Remember the story about the accessibility meeting from two weeks ago?
I've seen plenty of teams go through it. The thing is, regular meetings just don't cut it for accessibility work. That's where facilitated workshops come in. Workshops are like meetings on steroids. Instead of just talking about accessibility, you're actually doing something about it.
They have clear goals because they start with a clear purpose that everyone knows about and agreed on before hand. During the workshop, everyone gets involved.
There's no sit back and zone out. Everyone who participates has a job to do and a voice to be heard. This means everyone gets to have their say and not just the person with the loudest voice in the room.
Because workshops are hands-on, everyone will learn by doing. It could be trying out new things, testing tools and solving real problems. This approach leads to a deeper understanding of web accessibility through collaborative problem-solving that draws on diverse perspectives. You'll leave a good workshop with new skills, fresh ideas and actual solutions, not just a vague feeling that you should "do better" with accessibility.
You do this through planned activities. What I like most about a workshop is that it's not a free-for-all discussion. A facilitator leads the participants in the workshop and keeps everyone focused and moving along.
Regular meetings often fall short in all these areas.
They are usually unfocused, dominated by a few voices and light on actual problem-solving. They're great for quick updates or simple decisions, but they're not ideal for discussing web accessibility.
The main drawback of workshops is their demanding nature in terms of time and resources.
But how much time and what resources?
That's a question for next time.