WEEK 10: Online Course Materials and Files 

While online course materials accessibility isn’t necessarily a component of the 7 Pillars of Accessibility, those pillars should be considered alongside ALL other means of learning materials. Whether it’s Canvas content, HTML files, PDF files, PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, video files, audio files, or images, if these content types are linked or embedded directly into Canvas, each file-type should follow accessibility best practices.

While Canvas allows you to upload and display any of these files, the accessibility of these external files depends on the original file’s design. If the document is not accessible at its source, it won’t become accessible just by being added to Canvas. This is why it is essential to follow accessibility best practices when creating documents or media before adding them to your Canvas course. 

Assistive technology users depend on properly structured documents to perceive content. This applies to the use of readable fonts, color, color contrast, tagged reading order, and overall formatting. 

Remember This 

Just as you would do directly in the Rich Content Editor in Canvas, you should always apply the 7 Pillars of Accessibility to your documents. Before publishing a document for use in a Canvas course, ensure that: 

1. Headings: Headings provide structure and ease of access for assistive technology users. Ensure headings are always nested in hierarchical order (heading 1, heading 2, etc.). Always opt for built-in layouts (in Word and PowerPoint or Docs and Slides), and in PDFs, tag headings as headings for assistive technology recognition. 
2. Images: If the images in the document or presentation add value or provide context, assign them alt text. If the images enhance the visual appeal, mark them as decorative. 
3. Links: Descriptive links should be used whenever possible when linking within a document. 
4. Color: Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning, and avoid harsh color combinations. If using color in text, ensure sufficient color contrast is provided. As an additional note, be sure to choose a font suitable for your audience. Choose fonts that are clear and readable, such as a sans-serif font. 
5. Lists: Use ordered and unordered lists appropriately to organize information for clarity. 
6. Tables: Use tables to organize data, rather than as a grid for aligning images. Be sure that labels are clear and readable. 
7. Closed Captioning: Ensure videos and presentation recordings include accurate closed captioning wherever necessary. 

Week 9 | Pillar Seven: Closed Captions (CC) 

Closed captions are an essential accessibility tool, ensuring that people who are deaf or hard of hearing can fully access and understand audiovisual content. 

What are closed captions? Closed captions are text-based representations of the audio content of a video. They are designed to provide a transcription of spoken words, sound effects, and other relevant audio information, making the content accessible to people with hearing disabilities, those who may have difficulty understanding the spoken language, or those who need to watch videos in noise-sensitive environments. 

Closed captions include spoken words, information about who is speaking, and any sounds relevant to understanding context and meaning. Examples include [laughter], [applause], [ominous music], and lyrics from a song playing in the background. 

Closed captions should be synchronized with the audio. They appear on the screen as the video plays, so that the information presented in the video is the same information conveyed by the text in the closed captioning. 

The term “closed” refers to the option to turn captions on or off, allowing viewers to choose whether they want to see the text overlay while watching the video. This contrasts with “open captions,” permanently embedded in the video and cannot be turned off. 

Learn more about how closed captions, automatic captioning, and audio descriptions are essential for videos in your courses. 

WEEK 8 | Pillar Six: Tables 

Tables are sometimes used inappropriately to position content or control page layout and spacing. While this method may produce the intended visual presentation, it can introduce significant barriers for users who rely on assistive technologies, leading to confusion and reduced usability. 

To support accessibility and clarity, tables should be used only for structured, tabular information—such as schedules, survey results, or other content that requires organization into rows and columns. Relying solely on tables for layout can compromise accessibility, making content harder for many users to interpret. 

Review table examples and additional resources.

WEEK 7 | Pillar Five: Lists 

Lists are an effective way to organize related information in a clear, structured format. By grouping content into manageable segments, lists improve readability and help readers quickly identify relationships among ideas. In most documents, lists fall into two primary categories: 

• Ordered lists (numbered lists): These lists present items in a specific sequence—such as steps in a process or items ranked by priority—where the order is meaningful. 

• Unordered lists (bulleted lists): These lists present related items without implying a required sequence, making them well-suited for grouping ideas or examples of equal importance. 

From an accessibility perspective, lists are especially important because they provide semantic structure that assistive technologies can interpret. Screen readers can recognize a list, announce its presence, and report the number of items it contains. This additional information helps users who are blind or have low vision understand how information is organized and how items relate to one another. In addition, well-structured lists can support users with motor impairments by making navigation more efficient—particularly for those who rely on keyboard commands to move between list items. 

Review a list example and why they matter. 

WEEK 6 | Pillar Four: Color & Color Contrast

Color is an important aspect of course design and is often used to emphasize words and phrases. However, certain color combinations can make it difficult for learners to read. It is important that proper colors are used in your course so that no learner has trouble accessing the information. 

Learners who are blind, low-vision, or colorblind will not be able to differentiate between the content you are trying to emphasize or highlight if you use only color to convey meaning. Color can be used to convey meaning as long as that meaning is also indicated in some other way, such as using italics, bold, a symbol, an identifier, etc. 

Color contrast refers to the difference between the color of your text and the color of your background. Without sufficient contrast, the content will be difficult to see for everyone. For those with low vision, it may even be unreadable. If you decide to apply color, you should use light-colored text on a dark background and dark-colored text on a light background. 

Color Tips 

• The Canvas Accessibility Checker (link takes you to The Instructure Community) will alert you if there is insufficient contrast. 

• Use color paired with additional identifiers (text, symbols, etc.) to convey meaning. 

• Use color combinations that provide sufficient contrast to distinguish text from the background. 

• Avoid using font colors to convey meaning, for example: “All items in RED are required.” 

Review additional color/color contrast information. 

WEEK 5 | Pillar Three: Descriptive Links

Descriptive links provide users with the proper context of where the link will take them when clicked. Link text should be meaningful and descriptive to ensure clarity for all users. Well-crafted link text enables users to understand the purpose and destination of the link before selecting it, enhancing both usability and accessibility for individuals using assistive technologies, particularly screen readers, which may read the entire URL character by character. 

When linking to websites or external URLs, be sure to clearly identify the destination to best suit your users’ needs. When linking to an individual file, use the document title or add a clear description of its content, mention the file type (e.g., PDF or DOCX), and use action-oriented text like “download” or “view”. Non-descriptive links do not offer enough information for users to determine whether the content is relevant, reducing overall accessibility and user experience. 

Review descriptive link and file link examples. 

WEEK 4 | Pillar Two: Alternative Text (Alt Text)

Images have both aesthetic and educational value. Alt Text stands for alternative text and is a short description that conveys image content or function to users who are not able to visually perceive an image. This ensures that the image is conveyed in an accessible, meaningful, and inclusive way. Assistive technology tools access the image by reading the alternative text in lieu of visual perception. Additionally, alt text will load for users with slow internet connections or when the browser fails to load. 

Should you always include alt text? Not always. To determine whether an image requires alt text, first we must decide what the purpose of the image is with respect to the overall page context. If the image conveys information that supports the surrounding content, it should have descriptive text. If the image is purely decorative (primarily for visual appeal), the image should be marked as decorative. 

A “decorative” image is one that… 

• does not present important content, 
• is used for layout or non-informative purposes, and 
• does not have a function (e.g., is not a link). 

When in doubt on where and when to use Alt Text, refer to the Alt Decision Tree to help you decide. 

Review an alternative text example and additional guides and resources. 

WEEK 3 | Pillar One: Headings

Headings are one of the most common errors in content design. Rather than using the designated heading styles with their default appearance and font size, content creators often apply bold formatting and manually increase the font size to mimic the appearance of headings. While this may achieve the desired visual effect, it fails to establish the proper semantic structure.
Review incorrect and correct examples. 

Headings communicate the organization of the content on the page and should not be used to style content. Properly styled headings give users of assistive technologies (AT), such as screen readers, the ability to navigate a page for structure and interpret content effectively (just as sighted readers tend to do). Think of heading styles like an outline. In an outline, sub-sections are nested within the “superior” section. 

Headings are nested by their rank (or level). In Canvas, the most important heading has the rank 2 (<h2>), and the least important has the rank 4 (<h4>). Headings with an equal or higher rank start a new section, and headings with a lower rank start new subsections that are part of the higher-ranked section.
Review content organized using headings.  

TIP: Skipping heading ranks can be confusing and should be avoided where possible. For example, make sure that an <h2> is not followed directly by an <h4>.