Students rely on Canvas every day, and the level of accessibility will directly impact their ability to learn. The good news is that applying fundamental accessibility measures can help you reduce barriers to access in your Canvas course. Below are best practices to show you how to take the first steps towards making your Canvas course more accessible.
Best Practices for Accessibility
Add alt text to images, charts and graphics using Image Options in Canvas.
Write meaningful hyperlink text that tells the user where the link will redirect to. Avoid full URLs or phrases like “click here” or “read more."
Only use tables to present data, not to style the layout of the page. Format tables with header rows and captions using Table/Cell Properties in Canvas.
Ensure sufficient color contrast of text and graphics against the background. Avoid using color as the only indicator of meaning.
Organize content with built-in lists and heading styles to structure your text (rather than increasing the size/bolding headers) with Text Styles in Canvas.
Use accessible fonts and sizes to ensure text content is legible. Avoid putting text over image backgrounds.
Canvas Accessibility with Panorama
Panorama is a new accessibility tool available for Canvas course sites. It allows instructors and instructional support staff to create accessible digital content and fix issues directly within Canvas. The Panorama tool scans your course content and files to provide you with an accessibility score, a breakdown of any issues, and options to fix identified accessibility concerns. For help with getting started in Panorama, check out the Canvas Accessibility with Panorama training course.
What does my course accessibility score mean?
After scanning your course materials and webpages, Panorama will display an accessibility score for your entire Canvas course. Do not panic if this percentage is low! This score is intended to help you gauge your progress as you make accessible changes to your content. Rather than focusing on the number itself, think about the overall improvements being made and actionable ways you can make your course more accessible.
One common factor for low accessibility scores is storing a large number of course files or resources that are no longer in use - Panorama scans all files in a course, including ones that are unpublished or unviewable by students. If these files contain outdated information or are not actively used in your course, we suggest removing them. If you are keeping the files in Canvas long-term simply for storage purposes, U-M provides considerable storage space for faculty and staff via Google Drive or Dropbox.
Additional Accessibility Resoruces
For more information on LSA's commitment to accessibility and additional accessibility resources, visit the LSA Accessibility website.
