Want to make some big improvements to the accessibility of your Canvas course? It might be easier than you think!
There are several common ways to add content to Canvas:
Following these best practices for adding content will get you quite far in making your course usable by all.
Images add to a rich and engaging online course. However, students with vision disabilities rely on a screen reader to describe images to them so that they can gather the same meaning and context as sighted students. Canvas has several ways to add images to course content. Check out the "Adding alt text to images" tab on the Using Images & Videos in Canvas page in this guide.
While it's easy just to copy and paste a link, this is not an accessible (or super helpful) way to link students to additional content.
Instead of pasting a link or creating a link that says something like "click here," write an explanation of where the link directs.
For example:
While more complex diagrams and tables might require alternative content or long descriptions, basic tables can be easily made accessible in Canvas.
Learn more about creating tables in Canvas in the "Building Accessible Tables" tab of this box.
While captions are necessary for students with hearing disabilities, they improve the experience for many, including:
Adding captions will make your videos more usable and future-proof. Options for captions include using a DIY method, or the suggestions for the tools below:
The "Accessibility Checker" tab in this box demonstrates Canvas's built-in tool that lets you identify possible accessibility issues in content that you build on Canvas.
Canvas comes with an easy-to-use built-in accessibility checker to help you keep your course materials to best practice accessibility standards for all of your students.
When you create or edit any page using the rich text editor (the default view), the accessibility checker icon appears directly below the content editor box.
If something in your text would cause problems for a viewer (such as formatting that would not work with screen readers, images without alt text for screen readers, or text placed against a background that would be difficult for viewers to read, etc), a warning bubble with a number of accessibility issues will appear beside the accessibility icon.
You can view and resolve these issues by clicking on the accessibility checker icon. This will bring up a side bar that explains the issue.
To resolve an issue, click the check box and click the "Apply" button. Canvas will automatically reformat the content for you!
Tables are useful for communicating relationships between data, especially when those relationships can be best expressed in a matrix of rows and columns. Tables should not be used to control layout. If your data is best presented in a table, try to keep the table simple. If the table is complex, consider dividing it into multiple smaller tables with a heading above each. A key to making data tables accessible to screen reader users is to clearly identify column and row headers. Use the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE)'s built-in Table functionality to format tables accessibly.
Tables should have captions and headings to assist screen readers in reading the data correctly.
To create a table:
IF THE TABLE ICON IS NOT VISIBLE, click the three-dot icon 
Click the table icon 
Click Table to open a grid panel.
Hover your mouse over the grid to select the desired configuration of columns and rows, then left-click to add table.
Captions can be used to associate a short description to the table. Captions are not required, but they may be helpful in providing additional context. Captions provide more context to tables and appear in a row above your table's content. Keep captions clear and concise.
To add a caption to an existing table:
Click on a cell in a table in your Canvas content. The table's floating toolbar will appear.
Select the table icon on the floating toolbar. The Table Properties box will open.
In the Table Properties box, under Caption, check the Show caption box.
Click Save. Space will be added above the table for the caption.
Add your caption in the added space above the table.
Table headers help describe how table contents are related. Whenever possible, make your tables simple: one header row, one column of header cells, no merged cells. If this is not possible, consider whether you could divide it into multiple smaller tables with a heading above each.
Select to highlight cells in the header row.
IF THE TABLE ICON IS NOT VISIBLE, click the three-dot icon
Click the table icon
Click Row.
Click Row Properties. The Row Properties box will open.
Under Row type, click Header.
Click Save.
Select to highlight one or more cell(s).
IF THE TABLE ICON IS NOT VISIBLE, click the three-dot icon 
Click the table icon
Click Cell
Click Cell Properties. The Cell Properties box will open.
Under Cell type, click Header cell.
Under Scope, click Row (i.e., the header cell describes data cells in the same row) or Column (i.e., the header cell describes data cells in the same column),
Click Save.
Canvas gives you the ability to set up accommodations you may need for some of your students.
