Designing Accessible Courses in Canvas
At CELT, we are committed to helping instructors create accessible, high-quality courses in Canvas that support all learners. Our approach is guided by the research-backed Quality Matters (QM) standards of course design quality with emphasis on clarity, usability, and accessibility statements. Accessible courses in Canvas provide:
- Clarity: Course navigation and organization are clear, consistent, and logical.
- Readability: Content presentation minimizes distractions, is easy to follow, and can be accessed by assistive technology.
- Usability: Course materials and technology allow interaction regardless of student ability or device.
Clarity
Clear course navigation and organization reduce cognitive load and help students focus on learning rather than finding content in Canvas:
- Use the ISU Course Template. It is a great starting point for creating accessible and easy-to-navigate Canvas courses branded with an ISU look and feel.
- Follow the template’s guidance to create a modular course structure.
- Provide clear descriptive module titles to reduce navigation barriers.
Readability
Content that is organized in easy to digest chunks helps students process information and minimize distractions:
- Apply Seven Accessible Canvas Practices to provide access to text, descriptions of images, and closed captioning for videos.
- Break long text into shorter pieces and use bullet points for a succinct presentation.
- Avoid excessive decorative elements that distract from learning.
Usability
Usability means that all students can interact with content regardless of ability or device:
- Improve your course’s documents with the Quick Start Guide to Accessible Course Materials.
- Use UDOIT to detect usability and accessibility issues in your Canvas course.
- Use Validate Links in Content in Canvas to ensure the course’s hyperlinks are functional.
- Include a link to an accessibility statement for each technology used in the course to ensure transparency for learners. For enterprise-level instructional technology tools at ISU, accessibility statements are included in the description of each tool.
ITS Digital Accessibility
While these practices provide a strong foundation, they do not guarantee or imply compliance with the ISU Digital Accessibility Policy.
For official policy details and comprehensive training, visit ITS Digital Accessibility and explore their Digital Accessibility Toolkit.