DIY Digital Accessibility for Faculty

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The steps below are specific to improving digital accessibility in Canvas based online learning environments. If you would like to begin with a more general understanding of the new digital accessibility law and how it interacts with COCC values and mission, a self-paced training is available. 

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Five steps to improve your courses’ digital accessibility:

 

Step 1  - Review your course Panorama report.

Not seeing Panorama in your menu? Add it in the Settings area. 

The report includes a total score, how your score has changed recently, information about how students are using alternate formats in your course. If you scroll to the bottom of the report it also includes a list of the content within your course sorted from lowest to highest accessibility score.

 

Step 2 – Review scores of individual items.

Look at any items with accessibility scores <80% or that are highlighted with a Red Panorama icon.

Note: if at this point you are seeing many old/unused items with very low accessibility scores, pause your accessibility review and run TidyUp on your course

Step 3 – Identify any patterns  

When considering the items that have low accessibility scores –

• Is it primarily a single file type? (examples: pdf, ppt, doc, html)
• Are you seeing the same type of issue repeatedly? (examples: tables, color, headings, alt-text)

 

Step 4 – Learn the skills you'll need

Consider your own skills and knowledge – do you have what you need to begin accessibility work? Training exists for the following tools that may be required in your process:

 

Step 5 – Make a plan

How will you replace or update course materials to meet accessibility expectations? What are your priorities? Panorama will automatically document your progress. Things to consider:

• Replacing materials with more accessible versions is often less time consuming than remediation. The Barber Library is a great resource if looking for accessible versions of print or multimedia content.
• Think about what you can retire or replace in your list of priorities.
• Prioritize large classes taught multiple times per year
• Focus on getting all current term materials “out of the red”
• Choose one or more areas from the COCC WCAG “Top 10” you feel most comfortable with and start there

 

This is a multi-term effort, the goal is to show steady improvement over time

Reach out to support units for assistance if a file or Canvas page score is not increasing despite improvement efforts. If you have concerns about your ability to improve the WCAG compliance level of your course(s) please connect with your Department Chair, Program Lead, or Dean.