Use an Accessibility Checker to Improve Course Accessibility

Most accessibility checkers will help identify incorrect text formatting, missing alternative content for images, improvements to links, and a better way to use tables for displaying data. Each individual fix may seem small, but the overall change towards improving accessibility makes a big difference for many students. Although students with accessibility needs are at the forefront in motivating these changes, visual clarity and other possible accessibility fixes allow everyone to easily navigate educational content and learn effectively.

Dig Deeper

Canvas Built-In Rich Text Accessibility Checker

Within Canvas, there is a built-in accessibility checker that can discover some common accessibility mistakes, though it does not capture all accessibility issues. Use the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor to catch adjacent links, heading mistakes, missing alternative text for images or table captions, along with other formatting challenges.

Many more Canvas Instructor Accessibility Resources are available from the U of I Canvas service provider. Of note, the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist (document), which includes accessibility checkpoints, can be found in the first section.

Encourage students to use the Accessibility Checker in discussion board posts

When you assign or encourage students to post to Canvas discussion boards, be sure to suggest they use the built-in accessibility checker for each of their posts. When you encourage your students to be responsible for the accessibility of their own work, you give them the chance to take an active role to improve their learning community.

Stay tuned for future nuggets about use of color and contrast in learning materials!

See you again next week!

-UDL and Accessibility Group
https://publish.illinois.edu/udl-accessibility-group/
gcoe-udlgroup@illinois.edu