Course Accessibility

Course Accessibility Challenge

Do you want to learn how to make your documents, presentations, and course sites more inclusive for students with disabilities? Sign up for the Course Accessibility Challenge, starting June 3. Participants will engage in three weekly challenges delivered to your inbox, focused on different aspects of digital course accessibility and gain insights through instructor-oriented tips, resources, and examples. Then, after three weeks, participate in a live synchronous session to connect with peers and expand your knowledge.

No prior knowledge or experience in digital accessibility is necessary. This challenge is intended for faculty and instructional staff that are trying to improve the accessibility of their course materials for students. If you have participated in the 10-Week Challenge before, this is a great opportunity to learn how to apply the fundamentals in the context of course content.

The Course Accessibility Challenge is an ongoing collaboration of Michigan Engineering and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

I Need Help With...

Getting Started with Course Accessibility
Canvas (Using the new Panorama tool)
Course Files (Providing accessible file options to students)
Video (Adding captions to lecture recordings and Canvas videos)
Student Accommodations
Training and Workshops

Getting Started with Course Accessibility

Where do I start with improving course accessibility?

Unsure where to begin? Here are some quick ways to make your course more accessible:

Update your syllabus for accessibility using our Accessible Document Checklist or transfer the content to an accessible syllabus template
Check if your course videos have captions
Share content as webpages, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word files rather than PDFs whenever possible
Remove unused or out-of-date files from your Canvas course
Try out the Panorama accessibility tool on one of your Canvas courses

Where do I go for help?

Contact LSA's Learning and Teaching Consultants at [email protected] for assistance with accessible course design and materials
For support with the Canvas Panorama Tool specifically, contact ITS Canvas Accessibility
Sign up for Course Accessibility Workshops/Trainings

Canvas

Students rely on Canvas every day, and accessibility problems on a Canvas course site will directly impact their ability to learn. The good news is that applying fundamental accessibility measures can help you reduce barriers to access in your Canvas course. The following best practices show you how to take the first steps towards doing so:

Add alt text to images, charts and graphics using Image Options in Canvas.
Write meaningful hyperlink text that tells the user where the link will redirect to. Avoid full URLs or phrases like “click here” or “read more."
Only use tables to present data, not to style the layout of the page. Format tables with header rows and captions using Table/Cell Properties in Canvas.
Ensure sufficient color contrast of text and graphics against the background. Avoid using color as the only indicator of meaning.
Organize content with built-in lists and heading styles to structure your text (rather than increasing the size/bolding headers) with Text Styles in Canvas.
Use accessible fonts and sizes to ensure text content is legible. Avoid putting text over image backgrounds.

Canvas Accessibility with Panorama

Panorama is a new accessibility tool available for Canvas course sites. It allows instructors and instructional support staff to create accessible digital content and fix issues directly within Canvas. The Panorama tool scans your course content and files to provide you with an accessibility score, a breakdown of any issues, and options to fix identified accessibility concerns. For help with getting started in Panorama, check out the Canvas Accessibility with Panorama training course.

What does my course accessibility score mean?

After scanning your course materials and webpages, Panorama will display an accessibility score for your entire Canvas course. Do not panic if this percentage is low! This score is intended to help you gauge your progress as you make accessible changes to your content. Rather than focusing on the number itself, think about the overall improvements being made and actionable ways you can make your course more accessible.

One common factor for low accessibility scores is storing a large number of course files or resources that are no longer in use - Panorama scans all files in a course, including ones that are unpublished or unviewable by students. If these files contain outdated information or are not actively used in your course, we suggest removing them. If you are keeping the files in Canvas long-term simply for storage purposes, U-M provides considerable storage space for faculty and staff via Google Drive or Dropbox.

Files

Presentations

Accessible presentation templates can be found on our Digital Accessibility Resources page. Save our one-stop checklists below on what to look out for when designing accessible slide decks and resources on how to apply best practices to your own presentation:

For more in-depth help with presentations, refer to these resources on Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Documents

For more in-depth help with documents, refer to these resources on Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Additional syllabus and document templates can be found on our Digital Accessibility Resources page.

Spreadsheets

Accessible Spreadsheet Checklist

For more in-depth help with spreadsheets, refer to this resource on Microsoft Excel.

PDFs

Avoid using PDFs whenever possible. PDFs are one of the least accessible file formats and require extensive remediation to become compatible with assistive technology.

Unsure how to remediate your PDF or what to use instead? Check out our PDF Decision Tree, specifically guided for course materials.

Library

The U-M libraries can help you with offering accessible library resources and materials in your course. For more information, explore their pages on Library Accessibility and Library Support for Instructors.

Video

Lecture Recordings

For help with using Lecture Recording in LSA spaces, reach out to LSA Technology Services.

With Lecture Recording, machine-generated captions are added by default. You can always add, edit or request new captions.

Unsure if your classroom has Lecture Recording? Check this list of LSA Spaces with Lecture Recording.

MiVideo (Canvas or Mediaspace)

For videos in Canvas or the MiVideo Mediaspace, content uploaded after 4/22/24 has machine-generated captions by default. Captions for any media added to your Media Library before 4/22/24 need to be manually ordered (How to order MiVideo captions in Canvas). You can also use the new Panorama tool to scan for videos in your Canvas course and check if they currently have captions or not.

Further Resources

Captions for Video (ITS)
ASL and CART Services (SSD): For classes in which students request real-time captioning or ASL interpreting services from the SSD.
Enriching the Academic Experience with CART Captioning Services (LSA TS)

Student Accommodations

Miscellaneous Resources

Universal Design for Learning and Course Accessibility (LSA Learning and Teaching Consulting)
Library Learning and Teaching Accessibility (U-M Library)

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Course Accessibility