The Pope Tech Accessibility Guide can assist users in identifying and resolving accessibility issues in your Canvas course via Canvas course editor.
Please note that Panopto videos, PDFs, and other documents are not checked by Pope Tech at this time.
For additional Accessibility Guide support videos, please see Pope Tech's Demo Video Playlist.
How Do I Access the Canvas Accessibility Guide?
Navigate to any editable part of your course. (This could be a course page, assignment, discussion, the syllabus, etc.)
Select Edit.
Scroll down and select the Accessibility Guide icon.
How Do I Navigate the Canvas Accessibility Guide?
After opening the Accessibility Guide, you’ll see a panel with five categories and different result types. There’s also help, documentation, and examples to use.
Canvas Accessibility Guide Categories
Pope Tech accessibility results are organized into five content categories:
Images and links
Text and contrast
Headings
Tables and lists
Documents and videos
You can open each category drop down to review and fix the errors or alerts right in the Guide
Accessibility Result Types
- Errors: Accessibility issues that should be fixed
- Alerts: Potential accessibility issues that should be reviewed and fixed if an issue
- Features: Parts of the course that should be helping accessibility. These should still be reviewed to make sure they were done correctly
- Headings: The Headings content category drop down shows the heading outline to make sure it has an organized hierarchy
Every result type tells you what to do and has a question mark icon to see more documentation and examples if available.
Where Can I Find Canvas Accessibility Guide Demos?
Alternative text (alt text) describes an image for people using screen readers or when an image doesn’t load.
To fix a missing alt text:
- Add a short description of the image.
- Select “Apply.” The Guide will attach the alt text to the image.
Link text should tell users where a link goes. This helps everyone, especially people using screen readers or voice commands.
To fix unclear link text:
- Edit the link text to describe its destination.
- Select “Apply.” The Guide will update the text on the page.
Contrast errors happen when text and background colors are too similar, making it hard to read especially for users with low vision.
To fix a contrast error:
- Use the sliders to adjust the colors.
- Continue until the contrast ratio passes the check.
Headings make pages easier to read and help assistive technology navigate your content. Use them in order to avoid confusion.
For example:
- Heading 1 = page title (only one per page)
- Heading 2 = main sections
- Heading 3 = subsections under Heading 2
To fix a skipped heading level:
- Select the correct heading from the dropdown.
- Click “Apply.”
First, decide if your table is for layout or for data:
- Layout tables are used only to position content on the page.
- Data tables organize related information.
If your table is a data table:
- Choose whether the first row, first column, or both should be headers.
- Add a table caption to describe the data.
- If needed, add headers in the Canvas editor, then select the options in the Accessibility Guide.
- Click “Apply.” The Guide will make the necessary updates.
Resources
Need Additional Help?
- To discuss Canvas course accessibility with a member of DLD, please schedule a consultation.
- For help with Canvas, please contact [email protected].