Accessibility in MyClasses

Owned by Haley Cristea
Last updated: Aug 19, 2024 by Janice Orcutt
2 min read

ID&D KB How-to Guide

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Overview

Just like PowerPoints, the same accessibility tips presented in the Accessible Word Documents and PDFs page apply to formatting using the Rich Content Editor (RCE) in MyClasses. The RCE includes an accessibility checker native to Canvas that you can run after you add content to check for the following issues:

  • Table captions: Tables should include a caption describing the contents of the table.

  • Table header scope: Tables headers should specify scope and the appropriate structure.

  • Table header: Tables should include at least one header.

  • Sequential headings: Heading levels should not be skipped (e.g. H2 to H4). However, the tool does not check if the first header starts with H2 or whether the headings are sequential with the rest of the content in the page. H1 is designated for the page title.

  • Heading paragraphs: Headings should not contain more than 120 characters.

  • Image alt text: Images should include an alternative attribute describing the image content.

  • Image alt filename: Image filenames should not be used as the alt attribute describing the image content. Currently, files uploaded directly to Canvas create a redirect that does not properly verify image filenames.

  • Image alt length: Alt attribute text should not contain more than 120 characters.

  • Adjacent links: Adjacent links with the same URL should be a single link. This rule verifies link errors where the link text may include spaces and break the link into multiple links.

  • Large text contrast: Text larger than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 3:1.

  • Small text contrast: Text smaller than 18pt (or bold 14pt) should display a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1.

ID&D Tips and Recommendations

The Canvas Accessibility Checker cannot verify all content, such as captions/descriptions on videos or accessibility in attached or embedded files (e.g. PDFs and PowerPoints).

How To Tutorial

The video below shows how to use the Accessibility Checker in the RCE. However with the December 21, 2020 update to the RCE, the Accessibility checker is now located at the bottom of the RCE content area; otherwise, the checker will function the same as shown in this video.

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