Canvas Accessibility

 Apply Headings

1. Highlight the brief word or phrase, or place your cursor on the line.
2. In the Rich Content Editor, select the Styles drop-down menu to reveal Headings 2-4.

headings Guidelines

• Headings should follow a logical structure that identifies content based on the organizational content and hierarchy of information in the document.
• Canvas automatically tags the page title as Heading 1. Page content headings should start at Heading 2.
• Avoid skipping heading levels.
• Headings should be short and succinct.
• For additional guidance on formatting, please review the information on Structure (concept page) and Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course: Headings.

 Apply List Style

1. Highlight the grouped text.
2. In the rich content editor, select the appropriate
   list style (bullet or number list).

list styles Guidelines

• Remove any lists created manually, such as those using dashes, asterisks, or other symbol characters.
• Avoid using indentation to provide a visual list in lieu of the list style button.
• Numbered lists are used to present a group of items (words, phrases, sentences) that follow a sequence.
• Bulleted lists are used for a group of items without a sequence.
• Lists should contain at least two or more list items, unless being used to create an outline.
• Nested lists are acceptable, such as a numbered list that contains a nested bulleted list.
• For additional guidance, please read more on Structure(concept page) and Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course: List Styles.

There are two types of images you will be using in your course: supportive images or decorative images. Images that support content will need alt text.

iMAGES GUIDELINES

• A text description should convey the purpose or content of the image in approximately 140 characters or less. Avoid repeating the same information as contained in the surrounding text.
• If the image is complex, use a short alt text description for the image and then provide additional information in the surrounding text of the document.
• Do not include the file format in the alt text (Example: .JPEG, .PNG).
• Do not include phrases “A picture of” or “An image of” as part of the alt text.
• For additional guidance on writing effective text descriptions (i.e., alt text), please review the information onImages and Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course: Images.

In this section there are several use cases:

• Editing an existing link
• Create a new accessible link
• Link to an external source

Hyperlinks Guidelines

• Use link text that is descriptive and or informs the person as to the link’s destination.
• For additional guidance on formatting and descriptive link text, please review the information on Hyperlinks(concept page) and Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course: Hyperlinks.

When using color to indicate a specific condition or state, include text formatting to provide a distinguishing characteristic. For example, if a list of vocabulary words were identified only in red text, this could present difficulties for an individual who has a type of color-blindness.
Use color and formatting to support accessibility, such as:

• Red text with Bold formatting
• Using an asterisk, brackets, or other annotation symbols in addition to color

This infographic provides a guide of text colors accessible on Canvas' white background and text colors accessible on black backgrounds as guidance.

✓ = accessible colors
o = colors that are accessible only for large text
      (Header 2, or 18pt and larger)

The new color palette allows for customized colors.

Using the Hex code along with a color contrast tool
can help you identify an appropriate color combination.

1. Select Text color.
2. Select Custom color.
3. The Color Picker dialogue box should appear
   with the option of entering either the decimal or hex code.
   
   Select Save.

For additional information on color (concept page), read Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course: Color.

Like any tool, the Canvas Accessibility Checker tool:

• Works when it's used correctly
• Creates problems if used incorrectly
• Doesn't cover everything you need to check for in your pages

Limitations

The Accessibility Checker Tool is limited in that it is an open-sourced work-in-progress tool. It may not catch every accessibility issue and like all accessibility checkers, it will still need human eyes to find and fix accessibility issues.

Accessibility checkers are like robots. They cannot, for example, determine whether an alt text describes the image that ties it to the content of your course. They also cannot determine what phrases should be formatted as headings.

However, the Accessibility Checker is a good tool to use for:

• Creating accessible tables
• Color contrast

Canvas Accessibility Checker Anatomy

1. Displays the total number of issues identified and the current issue.
2. Brief description of the issue.
3. In-depth explanation.
4. "You-Do-It Action Area" - the Accessibility Checker may ask you to:
   
   • Select text colors and background colors with high contrast.
   • Provide an option to merge links that have the same URL.
   • Provide a descriptive alt text or identify decorative images.
   • Provide a caption and identify header rows or column headers in order to create an accessible table.
5. Select Apply to save your work.
6. If applicable, a Previous and Next button allows to move through the accessibility issues.