ALIGNED: Files and content pages pass any built-in accessibility check available in the software.

No, this is not a typo--we are starting with D11 instead of D1! Why? To save you lots and lots of time. ⌛

Most programs have built-in accessibility checkers to support effective page design. This is such a huge help because it means you don't have to remember everything on your own! The checker will flag a potential issue, you will use your accessibility know-how to determine if and how it needs to be addressed, and then the tool will help you fix it. You'll find an accessibility checker in most Microsoft programs, and you'll actually find TWO in Canvas. In the sections below, we will introduce you to the tools you are most likely to use for your courses.

Canvas Checkers
Document Checkers
Resources

Canvas Checkers

Canvas Accessibility Checker

You'll see the Canvas Accessibility Checker when you are in editing mode. It is currently located right under the text editing box, in the right corner:

This tool is currently rather limited in what it can do, but it DOES do those things beautifully. We recommend using it for table formatting (D4) and color contrast (D5). You'll learn more about both of these later in the module. For now, though, just keep in mind that the checker may tell you no accessibility issues were found, but that's just because it isn't sophisticated enough to find them. 🙃

Pope Tech Accessibility Guide

Faculty rave about the Pope Tech, and for good reason. With the click of a button, the Accessibility Guide reviews your entire Canvas page, flags issues, explains them, and then helps you fix them right then and there. It's truly impressive! Check out this 5.5-minute video demonstration:

You'll find the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide at the bottom of each Canvas page, next to the Save and Cancel buttons:

Pope Tech Accessibility Dashboard

In addition to the Accessibility Guide that lives in Canvas pages, Pope Tech also provides an Accessibility Dashboard that can review your whole course and provide the results all in one place. How's that for handy? You can even fix the errors right from the dashboard!

Document Checkers

Microsoft Office

Ideally, you'll want to bring document content into Canvas pages to avoid the use of files (which are challenging in terms of accessibility and access from mobile devices), but if you have a few files that must stay in that format (like your syllabus, any fillable forms, etc.), there are tools to help you make them accessible.

Microsoft productivity software (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) have built-in accessibility checkers, and they are similar to Pope Tech in their focus on both explaining the issue and supporting the fixing of it. While the explanations are not as thorough as Pope Tech's, they do give you an excellent start in determining where the issues are and how to fix them. You can then re-run the checker after making changes to ensure that they aren't flagged again.

In under two minutes, Shawn Jordison shows how to find and use the Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Word, as well as a few caveats. The location and process for working with the tool is essentially the same in PowerPoint and Excel.

Adobe Acrobat Pro

Converting your document to a PDF? If your Word document is accessible, saving it as a PDF will carry those accessible elements into the new PDF version. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (part of SWC's Adobe Creative Cloud) has its own PDF Accessibility Check tool that can be used to confirm accessibility, or to check a PDF that you did not create and thus cannot edit from the source document.

Resources

Canvas Checkers

How do I use the Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?
Pope Tech for Canvas Accessibility in Canvas Essentials

Document Checkers

CVC's Course Design Resources for D11

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