Digital Accessibility Guidelines

Audio & Video

• Videos must have accurate captioning

• Video transcripts are not required, but are helpful and support Universal Design for Learning

• Videos without narration that play music and display text must have a text file that can be read by a screen reader.

• Podcasts or audio-only files must have transcripts

Images

• Avoid using images of text that are essential to understanding content 

• Canva can be used for decorative images. For meaningful images and content, see the Canva & Digital Accessibility Guidelines

• All meaningful images should have alt text. If the image is complex, include a long description of the image

Colors

• Strong contrast between colors is easiest to perceive - use the Color Contrast Analyzer to check for contrast

• Avoid using red to call attention to important information. Bold text instead

• Do not use color alone to indicate meaning

Links

• When linking to something outside of Canvas, include “(Opens in new window)” or “(Google Doc)” so the user knows that the link takes them away from Canvas

• Links should be descriptive, and descriptions should be unique to each link 

• Links should always be underlined 

Documents

• Avoid PDFs when possible - it’s difficult to make them accessible and it’s hard to check for accessibility unless you have Acrobat Pro. Send PDFs that are essential to the course to Amy for review

• Follow the Google Docs and Word guidelines

Navigation

• Courses should be navigable by keyboard alone (without a mouse or touchpad)

  • Use Tab, arrow keys, space bar, Enter, and Esc

Checklist

Need to make sure your digital content, such as a Canvas course checks all the boxes? Use our Digital Accessibility Guidelines for Canvas Courses (Google Doc)!