Accessibility Checkers Toolbox

The Rich Content Editor includes an accessibility tool Links to an external site. that checks common accessibility errors within the editor. This tool can help you design course content while considering accessibility attributes and is located in the Rich Content Editor menu bar.

Identify & Fix Accessibility Errors

The next time you are in your sandbox, edit a page and then look at the Rich Content Editor. You will notice (if your browser window is open far enough) a relatively new icon.  It's a human figure within a circle.  That is the Accessibility Checker, which will check for common accessibility errors.

When an issue is detected, it highlights the affected area. The sidebar displays an explanation of the error. To correct the issue, simply complete the task as noted in the sidebar. For instance, if the issue requires that a caption be added to a table, the sidebar displays a text field for you to enter a caption.

When you are finished with your changes, click the Apply Fix button.

When all issues have been fixed, or if no issues are detected, the sidebar indicates that no issues exist and will close automatically.

Warning

The accessibility checker does NOT check for every kind of error. For example, it can't tell if you've applied headings correctly. 

Nonetheless, it's a great start and will catch many of the most common problems.

Additional Resource

For information about the checker visit the Canvas Instructor Guide-Accessibility Checker tutorial. Links to an external site.

The Accessibility Checker tool Links to an external site. finds accessibility issues in your Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Outlook emails, PowerPoint presentations, Visio diagrams, and OneNote notebooks. The tool generates a report of issues that could make your content difficult for people with disabilities to understand. Accessibility Checker also explains why you should fix these issues and how to fix them.

The accessibility checking tools Links to an external site. in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Accessibility Checker (Full Check) and the Make Accessible action wizard — can identify many issues in PDF documents that may be in conflict with Adobe’s interpretations of the accessibility guidelines referenced in the application and its documentation. These tools do not check documents for all accessibility criteria, including those in such referenced guidelines, and Adobe does not warrant that documents comply with any specific guidelines or regulations.

This tutorial will walk you through running the Adobe Accessibility checker and making common fixes. 

UDOIT is an accessibility auditing tool for Canvas that was created by the University of Central Florida. This tool scans your Canvas course, generates a report of accessibility issues that could impede your students' ability to learn, and provides resources for addressing these issues. See the video introduction below to see how it works.

To add the tool to your couse:

1. Click Settings
2. Click the Navigation Tab
3. Locate UDOIT in the list of disabled tools
4. Drag the UDOIT to the top (enabled tools) or click the three dots and select "Enable"
5. Scroll to the bottom of the navigation tools
6. Click Save

Explore the UDOIT Guide