Digital Accessibility in My Courses

Click to navigate directly to a section:

What does digital accessibility include?
What do I need to do? Integrate the 7 Pillars of Digital Accessibility
3 Pillars You Likely Already Do
Built-in Headings Style
Built-in Lists Style
Descriptive Hyperlinks
4 Pillars to Upskill
Add Alt Text to Images
Color Contrast and Flashing
Caption and Transcribe Media
Make Files Accessible
Ways to Check/Correct Digital Accessibility

What does digital accessibility include?

Digital accessibility is how easily all of us can access and navigate everything in the digital environment as well as all of the content found in those digital platforms:

websites
apps (e.g., Digication, Poll Everywhere, WordPress, etc.)
Canvas
file types such documents (Word or Google Docs), presentation files (e.g., Powerpoint), spreadsheets, pdfs and videos
anything accessed on a computer or mobile device.

Digital accessibility includes everyone. It includes individuals who use screen-readers or assistive technologies (e.g., those who are blind, have low vision, have reading processing challenges), need captioning or transcripts to access information, and considerations for others who may have different interactive needs, such as those who have seizures from strobing/blinking effects of digital screens or those who have low vision, color vision deficiency, or those who benefit from high color contrast.

Digital accessibility is greatly enhanced when we use the built-in tools to make content accessible in our files and videos. The WCAG standards for digital accessibility are comprehensive. However, seven key pillars will put you well on your way to digital accessibility.

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What do I need to do? Integrate the 7 Pillars of Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility is greatly enhanced when we use the built-in tools to make content accessible in our files and videos. The WCAG standards for digital accessibility are comprehensive; however, the use of seven key pillars will put you well on your way to providing digital accessibility.

You likely already use one or more of the 7 Pillars!

3 Pillars You Likely Already Do

Built-in Headings Style

Use the built-in headings style format, which provides a coded digital tag for a screen reader to announce the heading and its level. Don't create "fake headings" by simply increasing the font size/bold. Fake headings cannot be identified by a screen reader so the individual would not be able to perceive the sections of the text, nor jump from heading to heading as a sighted individual can.

Microsoft Word's built-in Headings styles are located in the Home tab under "Styles".

View complete instructions on how to implement Headings in Microsoft Products and Canvas in the Headings Pillar.

Microsoft Word's Home ribbon interface with the Home tab and Headings 1 and 2 under Styles circled.

Built-in Lists Style

Use the built-in list formats (bullets or numbering). Avoid the use of fake lists such as typing a dash or putting a number followed by a period. Built-in list styles use coding to properly "tag" a list so that a screen-reader announces the list and its levels. Here is an example of how to access the built-in lists style for a Canvas page. View the complete instructions for how to implement the Lists Pillar in Microsoft products and Canvas.

Highlighted List styles command in the Rich Content Editor toolbar of Canvas.

Descriptive Hyperlinks

Avoid pasting a hyperlink because it is long, visually distracting, and will be read letter/letter by a screen-reader or assistive technology.
Avoid saying "click here" because once again the reader has no idea what the link is about.
Instead, use a meaningful descriptor (a title or descriptive phrase) within the sentence and embed the link within the descriptor.
- Good Example of a meaningful descriptor: "Read the Canvas Troubleshooting Guides to learn how to link an external tool in Canvas. "

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4 Pillars to Upskill

Add Alt Text to Images

Right click, select "Add Alt Text", and briefly describe what is in the image, chart/graph, artwork etc. so that those who are blind/have low vision can access the information through a screen-reader that will read aloud the description. See the example below of adding alt text to an image on a PowerPoint slide.

View the complete instructions in the Alt Text Pillar, for how to write Alt Text that meets the digital accessibility standards.

PowerPoint alt text pane showing a text box for description and a checkbox to mark the image as decorative.

Color Contrast and Flashing

Proper color contrast helps users with visual impairments read and understand content more easily. It also benefits users in bright environments or on screens with glare. Additionally, avoiding the use of content that flashes or blinks more than three times per second makes it usable for individuals who experience certain seizures.

Avoid using color alone to communicate information. Pair it with text or symbols that convey the intended meaning.
Use high-contrast color combinations. WebAIM offers a free online contrast accessibility checker for any color combinations.
Avoid blinking or flashing content whenever possible. If it must be included in a video or animation, provide a timestamp so students can skip that portion.

View the complete instructions in the Color/Flashing Pillar.

Caption and Transcribe Media

Select the "CC" button on the video’s media player to enable captions. The video does not have captions if the “CC” button is grayed out, missing, or cannot be selected. Transcripts are accurate written versions of spoken content. Provide transcripts along with a video or audio file (e.g., podcasts) for easy download.

Use video and audio files that have captioning and transcription.
Review the entirety of captioned and transcribed video and audio files for complete accuracy.
Do not turn on the captioning auto-play feature.
Enable captions when showing content in a course or meeting.
Provide transcripts alongside prerecorded audio & video content.
Follow University guidance for when to provide captions and transcripts.

View the complete instructions in the Captioning/Transcription Pillar.

Make Files Accessible

In order for a file format (Word, PPTX, xls, pdf, etc.) to be accessible, there are a few things to attend to.

Use Sans Serif fonts such as Arial and Calibri. Avoid serif (w/decorative, with flourishing strokes and curly-ness) fonts such as Rockwell.
As you work in Microsoft products or Canvas, regularly run the built-in Accessibility Checkers.
If at all possible, avoid generating a PDF--leave the file in Word or PPTX format which is accessible. Most PDFs are inaccessible and require more complicated remediation to make them accessible. Guidance is given for PDFs on the Accessible Documents Pillar for what to do with PDFs.
Follow the guidance if inserting Tables into a document.
- Microsoft: Create Accessible Tables in Word (watch)
- Canvas: How do I insert a table using the Rich Content Editor? (watch)

View the complete instructions in the Accessible Documents Pillar to ensure your key course materials are accessible.

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Ways to Check/Correct Digital Accessibility

Microsoft has instructions/videos on:
- how to use their built-in accessibility features. These are linked on each Pillar page.
- how to use their built-in accessibility "checkers".
Use Canvas’ accessibility checker to identify and resolve issues in your course content. How do I use the Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor (Canvas)
UDOIT is our new accessibility checker for Canvas. It identifies accessibility issues in your course content and provides options and guidance for resolving them. The UDOIT User Guide is a great way to learn how to get started using the tool. We also recommend reviewing the UDOIT Guides created by UVA Learning Technology Services.
At UVA we have integrated a tool called SensusAccess into Canvas. SensusAccess can automatically convert many (but not all) inaccessible documents such as a pdf into an accessible format. Look at the Canvas menu on the left and select SensusAccess.
At UVA, the Captioning Project of the Libraries can provide high level captioning (machine-generated plus manual editing) of your course videos that are essential to course learning (carefully prune down the media most essential to your learning objectives).

Build out your accessibility skills just like you would a fitness challenge: learn one exercise and practice it for a few days before adding on the next skill. Soon you will have an entire accessibility fitness routine down!

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