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Accessibility in Canvas

Creating accessible online learning environments is a shared responsibility from instructors, staff, and departments. The ITS Digital Accessibility Team ensures digital accessibility for all university web content and apps, aligning with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA). The team also oversees the Digital Accessibility Policy and Digital Accessibility Toolkit for enabling accessibility-minded practices. 

To support accessible course design within Canvas, CELT provides resources, tools, and training. These options can help you start a course in an accessible format (ISU Course Template); identify common compliance issues (accessibility checkers), provide information needed to meet compliance (UDOIT); and help remove old files from consideration (TidyUP).

  • Review the CELT Start of Semester Guide to ensure you create courses with the ISU Course Template. The template includes an instructor toolkit to help you fine-tune the formatting and layout of your course design.
  • Remediate existing Canvas content with course design tools.

DesignPLUS

Ensures that Canvas content meets accessibility requirements from the start with accessible styling features and easy-to-use accessibility checkers.

Rich Content Editor (RCE)

The onboard content creation tool in Canvas.

TidyUP

Identify unpublished pages, delete outdated content, and remove empty folders.

UDOIT

Scans your Canvas courses to detect accessibility issues and provides useful guidance to help improve accessibility with ease.

Upcoming CELT Events

  • Canvas Foundations: Step-by-Step Course Setup for First-Time Instructors 
  • Lights, Camera, Action: Creating Course Videos (Including Using Canvas Studio) 

Would you prefer an all-in-one accessible course design tool resource?

Use the Guide to Accessible Course Design (Google Docs) from CidiLabs for accessibility made easy with our course design tools. 

Accessibility Matters LIVE

Focuses on bringing research and action together to help achieve your course accessibility goals in Canvas. Register today for practical strategies and powerful tools from Cidi Labs!  

If you have questions or need Canvas related support, please email celt-help@iastate.edu, describing your questions or issues (with the steps to replicate), and if it is a course-specific issue, include your course title and number. This email will create a ServiceNow ticket and notify our team to follow up with you promptly during our office hours.