You'll want to make sure that all of the content in your online course follows Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Content should be presented in a number of ways to ensure students all have access to the same course information.

If you plan to use video or audio content in your course, ensure that closed captioning and transcriptions are available for students (we can help you with this with your Kaltura content).

When you create Word documents and PDFs, you'll need to make sure the documents are accessible by a screen reader.

In Canvas, there's also an Accessibility Checker available in every rich text editor that will flag anything deemed inaccessible to students.

Accessibility Documentation

• Accessibility Basics (PDF)
• Inaccessible Syllabus Example
• Accessible Syllabus Example

Below is a useful look at accessibility in higher education:

Captioning

Video captioning is the only mandatory aspect of accessibility for online classes at this time. All videos that will need to be captioned have to be in your My Media. You can use content from YouTube or another video provider, but since System does not have a contract with YouTube or own the content, we cannot caption those videos for you, the video creator will have to caption that content.

After you've added a video to My Media (either by uploading a MP4, MOV, or by recording a new video with Kaltura), there are two different options to get those videos captioned: Kaltura Self-Captioning and 3Play Media. Below is a breakdown of the differences between the two services.

Color & Contrast

Something to keep in mind while creating online content is color. Color itself should not have meaning in online documentation because students who have visual impairments might not be able to tell the difference between the colors. An example of using color with meaning would be: Assignments in red are due on Tuesdays and assignments in blue are due on Fridays.

• Take Quiz 1
• Participate in Discussion 1
• Submit First Draft of Paper

You can use color in documentation, but you will want to add additional information to further enforce the color. An example of adding additional information to items distinguished by color would be: 

• Take Quiz 1: Due Tuesday
• Participate in Discussion 1: Due Tuesday
• Submit First Draft of Paper: Due Friday

Colors should also have a high amount of contrast. For example, yellow text on a white background will be difficult for participants to view.

Accessibility Checker

Canvas has a built in accessibility checker within every rich text editor. It is recommended to use the accessibility checker while creating any content within a rich text editor within Canvas. The accessibility checker will make recommendations on color, alt text, table content, and more. Below is a link to a guide on how to use the accessibility checker.

• How to Use the Accessibility Checker in Canvas

Additional Resources

• UWP Accessibility Resources 
• Closed Captioning Request Form
• Closed Captioning Request Form
• Accessibility Checker in Canvas
• How to Write Effective Alt Text