Canvas Accessibility
Canvas, the learning management system adopted for the California Community Colleges (CCC), serves as the framework for online education. Its inherent structure offers solid accessibility support, empowering faculty to create inclusive learning materials. To foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment, all content within the Canvas learning environment, including attachments, links, third-party materials, LTIs, and content created within the Canvas platform must adhere to accessibility best practices. By prioritizing accessibility in the creation and delivery of course materials, we enable students with diverse needs to engage fully with the instructional content. The following accessibility resources are provided by Canvas:
- Canvas General Accessibility Guidelines
- Canvas Accessibility
- Canvas Accessibility Information
- Keyboard Shortcuts for Canvas [PDF]
- Canvas Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor
- Canvas Product Release Notes
- Hyperlink Color Change Tutorial in Canvas Theme Settings
- How do I import and view a Commons resource in Canvas?
- Extended Time on Quizzes
Pope Tech Dashboards Tool
The Pope Tech Dashboards and Instructor Guide for the Canvas platform allows campuses to create more accessible courses and remediate existing ones. The Instructor Accessibility Guide reviews Canvas pages for potential accessibility errors and prompts content authors with changes to resolve issues. Accessibility Dashboards allows instructors to view the accessibility status of all their courses and gives administrators overall accessibility reports at the institution.
This tool is available at no cost to the CCC System. For information and resources about the Pope Tech Tool for Canvas or to request access, please visit the Pope Tech Canvas Dashboards section of our Tools page.
LibreTexts Accessibility in Canvas
LibreTexts can be embedded into Canvas modules using an iFrame, but accessibility issues may arise depending on how the content is embedded and the specific book being used.
Accessibility Issues Identified:
- The Adoption Report, Peer Review, and Donate pages linked in each iFrame are not accessible. Buttons for these pages do not shift keyboard focus, making navigation difficult for keyboard and screen reader users.
- Table of contents text has low color contrast, which may make it difficult for users with visual disabilities to read.
Embedding Tips:
- Recommended: Embed LibreTexts using the Canvas External Tool feature to improve accessibility and navigation.
- Not Recommended: Directly embedding using a basic iFrame, as this may bypass some accessibility features and create usability issues.
Important Note: Embedding content in Canvas does not automatically make it accessible. It is important to evaluate the content for accessibility and remediate for accessibility issues before using it in courses.
CVC Canvas Resources
The California Virtual Campus (CVC) is a collaborative effort among California's Community Colleges to ensure that significantly more students can complete their educational goals by increasing both access to and success in high-quality online courses. The CVC and @ONE offer numerous resources for developing, improving, and delivering effective online teaching and content development.