Quick Tips IMPROVE Series, Part 6: UniVersal Design
Welcome back to the IMPROVE series of Quick Tips. Today we’re looking at the letter V in our IMPROVE acronym, which stands for UniVersal Design Tips. Okay, yes, we took some liberties with that one, but bear with us -- acronyms are tricky to come up with!
We’ve focused the last few weeks on creating page content via text and various kinds of media. We’ve touched on accessibility throughout, but we wanted to take a week to highlight universal design strategies that can help make your Canvas content accessible not only for those with differing abilities, but for ALL learners.
Improve accessibility for your Canvas Pages
- Build in page structure with headings and lists
A well-structured page greatly improves accessibility of Canvas Pages. Using appropriate headings and lists will allow learners using assistive technology like screen readers to navigate the page much more easily, just as a sighted student would be able to skim through section by section.
How to: Use Heading 1 to label each main section or topic within a page, and then use Heading 2 and so on to label subtopics within the main sections. Use the bulleted and numbered lists to format groups of items or steps in a process.
- Use descriptive link names
When you copy and paste a web link into Canvas, or when you upload a file to share, make sure to adjust the display text to accurately describe the linked content. Learners using screen readers can navigate directly to links, and hearing the descriptive text read aloud will be much more useful than hearing a long URL or the words, “click here.”
How to: Click on a web or file link, then click the Link Options button that pops up. A panel will pop out on the right where you can adjust the display text.
- Add image descriptions
In order to make images accessible for all users, add textual descriptions (alt-text) for any images. This allows learners with visual impairments and/or those using assistive technology to better understand the content of the image. If the content of the image does not add meaning to the page, click the checkbox to mark the image as decorative; this will allow a screen reader to skip over it.
How to:
- Use color carefully
Including color in your Canvas Pages is a great way to make them more visually appealing or to make something stand out. However, use colored text or highlighting strategically. You want to make sure that if you’re using color for emphasis, color isn’t the only cue imparting that meaning; this could easily be missed by learners with colorblindness or other visual impairments (hint: bolded or italicized font is a great way to add emphasis). Additionally, be careful to ensure that there is strong contrast between the color of the text and the background, especially when using highlighted text.
Use the Accessibility Checker
If all of the above tips sound like a lot to remember, don’t worry. You can use the Accessibility Checker built into Canvas pages to help check for accessibility issues in your content. This can range from missing alt-text to insufficient color contrast.
While you are editing a page in Canvas, take a look at the accessibility icon in the bottom right. If you see a number there, Canvas has identified a possible issue. Click on the icon to open the Accessibility Checker panel and follow the instructions provided to resolve the issue(s).
How to:
Learn more about digital accessibility!
If you’re interested in learning more about digital accessibility, as well as ways to make your non-Canvas content more accessible, keep reading!
Create accessible documents and videos
Did you know there are accessibility checkers built into other software too, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat? Did you know that Kaltura has a machine captioning tool that can create closed captions for your videos?
Check out these resources to learn how to make documents and videos accessible for all learners:
Take a training workshop
Kent State offers a variety of training workshops to teach faculty and staff how to create accessible content. Check out the Equal Access Academy page for upcoming training opportunities.