D3: Links
D4: Tables in Canvas
Tables in Documents
Resources

D3: Links

ALIGNED: Links are identified with meaningful and unique text in place of displaying the URL.

Sharing resources with students is vital in online teaching, and many of those resources live online. To make those links user-friendly and accessible, we need to use descriptive text rather than the URL. This will result in a page that is cleaner, easier to read, and more accessible.

Link Basics

Most screen readers and talking browsers scan a web page for all the links and then create an alphabetized list of them for the page user. Good link text provides a clear description of where the link will take the user so the link is understandable out of context from the rest of the page.

Because screen readers typically say "link" before each link, the phrase click here or link is unnecessary, even if it precedes a more meaningful phrase.

Link text that begins with keywords is easier to skim efficiently and works better for alphabetizing. When links begin with nondescriptive words—such as "All about creating accessible web pages" or "Learn how to check the color contrast on a web page"—skimming is slowed and the alphabetized links list is not useful. A better approach is to use only the keywords for link text: "All about creating accessible web pages" and "Learn how to check the color contrast on a web page."

In most cases, it's better to use a descriptive phrase rather than the URL. For example, this readable link-- Screen Reader extension --is more user-friendly (for both sighted users and for students using screen readers) than the URL, which consists of a bewildering mix of letters, slashes, and punctuation that is not easy to read: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screen-reader/kgejglhpjiefppelpmljglcjbhoiplfn?hl=en

If the URL is relatively short (such as a site's home page or a simple email address), the URL may be used as the link text. Another exception is when you're certain the page will be printed and it would be helpful to have the URL.

Creating Meaningful Links

This outstanding video from SWC English prof and accessibility pro Susan Yonker will show you exactly what to do in under three minutes!

D4: Tables in Canvas

ALIGNED: Column and/or row header cells are designated so that screen readers can read table cells in the correct order. A table caption is included for more complex tables.

Many of us use tables to format our content, and the good news is that tables can be made accessible. The bad news is that it’s easy to make them inaccessible, so on this tab you will learn how to make accessible tables and avoid accessibility traps.

Tables convey information spatially by organizing data in a grid. Students who hear a page rather than see it rely on proper table formatting to understand the relationship between cells. To make tables usable by everyone, they need HTML markup that indicates header cells (describing the category of data in that row/column) and data cells.

Table Basics

In the majority of data tables, column headers are needed. Some tables do not have data that would require any header cells, and some tables need both column and row header cells indicated, as shown below.

	Col Header	Col Header	Col Header	Col Header	Col Header
	Breed	Type of Breed	Coat	Lap Cat	Adult Weight
Row Header	Bengal	Hybrid	Short	No	15
Row Header	Scottish Fold	Natural/Mutation	Short	No	9
Row Header	Siberian	Natural	Long	Yes	14
Row Header	Tonkinese	Crossbreed	Short	Yes	10

Tip: Avoid using a table solely to control how content looks. These "layout tables" are difficult to navigate.

Fixing Tables with the Canvas Accessibility Checker

The Accessibility Checker in Canvas doesn't do a lot, but it is really good at checking and fixing tables. You can use it to set the table header(s) and add a table captions. The OEI's Helen Graves provides a handy how-to in the video below (note that the "little man" has moved to the bottom of the screen in the current version of the Rich Content Editor):

You can also inspect table properties from the Table tool on the Rich Content Editor. And Pope Tech is helpful with tables, too!

D4: Tables in Documents

Creating accessible tables in documents (like a syllabus) follow the same principles, but the tools are a bit different. If you just need to make syllabus tables accessible, customizing the DE Syllabus Template, which has two accessible tables, may be the fastest way. If you'd like to learn how to build or fix an existing table, read on! NOTE: We are focusing on Microsoft Word as this is institutional software at SWC and has many more accessibility features than Google Docs.

Data Tables

Data tables must have at least one header row or column designated. In newer versions of Word, the top row of a table is automatically designated as the header row. To create a header row manually, follow the steps provided in the Microsoft Word's "Use Table Headers" support document, summarized here:

Position the cursor anywhere in the table.
On the Table Design tab, select the Header Row check box.
Type the column headings.

Unfortunately, row headers (use in tables where categories go across AND down the table) are not supported in Word. Since they are supported in Canvas, if you have a document needing both row and column headers, you can bring it into a Canvas page to make it accessible.

Just like in Canvas, layout tables created for page design rather than sharing data are not recommended.

Reading Order

When you use a table for data, the reading order should be logical. Screen readers read tables from left to right, top to bottom, one cell at a time (no repeats). If cells are split or merged, the reading order can be thrown off.

To test the reading order of your table in Word, place your cursor in the first cell of the table. Now press the Tab key repeatedly to navigate through the table. This will be the reading order that assistive technologies will use.

Merged, nested, and split cells change the reading order of tables. Make sure you construct your table in a way that accommodates good reading order.

Resources

Learn more best practices for link text from WebAIM's Links and Hypertexts.

Microsoft Support's Make your Word documents accessible explains how to make many document elements accessible.

Portland Community College's Word Document Accessibility is another a helpful resource.

CVC's Course Design Resources for D1-D2:

🛑 Before you click "Next," please work through all the tabbed sections on this page.