Digital accessibility means designing course content so that all students, including those who use screen readers, have low vision, hearing differences, or cognitive challenges—can navigate and learn effectively. These steps help us build a more inclusive and compliant learning environment for everyone. To meet updated digital accessibility standards in the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ensure Virginia Western courses are welcoming and functional for all students, this document provides a step-by-step process to review and improve your Canvas course content. These steps utilize tools you already have access to in Canvas and through UDOIT.

🔄 Before You Begin:

Creating New Content

Start now, whenever you create new content, make it accessible.  It is much easier to make content accessible from the beginning, rather than have to go back an make it accessible later. Use the Canvas Accessibility Checker in the Canvas Rich Content Editor, Adding Captions at time of creation

Clean Up Your Course Content

Clean up your course content.  After many course copies, you may end up with duplicates of assignments, pages, files, and blueprint content.  Consider what content you currently use versus content that you have for safe keeping.

Here are three ways to clean up your content before diving into accessibility updates:

• Option 1: Review your current live course and remove unnecessary items prior to performing a course copy. Pay attention to pages copied over from previous blueprints that have the semester identifier in the title.  Ex:  “Fall 2024 Canvas Information for Students” Delete the pages to clear out the clutter.
• Option 2: Perform a “Select Specific Content” course copy to import only the content you wish to use next semester.  How do I select specific content as part of a course import?
• Option 3: You may copy everything into a sandbox (additional sandboxes available upon request) for safekeeping, then choose option 1 or option 2 above to copy into the upcoming semester.

Make a Plan to Update and Review All Your Courses

After reading this document and the supporting documents, create a plan to break up the work into smaller chunks.  Trying to fix everything at one time can be daunting.  We used Chat GPT to help us create this  sample plan with a three month timeframe.  You can use your favorite AI Assistant to help you customize a plan that fits your needs and time frame. 

📋 Making Your Course Accessible: Step-by-Step Instructions

✅ Step 1: Run a Full Course Scan with UDOIT Advantage

UDOIT Advantage checks your entire course at once and helps you fix multiple issues efficiently.

1. In your Canvas course menu, click UDOIT (If you don’t see it, go to Settings > Navigation, drag it into your active menu, and save).
2. Click Scan This Course.
3. Review the report:
   • UDOIT will highlight accessibility concerns across all course content.
   • Click Fix It where possible, or View Source to manually edit.
   • Focus especially on images, links, headings, and color issues.

✅ Step 2: Caption All Videos

1. Review every video you use (Canvas Studio, YouTube, Panopto, etc.). See detailed instructions for each of these platforms below.
2. Ensure each has accurate captions—not just auto-generated.
   • In Canvas Studio, use the Caption Editor to correct errors.
   • For YouTube, check captions manually or upload your own transcript.

✅ Step 3: Check Any PDFs or Uploaded Documents

1. Open each document you’ve uploaded (PDFs, Word, PowerPoint).
2. Use the built-in accessibility checker in Word or PowerPoint:
   • Go to Review > Check Accessibility.
3. For PDFs:
   • Use Adobe Acrobat Pro > Accessibility Check.
   • If a PDF isn’t accessible, consider replacing it with accessible HTML content in Canvas or requesting assistance.

✅ Step 4: Review with the Accessibility Checklist (See Below)

Use the checklist below on this page as a final self-review. It summarizes the core requirements and helps you verify you haven’t missed anything.

✅ Step 5: Ask for Help if You Need It

Accessibility is a shared responsibility, not a solo mission. If you're unsure about any of the steps, tools, or terms, please reach out to: the Online Learning and Instructional Technology (OLIT) office , The Office Disability Services. Media Geeks for captioning assistance