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Canvas - Accessibility

Service Overview

Canvas is CU Boulder's learning management system (LMS). The accessibility of an individual's experience in Canvas depends on two things: the accessibility of the platform itself, and the accessibility of the content placed in Canvas.

This page contains information about the accessibility of the Canvas platform and has links to documentation about Canvas content accessibility. Those who create and share content in Canvas have a responsibility to ensure that content is created and provided in a way that makes it accessible to everyone in the course. Additional resources to assist with creating accessible content and designing accessible courses are provided in the Information for Educators section below.

Accessibility Topics

Canvas Feature Accessibility

Canvas features are periodically reviewed and receive accessibility improvements as part of the vendor's commitment to providing access to all educators and learners. Some features may have limited accessibility at this time while others have received significant improvements. A list of specific features that have received improvements or have known limitations is available on the Canvas Feature Accessibility page.

Information for Assistive Technology Users

Testing has been conducted on many aspects of Canvas; however, the platform undergoes frequent changes and the information contained below may no longer be accurate.

If you encounter issues in using Canvas, please report them to the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or 303-735-4357.

Screen Reader / Keyboard-Only Users

The Canvas website provides tips for screen reader and keyboard-only users.

Please consult the Screen Readers and Browsers section of Canvas's accessibility documentation to determine its current support for various screen reader and browser combinations.

Screen Magnifier Users

  • Users can enable high contrast mode under Account > Settings > Feature Options. Some interface elements may fail color contrast requirements when this mode is not enabled.
  • Some aspects of Canvas's column-based layout may be displaced at higher browser zoom settings, resulting in a confusing layout to read.
  • When navigating through Modules, note that the "Next" and "Previous" buttons are located at the bottom right and bottom left of the page, respectively. They may be difficult to locate initially when using a magnifier.
  • Many control elements, such as settings menus or notification toggles, are located on the far right side of the page from the element they modify.
  • Many notifications, such as the successful submission of an assignment, are communicated through alerts that appear at the top of the screen rather than near the location the action was performed.
  • In the document viewer, screen magnifier users need to select the comment before zooming in to see which part of the text it is linked to. Otherwise, the dotted line linking the comment to the text disappears upon zoom.
  • In the document viewer, students using screen magnifiers must go into full-screen view in View Feedback to view the annotation comments.
  • If an annotated document is downloaded for review, it is recommended to use Adobe Acrobat for viewing the PDF, since the annotation comments may not be consistently displayed in generic PDF viewers.

Information for Educators

Canvas has an Accessibility Toolkit as well as an on-demand Fundamentals of Accessible Digital Content in Canvas training course for helping make your course and course content accessible. Additional resources developed by the Digital Accessibility Office at CU Boulder are provided below.

Accessibility Best Practices for the Canvas Platform

  • Read through the Canvas Accessibility in Online Course Design article.
  • Avoid requiring students to use the Files tool to access course content. If a document needs to be accessed, make sure it can be accessed through a Module.
  • Run the Accessibility Checker content created with the Rich Content Editor, and review the Canvas Rich Content Editor Accessibility Checklist for additional best practices.
  • Follow the recommendations in our documentation about creating accessible exams in Canvas.
  • Canvas Studio is the recommended solution for sharing media content (audio and video files) in Canvas. More information is available on the OIT Canvas Studio service page along with Canvas Studio accessibility information.
  • Avoid using comments and annotations in the SpeedGrader document viewer to provide assignment feedback to students who use screen readers. Consider using Microsoft Word as an accessible alternative to add comments to a document.
  • If you use Turnitin Feedback Studio to annotate or comment on student work, you will need to provide feedback in a different format for students who use screen readers. See the Turnitin accessibility considerations page for more details.
  • If you utilize a publisher integration for student assignments, readings, or other course work, please contact the publisher for details about their accessibility. Consult our guide on the accessibility evaluation process for e-texts.
  • If you have foreign language content in your course and have an enrolled student who uses a screen reader, you may need to add language tags to your course's HTML content in quizzes, discussions, and more.

Course Document Accessibility

Consult the Accessible Technology Resources page for details on how to create accessible Word documents, PowerPoints, Google Docs, and more.

Timing Accommodations

You can set different availability dates and times for specific users for assignments and quizzes. To do so, review the Providing Extra Time Accommodations in Canvas guide.

Vendor Accessibility Resources and Documentation

Canvas is committed to creating products and fostering communities that support learners and educators with a wide range of needs and abilities. Details and resources are outlined on their accessibility website and the Canvas Community Accessibility Group. Visit their Trust site to view the most recent Canvas LMS Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).

Get Help or Provide Feedback

OIT has partnered with Disability Services to provide assistance for accessibility issues related to OIT-supported services. If you need assistance, please contact the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or 303-735-4357.

We want to hear from you about this service. If you're having problems using this service or you have more information about the accessibility of this service that we should share with others on this webpage, please let us know by contacting the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or 303-735-4357.

Additional Resources