5.2 | Accessibility

Commitment to Accessibility

Ensuring that all students have equal access to course content, grades, and feedback is the responsibility of all Cañada College administrators, faculty, and staff. Thinking through accessibility requirements, and the steps it takes to make your course accessible may largely influence the selection of your course materials. There are many things you can do as a part of a well-designed course to make your classroom, course materials, and teaching more accessible, which in the end benefits all students.

There are two key reasons to make your course accessible: 

  1. It will help all students in your course be successful. No student should have to overcome obstacles that their peers do not in order to enjoy the same educational experience. 
  2. It is the law. 

Canvas by Instructure is dedicated to ensuring an accessible and pleasant experience to all users. This is a key element of the Canvas software. It is meaningful to know that Canvas is committed to W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative Links to an external site. and Section 508 Links to an external site. guidelines, and was built using the most modern HTML and CSS technologies which are regularly tested (internally and by a third party) to identify and remediate any conformance issues. Additionally, Canvas has been evaluated by Instructure and WebAIM Links to an external site. according to WCAG2.1 standards Links to an external site.. 

Using the Canvas Gradebook, SpeedGrader, and Rubrics features will help you grade with accessibility in mind and will ease the process of delivering accessible, and therefore more equitable, feedback to your students. Take a look at the following accessibility features, just to name a few.

 Accessible Grading Features

  • Breadcrumbs navigation
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Gradebook Individual view
  • Screen reader accessibility in Rubrics
  • Screen reader accessibility in SpeedGrader annotations

These features, plus many more, make Canvas the optimal space to develop a universally designed and accessible course for your learners. Canvas users are in the company of those who share a deep commitment to designing inclusive, responsible, and enjoyable spaces for all. 

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