Canvas is the official learning management system of the UW. Canvas simplifies course management tasks: publishing course materials, grading, communicating with students, and more. For general information about Canvas, see the Canvas Learning Management System page on the UW Information Technology site.
Accessibility in Canvas
Canvas itself has been designed to be accessible to students and instructors with disabilities, and the platform is frequently updated with accessibility improvements. However, instructors are responsible for creating and uploading accessible content for their Canvas courses.
Best practices for creating accessible Canvas content
- Headings: Create headings that are “coded as a heading,” which allows screen reader technology to announce headings for users who are listening to the content.
- Alt text for images: Add alternative text (i.e., alt text) to images so readers using assistive technology will hear descriptions of images they do not see.
- Color contrast: Use sufficient color contrast to ensure that text and icons are easy to read.
- Links: Help users understand the destination of live links by writing meaningful link text instead of long alphanumeric URLs or vague phrases like “click here.”
- Lists: Use built-in tools to create number or bullet lists.
- Tables: Use built-in tools to identify column and row headers.
- Captions on videos: Provide captions for videos shared via Canvas.
Canvas Accessibility Tools
There are several tools available in UW Canvas to assist instructors, designers, and administrators in detecting and correcting accessibility issues in Canvas courses. These tools are described on the Accessibility tools in Canvas page on the UW Information Technology website. Links in the following list lead to specific sections of that page:
- Ally Accessibility Checker – UW’s primary accessibility checker for Canvas.
- UDOIT Accessibility Checker – like Ally, but with some specific workflows to help with images and PDFs.
- Canvas RCE Accessibility Checker – make Canvas content accessible as you create and edit it.
- TidyUP Course Cleanup Tool – remove unneeded course materials to save time and improve student navigation.
Visit the Teaching@UW guide to Making Course Content Accessible for broader guidance on how to prioritize accessibility work in courses you teach.