Canvas and many other online learning systems include tools to make course content more accessible for all users. Whether a learner has informed you of a disability, accessibility practices support students, employees, and anyone completing training or professional development activities.
Accessible course content resources
Organize content with headings
Organize sections and sub-sections of content using headings. Headings help learners understand and navigate information, whether they are reading the content visually or using assistive technology.
Headings should follow a logical order that reflects the information hierarchy on the page.
Canvas Guide: How do I Add and Modify Text in the Rich Content Editor?
Include text alternatives for images
When you include images in a course, add a text description of the images–commonly called alt text. Canvas has tools to add image descriptions that are not visible on the screen but are read by assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
Example of effective alt text
Image description: “Diagram showing the respiratory system, including the lungs, trachea, and diaphragm.”
Describe complex images
Complex images–like graphs, diagrams, or other data visuals–may require long text alternatives.
When the text alternative needs to be longer than 1-2 sentences to include all of the important details, choose one of the following strategies:
- Include the full text description as a paragraph alongside the image
- Include a clearly labelled link to a full text description of the image
- For data visualizations, include a data table with the same information
Example of an effective complex chart description
“Bar chart comparing average monthly patient visits across three clinics from January to June. Clinic A shows steady growth from 1,200 visits in January to 1,800 in June. Clinic B starts at 900 visits, peaks at 1,400 in April, then drops slightly to 1,300 in June. Clinic C remains stable at around 700 visits each month. Overall, Clinic A has the highest and most consistent growth over the six-month period.”
Canvas Guide: How do I Insert a Table Using the Rich Content Editor?
Share accessible media
If your course content includes video or audio clips, check that you are sharing accessible media.
Provide accessible digital documents
If your course content includes files such as PDFs, PowerPoint slides, spreadsheets, or other digital documents, check that you are sharing accessible documents.
User story: Complex image descriptions
Itzel is an epidemiology student, and the online course material includes a graph of the results of a population health study. However, the content does not include a description or any other text-based alternative to the graph. Itzel is blind and uses a screen reader to convert digital text into audio. Her screen reader announces that an image is present, but Itzel can’t find any other details.
Remove the barrier: Include a data table with the same information as the graph. Itzel can navigate the data table with her screen reader and consider the information and trends that way.