522 5854
    • Dial-in password: 086053
    • Topic info is provided in announcements on the CCSP, Webmasters, and Accessibility mailing lists the week before the meeting. The Accessibility mailing list is open to off-campus subscribers; it is a good way to learn about upcoming Explore with Hadi meeting topics and to communicate with colleagues about web accessibility design, techniques, and implementation questions.

Please contact Michael McKelvey (mmckelve@illinois.edu) or Keith Hays (khays@illinois.edu) if you have questions.

Why the name "Explore with Hadi"?

The title of our series grew out of monthly meetings among a few folks to discuss web accessibility. Back in 2009, Michael McKelvey started meeting with Hadi Rangin and Tim Offenstein to learn more about web accessibility for a website he was developing. After a couple years of monthly meetings, they decided to open the discussions up to a wider group and started inviting others to join in. We chose the name "Explore with Hadi" (EWH, for short) to highlight the collaborative nature of the meetings - this is an informal series with a variety of experience levels where we can all contribute and learn together. Hadi continues to play an instrumental role in the meeting series from University of Washington.

A brief timeline of EWH

  • March 2009: Michael McKelvey, George Reese (Michael's supervisor), Hadi Rangin, and Tim Offenstein meet so Michael can learn about web accessibility for a website he was developing. At this meeting Michael and George came to understand that one hour was not enough to learn everything about accessibility, so Michael, Hadi, and Tim started having monthly meetings.
  • March 2011: Tim, Hadi, and Michael opened up their monthly meetings to a wider group, including both campus and community participants. Meetings were hybrid (both physically in-person and online); the physical location alternated between Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) and Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE).
  • October 2013: Hadi and Michael put on The Accessible Community workshop series – 3 morning workshops over the course of several weeks for local developers, mostly outside the University of Illinois.
  • April 2014: “Explore with Hadi” renamed “Pizza with Hadi” this month to send Hadi off to his new role at University of Washington. After Hadi's departure, the meetings remained hybrid but MSTE became the home for the physical component of the meetings. The meeting time was moved from 9am CT to 11am CT so Hadi could connect in remotely from Washington at 9am PT.
  • June 2017: “Accessible End-to-End: Accessibility in Web Design Workflows” workshop at UIUC IT Pro Forum – a group of 8 regular attendees of Explore with Hadi (Michael McKelvey, Eli Byrd, Keith Hays, Tim Offenstein, Dena Strong, Bryan Jonker, Andrew Reynolds, and Dick Detzner) developed a hands-on workshop to help Project Managers, Web Designers, Web Developers, and Content Managers understand their roles in ensuring accessibility over the entire project lifecycle.
  • April 2018: “Accessible Beginning-to-End: Integrating Accessibility Into Your Team's Workflow” workshop at U of I Web Con – the same group of 8 EWH attendees refined the IT Pro Forum presentation from the prior fall for the U of I Web Con. The Accessibility Resources from that workshop are available online.
  • April 2020: due to COVID-19, Explore with Hadi transitioned from hybrid meetings to online-only, as it remains to this day.