Brown DLD Faculty Guides

Web accessibility for Canvas and beyond

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The Seven Pillars of Accessibility

Alternative Text

Only through alternative text, or alt text, can non-visual viewers access visual content.

If the image is important to the course content, then include alt text. In one or two sentences, describe the essential meaning of the image. If the image is decorative, then mark it as such. 

 

Use High Contrast Colors

Users with color deficiencies and those using screen readers require high color contrast to adequately understand the information being conveyed. Colors for text and images of text need a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. If the text is large (14 point and bolded, or 18 point regular and larger), then a 3:1 ratio is needed. This does not apply to decorative images/

Color alone should not be used to convey meaning, organization, or emphasis (e.g., use text meaning or complementary visual representation in association with high contrast color).

 

Heading Styles

Use headings when formatting text on a page. Headings create a logical outline on the page that allows screen readers to easily navigate content. Headings also make it easier for users to scan content.

  • Headings - Source: Web Accessibility Initiative

 

Descriptive Links

Link text should accurately describe the link. This ensures users accessing page content through a screen reader know where a link will take them.You should also assign a descriptive phrase to document links, removing the file extension from the link in the process.

 

Lists

When making lists, use the built-in Canvas Rich Content Editor to do so. Do not create lists by typing numbers, dashes, or asterisks. This may visually resemble a list to sighted users, but screen readers will not be able to interpret this formatting as a list. The Rich Content Editor allows you to format lists using proper html formatting.


 Tables

Likewise, use the built-in Canvas Rich Text Editor when creating tables. But only use tables when presenting structured data – not for layout or formatting purposes. Using tables to format images or other page content confuses screen readers. Therefore tables should have structured data with clear column headers.

 

Closed Captions

All audio should contain transcripts and all videos should have high-quality captions.

Additional Considerations

  • 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.
    • Creating Accessible Content - Source: National Center on Disability and Access to Education
       
  • 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.
       
  • 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).
    • The UDL Guidelines - Source: CAST
       
  • Provide information in a logical flow
    • Use familiar language rather than obscure, decontextualized language
    • 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:

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