How to Use Canvas's Built-In Accessibility Checker
The Rich Content Editor Accessibility Checker in Canvas makes it easy for anyone creating content in Canvas, to identify and correct some of the most common accessibility issues, saving time, granting peace of mind and providing a better experience for all students. As accessibility is core to the Canvas user experience, Canvas now facilitates accessible content creation, at no extra cost, by providing an intuitive interface to fix common accessibility issues. The Accessibility Checker, located in the Rich Content Editor menu bar (see below image) assists instructors and course designers with maintaining accessibility requirements for Canvas content.
It will check for the appropriate use of the following:
- Use of headings in page structure
- Alternative text for images
- Table headers
- Color contrast
- Descriptive link text
- Video captions
How to detect for issues:
When working in the Rich Content Editor within Canvas, users can activate the Accessibility Checker from the toolbar. This performs an accessibility check on the current content, reports problem areas or concerns, and makes it easy to correct accessibility issues. For instructors, the tool provides an easy way to check and correct common accessibility issues and teaches them how to avoid these problems in the future.
If one or more issues are detected, the accessibility attribute is listed along with an explanation of the error and how to fix it. Information is also provided to the user to learn more about this particular accessibility attribute when you select on the question mark icon. There are previous and next buttons to view any other issues identified.
Please note: depending on the size of the browser window, users may have to scroll the menu bar horizontally to view the Accessibility Checker icon. When you select the icon, the tool scans the content and makes known any issue detected. If no issues are found you will receive a message: “No accessibility issues were detected.” Please see image below.
This tool verifies the following common accessibility errors:
- Table headers: Tables should include at least one header.
- Sequential headings: Heading levels should not be skipped (i.e. H2 to H4). The title of page is designated as the H1.
- Heading paragraphs: Headings should not contain more than 120 characters.
- Image alt text: Images should include an alt attribute describing the image content.
- Image alt length: Alt attribute text should not contain more than 120 characters.
- Large text contrast: Text larger than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 3:1.
- Small text contrast: Text smaller than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1.
Canvas Guides
For more information on Accessibility please join our ADA Compliance and Accessibility course on Canvas