Organization and Consistency
- Having a well-organized Canvas course is key to accessibility as well as usability.
- Page layout should be simple, clean, and uncluttered.
- Navigation should be clear and consistent from page to page.
- Pages should have unique and descriptive titles (Module 1 Quiz 1 of 3: World History).
- Be consistent with naming conventions. If reading material are referred to by title in the syllabus, be sure that the same name I used throughout Canvas.
- Learn more through the following resource:
Formatting
- Use headings in appropriate, nested order. In Canvas, the page title is H1, so the first heading on a page should be H2, with H3 nested under that, etc.
- Links should be embedded as unique, descriptive links
- Use HTML-coded bulleted or numbered lists (by clicking on the appropriate button in the Rich Text Editor), rather than typing out numbers or symbols for lists.
- Designate header cells and header cell scope in tables. Tables should have captions and titles. All information can be added via the Tables menu in the Rich Text Editor.
- Learn more through the following resources:
Accessible Documents (Editable text. Don’t use image PDFs)
- Word Documents: create in latest available version of Microsoft Word and run accessibility checker.
- PDFs: create in latest available version of Microsoft Word and run accessibility checker. Correct all issues. Convert to PDF using Adobe plugin. Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, run accessibility checker and correct all issues: read order, alt text, tables, language, title, etc. Must have editable text or have been run through OCR (optical character recognition) — a scanned book will read as an image and cannot be processed by a screen reader.
- Excel Spreadsheets: Avoid blank cells as much as possible. Use for intended purpose—organizing data. Do not include lengthy sentences, images, etc.
- PowerPoint Presentations: Use notes section to describe content of slides. Notes should serve as equivalent to the information on the slides. Images should have alt text descriptions. Ensure that the reading order of items on slides is correct.
- Learn more through the following resources:
- Digital Content Accessibility Training
- Make your Word documents accessible to people with disabilities by Microsoft
- How to apply online OCR software to a PDF by Adobe
- Make your content accessible to everyone by Microsoft
- UO Microsoft Word Overview
- UO Microsoft PowerPoint Overview
- UO Adobe Acrobat Overview
Audio and Video (Transcripts and Captions)
- All audio content (audio recordings added to PowerPoint slides and audio tracks on video recordings) must have a complete text equivalent in the form of transcripts (audio) or captions (video). Use Panopto to upload videos to Canvas.
- Auto-generated captions need to be edited for accuracy.
- For live video discussions
- One speaker at a time
- Have all speakers self identify before speaking
- Ask to repeat when you encounter audio issues
- Learn more through the following resource:
- How to Add Captions to your Panopto Video by the University of Pittsburg
- Video and Multimedia - Importance of Captions
- Live Video Discussions
Image Descriptions (alt text and visual information in general)
- All images (except decorative images, like icons or stock photos) should have quality alt text descriptions. Decorative images can be tagged as decorative.
- Alt text descriptions should convey the information of the image, not merely describe the image. Alt text should be an equivalent substitute for the image.
- Alt text should consider the context in which the image appears.
- For video content (like recorded lectures), be sure to describe images you show or reference. When using vague descriptions like “this” and “that over there” include additional descriptions of what you’re referencing
- Learn more through the following resource:
For more information:
Online resources from UO Teaching Support & Innovation
Academic Continuity Resources and Guidance
Visit Canvas Academic & Community Instances and Get Started for more information about utilizing Canvas at the University of Oregon. Visit UO Digital Accessibility for resources for university employees related to creating and maintaining accessible digital content and services. If you have questions or need to consult with an expert, contact Teaching Support & Innovation.