General practices
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Write hyperlink text to convey purpose or content, using a descriptive label
- E.g., Before you begin researching, read Brown’s LibGuide about strategies for improving your search.
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Descriptive Hyperlink Text - Source: Harvard University
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Ensure that file formats are accessible (e.g., PDF, Word, PPT)
- Files shared with students must be accessible to all students. Provide standard formats and use accessibility checking software when creating files, where possible.
- Consider using a document conversion tool like SensusAccess to improve existing files and produce alternative formats.
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Creating Accessible Content - Source: National Center on Disability and Access to Education
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Use high contrast colors
- Colors should not be used to convey meaning, organization, or emphasis without context (e.g., use text meaning or complementary visual representation in association with high contrast color).
- Color Contrast Checker - Source: WebAim
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Check that information is organized consistently and accessibly
- Consider the use of headers to organize information.
- Text should be appropriately sized (12pt. or above).
- Tables should be accessible and used for data and not formatting/layout.
- Make navigational structures like lists easy to use and ensure they are formatted as list styles.
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Ensure media contains captions and/or alternative text
- All audio should contain transcripts.
- All videos should have high-quality captions.
- All image and graphics should have alternative text.
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Provide multiple means for accessing and engaging with content
- Offer students choice and autonomy about how they can acquire information and actively participate in their learning (e.g., written, audio, and/or video).
- Offer students choice and autonomy about how they can acquire information and actively participate in their learning (e.g., written, audio, and/or video).
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Provide information in a logical flow
- Use familiar language rather than obscure, decontextualized language
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Consistently and clearly communicate expectations for student engagement and production of work.
Accessibility Tools
If you are unsure if your course meets basic accessibility standards, then consider using one of the following digital accessibility tools Brown makes available to instructors.
Canvas Accessibility Checker
Canvas has an inbuilt accessibility checker. When editing a page, look to the lower right-hand corner of the text editor; you'll see an icon of a person surrounded by a circle The image below shows you where the checker is located.
If you'd like to meet with a designer or technologist to go over accessibility best practices, you can sign up for a consultation.
SensusAccess for Document Conversion
To convert PDFs and other document types to alternative formats, or make them more accessible, you can use Brown’s SensusAccess tool.
The service allows anyone at Brown to convert inaccessible documents (e.g. image-based PDFs, JPEG photos, PowerPoint presentations) into more accessible formats. It uses optical-character recognition (OCR) to make texts searchable, selectable, and screen-reader friendly.
The service can also be used to automatically convert documents into a range of alternate media including audiobooks, e-books, and digital Braille. In your course, you can choose to provide alternative formats on your own, or highlight this resource for students in case they would like to generate alternative formats that best suit their learning style.
To use the tool, visit the SensusAccess page and scroll to the Use SensusAccess section. To learn about the tool and accessibility best practices, visit the SensusAccess E-Learning Course.
In addition to these tools, Canvas also offers an accessibility checker of its own.
Additional Resources:
- Canvas Accessibility Checker - Source: Instructure
- Accessibility within Canvas - Source: Instructure
- Inclusive Approaches to Support Students - Source: Brown University
- Inclusive Teaching in an Open Curriculum - Source: Brown University
- WAVE Webpage Accessibility Checker - Source: WebAim