You might have noticed a new item in your Canvas course navigation called AccessChecker. While Canvas itself is accessible to all users, regardless of disability, content posted to Canvas might require additional modifications to conform to best practices.
This tool enables faculty to identify accessibility issues in their Canvas course content. AccessChecker will scan a course, generate a report, and provide resources on how to address common accessibility issues. This link is not visible to students.
What is AccessChecker?
AccessChecker (AKA Universal Design Online content Inspection Tool or UDOIT) was developed by the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). AccessChecker will identify “errors” and provide “suggestions” in the following areas of your course:
- Announcements
- Assignments
- Discussions
- Files (i.e., .html files)
- Pages
- Syllabus
- Module URLs
It will check for the appropriate use of the following:
- Use of headings in page structure
- Alternative text for images
- Table headers
- Color contrast
- Descriptive link text
- Video captions
Please note: some items cannot be examined. These include external documents and some videos/audio files for captioning/transcripts.
We highly recommend you utilize this tool to help ensure content is accessible for all students in your course.
If you have any questions about using this tool, please contact atc-ttl@wpi.edu. If you want to learn more about Accessibility, feel free to review our Accessibility in Canvas resources or contact Office of Disability Services by email disabilityservices@wpi.edu or phone x4908.