Similar to the Sakai Accessibility Checker, we recommend using the Accessibility Checker in Canvas, which is also built right into the Rich Content Editor! As always, look for the accessibility icon (person in a circle).
As you enter content into the Rich Content Editor, Canvas will automatically start looking for any potential accessibility issues and notify you with an alert next to the Accessibility Checker with the number of issues found. Click on it to learn more.
The Accessibility Checker will open in the sidebar menu with details on each issue found. Navigate between the items to learn about each issue and apply the fixes. We recommend clicking on the “?” icon for each issue for even more details on why this is not accessible to users.
Canvas Accessibility Checker Review
Here are all the components verified by the Canvas Accessibility Checker:
- Adjacent links: Adjacent links with the same URL should be a single link. This rule verifies link errors where the link text may include spaces and break the link into multiple links.
- Heading paragraphs: Headings should not contain more than 120 characters.
- Image alt text: Images should include an alt attribute describing the image content.
- Image alt filename: Image filenames should not be used as the alt attribute describing the image content. Currently, files uploaded directly to Canvas create a redirect that does not properly verify image filenames.
- Image alt length: Alt attribute text should contain fewer than 120 characters.
- Large text contrast: Text larger than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 3:1.
- Lists: Lists should be formatted as lists.
- Sequential headings: Heading levels should not be skipped (e.g. H2 to H4). However, the tool does not check if the first header starts with H2 or whether the headings are sequential with the rest of the content in the page. Tables do not begin with H1, which is designated for the page title.
- Small text contrast: Text smaller than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1.
- Table captions: Tables should include a caption describing the contents of the table.
- Table header scope: Table headers should specify scope and the appropriate structure.
- Table header: Tables should include at least one header.
This information can also be found in the Canvas Accessibility Checker help guide. Be sure to review these rules as well as the Digital Accessibility Office’s Top 10 Tips for Digital Accessibility to make sure all of your students can interact with the information you have shared in your courses.