UDOIT: Road Map to Accessibility

UDOIT: Roadmap to Accessibility

Digital Content Accessibility

aims to improve technology accessibility standards among all government agencies by enforcing civil rights violations related to accessibility issues. This bill allows individuals to file lawsuits if they are excluded from access to digital content because of a disability. This means your Canvas course content must be accessible by July 1, 2025 to comply with this new law.

IDD Is Here to Help

This spring, we will provide bi-weekly guidance to help you make your courses accessible and more user-friendly. While accessibility is mandated by HB21-1110, these practices are best practices for any online delivery as they reduce barriers and increase a sense of belonging for a variety of learners.

Recommended Approach

We have mapped out the most common accessibility issues and will provide resources to help you address those issues in each of your courses. The sequence of activities below is designed to support your success and minimize stress. It is a good idea to apply these steps to your current courses, but it is also a good idea to begin thinking about your summer courses, which will be the first courses released when HB21-1110 is in full effect. You can follow the same sequence below to take on and complete parts of each course to make them accessible.

Weeks 1-2: Get to Know UDOIT

In these first two weeks, you will familiarize yourself with UDOIT. You don鈥檛 need to make any adjustments to your course yet.

Watch this video: (3:09) to understand what UDOIT can do for your Canvas course content.
Run the UDOIT scan in each of your courses to see what errors and suggestions it flags.
Be aware that UDOIT scans the entire course, whether students can see the content or not. You may want to take some time now to remove extraneous items.

Prioritize your course content

UDOIT will flag anything in your course that has an accessibility issue, but you will not want to invest time in correcting pages or documents you no longer use and that students don鈥檛 see. Now is a good time to do a little course 鈥渃lean up鈥� by removing pages or files you are no longer using. At the end of this term, we will show you how to copy only the content you wish to keep into a new course shell so that you don鈥檛 have to shuffle through old content in the future.

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Weeks 3-4: Page Structure

When setting up content in Canvas pages, you probably structure the information into manageable blocks to help students consolidate their knowledge. While there are many ways to organize information, here are three best practices that will help you accomplish an accessible structure.

Headings define structure. Use headings to break content into logical sections and follow their hierarchical structure.
Use Bold and Italics to emphasize text. Don't use color, which is subjective, or underlining, which suggests a hyperlink is present.
Use color for aesthetics, not meaning. Color should never be used to convey meaning or prompt action. Also, be sure there is enough contrast between the color and the background to enhance readability.

Take Action

Watch this video: (06:58)
Scan and begin addressing errors and suggestions related to color, emphasis, and headings.

Avoid Using Formatting Styles for Document Structure

Why is it an issue: Bold or colored print used to separate sections of content makes navigation difficult for many and impossible for screen readers.
What to do: UDOIT will provide options such as assign a header level or remove color or emphasis.

Heading Levels Should Not Be Skipped

Why is it an issue: Headers in web pages - including Canvas pages - are essential for accessibility, acting as signposts for assistive technologies and organizing content logically. A proper hierarchy moves from H1(main title) to H6 (smallest subheading) where all H2s, H3s, etc. have the same level of importance. This heading structure ensures clarity and ease of navigation.
What to do: UDOIT will prompt you to go directly to the page where the error occurs so you can look at the big picture to adjust the heading structure. In Canvas, H1 is already assigned to the top of all pages in code, and so the first visible header you will work with is an H2.

Avoid Using Color for Emphasis

Why is it an issue: Color is subjective, so while it can contribute to the aesthetics of a page it should not be used to convey meaning or as a call to action.
What to do: UDOIT will prompt you to remove the color, or add bold or italics. Remember if you want to add more structure, go directly to the page and apply heading levels to the text as well.

Insufficient Text Color Contrast with the Background

Why is it an issue: Some people cannot see faint text.
What to do: UDOIT will flag any color that does not have sufficient contrast for readability. You will be prompted to lighten or darken the color depending on the background, or you can use the color picker to select some pre-approved colors.

Additional Resources

Watch (10:27)
WCAG 2.2 (Standards):
WCAG 2.2 (Standards):

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Weeks 5-6: Links and Files Names

This week, we are focusing on text for link and file names to improve the user experience and meet accessibility standards. The criteria for a good link name and a good file name are the same. Names should be (1) Predictable, (2) Purposeful, and (3) Accurate.

Predictable links and file names reduce confusion and provide context for the user.
Purposeful names quickly tell the user what kind of link or file they are accessing.
Accurate links and files are up-to-date and are accessible even outside of the Canvas environment.

Take Action

Watch this video: (07:42)
Scan and begin addressing errors and suggestions related to links and file names.

Link has nondescript text

Why this is an issue: Links like 鈥渃lick here鈥� or 鈥渞ead more鈥� or links that are just the URL address lack predictability and context. Furthermore, screen readers read the links exactly as they are written, which causes confusion in navigation.
What to do: UDOIT will prompt you to change the name of the link or file. Select something that will help users quickly understand where the link will take them. Consider these examples.
Wrong:
Wrong:
Better: Click here for more .
Best: Learn more from blog.

Links should contain text

Why this is an issue: If you use an image for a link, and the image does not include text, it is difficult for a user - and impossible for a screen reader - to understand the link.
What to do: If you use an image as a link, be sure it is accompanied by text, and make sure that it is one single link for both the image and the text. UDOIT will prompt you to add text to your link if it is only an image.

Adjacent links found

Why this is an issue: Adjacent links create confusion because they appear to be intended for two different locations.
What to do: UDOIT will prompt you to go directly to the Canvas page where the adjacent links are located. From the Rich Content Editor, the Accessibility Checker icon will identify the adjacent link. Choose 鈥渕erge links鈥� and save. You can then return to UDOIT and mark it as resolved.

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