Overview
To strengthen your course accessibility and work toward an 85 percent Ally score (or higher) by the start of Spring 2025, use this plan as a weekly guide. Each week, focus on tackling one or two tasks from the provided list, prioritizing progress over perfection. For foundational guidance, refer to the Six Essentials of Digital Accessibility, which you will apply to every piece of digital content you create. Once the 85 percent goal is reached, your efforts should shift to deeper, targeted remediation for a lasting impact on your course materials.
1. Task: Check your Ally score.
Start by knowing where you are now.
How to: Open your Course Accessibility Report in Canvas using Ally to see your overall accessibility score. This gives you a clear starting point for progress.
Resource: Ally in Canvas – an overview of Ally and how to find your score.
2. Task: Remove outdated or unused content.
Cleaning up your course makes improvement faster.
How to: Delete or unpublish materials that are no longer needed or meant for students. Keeping only relevant and accessible items helps your course stay organized and contributes to a higher Ally score.
Resource: Getting Started with TidyUp (Faculty) – We recommend putting your course in a development shell and then using this tool to remove unused content.
3. Task: Fix “easy to fix” items in Ally.
Consistent small updates add up quickly.
How to: Set aside time each week or schedule a dedicated “Power Hour” to address easy to fix issues flagged by Ally. These steady improvements move your score closer to your goal.
Resource: Creating an Accessible Canvas Experience
4. Task: Review and improve audio and videos.
High quality and accurately captioned media improve both access and learning.
How to: Ensure your videos and audio recordings are clear and easy to understand. Check captions for accuracy since auto generated or ASR captions rarely meet requirements. For any evergreen videos you plan to reuse, email the Digital Accessibility Team to request professional captions and transcripts. Check videos for audio descriptions weaved into the content. Ask, what am I missing by only listening to the video? If it is instructional content, a descriptive alternative is needed.
Resource: Creating Accessible Videos
5. Task: Use high quality images and add alt text.
Meaningful visuals with alt text support every learner.
How to: Confirm that all images in Canvas are clear and purposeful. Write short, descriptive alt text for meaningful images, and mark decorative images as decorative only when they add no instructional value.
Resources:
6. Task: Check and update your links.
Functional and descriptive links make navigation easier for all students.
How to: Use the Broken Link tool in Canvas to ensure all links are active. Replace pasted URLs with short, descriptive link text such as “UT San Antonio Homepage” to create a cleaner and more accessible experience.
Resources:
7. Task: Address color contrast issues.
Strong color contrast improves readability and visibility.
How to: Use Ally’s feedback or a color contrast tool to identify areas with low contrast. Adjust text or background colors until the content is readable and Ally confirms the fix.
8. Task: Structure your Canvas pages.
A clear structure supports better navigation and screen reader use.
How to: Apply proper heading styles (H1 for page titles, H2 for main topics, H3 for subtopics) and use the list feature for bulleted or numbered information. Structured pages help students locate information easily.
Resources: Creating an Accessible Canvas Experience: L.I.S.T
9. Task: Review tables on Canvas pages.
Well-designed tables make data accessible and understandable.
How to: Ensure tables are used only for data, not layout. Add clear header rows and simple structures so screen readers can read table content accurately.
10. Task: Fix basic accessibility details in documents.
Strong foundations make every document more accessible.
How to: Use Ally to confirm that all documents have a title, defined language, and selectable text (OCR). These foundational fixes ensure your files are readable for everyone.
Resources
For more, review these additional resources:
Support
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