Canvas Accessibility
Accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to Electronic and Information Resources (EIRs). The functional definition of accessibility states that people with disabilities must be provided the opportunity to (1) acquire the same information, (2) engage in the same interactions, (3) enjoy the same services as people without disabilities, with (4) "substantially equivalent ease of use." EIR must be usable to people of all abilities in an equitable manner. This can be achieved by either implementing accessible technologies or via an accommodation that provides an equitable experience.
Instructors and content authors should make every effort to provide accessible content before it is shared with their communities, whether created in Microsoft Word, Canvas, or HTML. When the content is curated from an external source, the author must do their due diligence in selecting accessible content. This can be as simple as finding and citing accessibility support information from the original source. See Accessibility FAQs from the UH EIRA website for more background information.
By proactively creating accessible content, you will save time and, most importantly, make your course easier for everyone.
Accessibility for Your Canvas Course
Accessibility is at the core of the UH system's values, which is why Canvas was chosen as our exclusive Learning Management System. Ensuring that your Canvas course is organized logically and consistently and that all materials provided within your course are accessible is a priority for our academic community.
To help you in this mission, Canvas provides General Accessibility Design Guidelines and the Ally accessibility tool. Ally is a powerful tool that allows you to check your course's accessibility automatically and guides you on fixing issues that might create barriers for students with disabilities. For more information about these resources, you can visit the Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) website, and if you need assistance, feel free to contact your instructional designer.
Below, you can find additional guidelines to make your Canvas course accessible to all:
1. Course Navigation
The default Canvas course layout and navigation are simple, but there are further steps you can take to ensure all students can navigate your course intuitively.
Hide navigation links to parts of the course you do not want students to access from the course navigation (or at all).
Specify where students need to begin to orient themselves to the course and start working on lessons.
Use the Modules to “curate” course content. Content pages, files, discussions, quizzes, and assignments that support a module’s objectives can all be added to a module.
Give each module a descriptive name; for example, instead of “Week 3” call it “Week 3: Disorders of the Respiratory Tract” or “Week 3: Alias Grace (Sections 1–4).”
Give each item in a module a descriptive name. If you link a file, edit that link so that instead of the file name, students see a title; instead of “English 3100 (Spring 2020).docx” students see “English 3100 Syllabus (Word).”
2. Using the Rich Content Editor
The Rich Content Editor is the interface that allows you to enter announcements, discussion text, instructions for assignments or quizzes, and so forth into your Canvas course. You can copy and paste text from other sources (such as a Word document) or type directly into the Rich Content Editor.
The Rich Content Editor renders what you have entered as HTML. You do not have to know HTML to use the Rich Content Editor; you can use the buttons on the toolbar to format your text (just as you can format text in a Word document). If you choose to use the HTML View to edit the source code directly, see the MU Digital Access page on How to Make an Accessible Website.
Use headings and lists to define a semantic layout. See How do I add and modify text in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?
If you add hyperlinks, use descriptive text—do not just paste the URL or say, “click here.”
Do not use underlining to emphasize text, as this denotes a clickable link. Instead, use bold or italics.
If you add images, include appropriate alt text to describe the image to anyone using a screen reader.
3. Canvas Quizzes and Assignments
The following pages provide guidance on making sure your assessments are created accessible:
Canvas Quizzes and Assignments (Penn State)
Creating Accessible Exams (University of Colorado)
4. Giving a Student Extra Time or Extra Attempts on a Quiz
One of the most common requests for accommodation in an online course entails providing extra time on a timed quiz. To learn how to do this, please see Once I publish a timed quiz, how can I give my students extra time? in the Canvas guides.
5. Checking Course Accessibility
You can use the Accessibility Checker in the Canvas Rich Content Editor to identify and fix issues in your announcements, pages, assignments, discussion prompts, and so forth. You may also check the accessibility of individual Pages in Canvas by adding a Wave Browser Extension.
6. Accessible Documents and Multimedia
If you plan to upload documents to your Canvas site for your students or create videos, we recommend that you review MU’s Digital Access website. This resource offers guidance on ensuring that these document types are accessible and provides tips on how to check their accessibility.
Source: Making Your Canvas Course Accessible For All Learners - University of Missouri