Canvas accessibility auditing project | Staff Guide
Overview
Accessible online learning means everyone can find information, understand tasks, and take part in activities. This makes learning fair and supportive for all students.
We want all staff to understand why digital accessibility and inclusion are important. Canvas includes an accessibility tool called Ally that helps with this. Ally:
- lets students download content in different formats
- highlights accessibility issues and explains how to fix them
- checks content at course level and across the whole university
The Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) is reviewing the accessibility of learning resources in Canvas. We carry out a yearly audit to see how accessible our content is and what we need to improve. Our goal is to make sure Canvas is accessible for everyone.
How do we Audit?
Auditing Canvas course content
Our first audit in 2021 was done by hand. We reviewed content in 10% of Canvas courses. Since then, we have used Ally to carry out audits. Using Ally gives us a clearer and more complete view of the accessibility issues that students may face across all courses.
Accessibility of content
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 include more than 80 requirements. Ally checks around half of these. Some WCAG criteria do not apply to Canvas content. For example, WCAG 3.2.2 "On Input" looks at form controls. These are not normally used in Canvas learning materials, and the accessibility of the system itself is checked separately.
Auditing our content shows where we meet accessibility standards—for example, using headings and alt text—and where we need to improve.
Outcomes
The TLA will deliver a number of outcomes, including:
Accessibility audit report
We will produce a yearly report on digital accessibility and how well we meet standards. This report will help staff understand good practice when creating or updating their Canvas courses.
Accessibility in Digital Education Design Project (AiDED)
The AiDED project aims to use our digital learning environment to help all students succeed and improve their life chances.
You can find out more about accessibility on our AiDED Project page.
