Rubric for Accessible Canvas Content

Use this rubric to guide you as you create new content in the Canvas Rich Content Editor.
Also see the guides on accessible documents.

Tool/Location Criteria Avoid Required Recommended
Rich Content Editor (RCE) Text
  1. Text is sparse and gives minimal details.
  2. Font styles alone used to show emphasis.
  3. Paragraphs of ALL CAPS text.
  4. Paragraphs of italic text.
  1. Paragraph font size is at least 12 pt.
  2. Text contains adequate information, clearly communicates instructions/expectations.
  3. Paragraph style used for body text, not headings.
  4. When using font styles, text equivalents are also used to show emphasis.
  1. Formatting cleared when pasting from external sources like Word.
  2. Paragraph font size is at least 14 pt.
RCE Headings
  1. Pseudo headings (paragraphs stylized to look like headings)
  2. Using heading for emphasis rather than structure.
 Heading styles used in content with multiple sections.
  1. Headings follow a logical sequence.
  2. No skipped heading levels.
RCE Lists
  1. Pseudo lists, paragraph text presented as list.
  1. Ordered list style used for items with sequential order.
  2. Unordered list style used for items with no particular sequence.
 Lists consist of more than one item.
RCE Tables
  1. Table used to layout content.
  2. Excessive merged cells.
  3. No headers.
  1. Table used to present data.
  2. Data table includes headers.
  1. Data table includes headers with scope identified (row/column).
  2. Includes caption.
  3. No merged cells.
RCE Alt Text (Simple)
  1. Empty alt text field.
  2. File name as alt text.
  3. One-word alt text descriptions.
  4. Informational images marked as “Decorative.”
  1. Alt text is concise and equivalent.
  2. Alt text includes punctuation and capitalization.
  3. Decorative images appropriately marked.
  1. Alt text is no longer than 125 characters (not including spaces).
  2. Hyperlinked images (functional) include alt text that describes link destination rather than image content.
RCE Alt Text
(Complex)
  1. No description.
  2. Inputting long descriptions in the alt text field.
  3. Empty alt text field.
  1. Long description available in paragraph near image.
  2. Long description available in linked document, link placed near image.
  3. Table data available near chart (image).
  4. Alt text field includes reference to availability of long description.
 Long description is as detailed as necessary to create equivalency.
RCE Color
  1. Light text on light background.
  2. Dark text on dark background.
  3. Meaning depends on color alone.
  1. If normal text is less than 18 pt., it creates a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
  2. Text equivalent used to indicate emphasis.
  1. If normal text is less than 18 pt., it creates a contrast ratio of at least 7:1.
  2. Charts use different shades of the same color and/or shapes to differentiate data points.
RCE Links
  1. Entire URL pasted.
  2. Link titles same as text.
 Hyperlink embedded in text. Link text makes sense out of context.
  • Media Gallery (Kaltura)
  • Zoom cloud recordings
 Video/Media Captions
  1. No synchronized captions for video.
  2. No transcript for audio-only.
  3. Captions/transcript available, but contains excessive errors.
  1. Open or closed captions available for video.
  2. Transcript available for audio-only.
  1. Automatic closed captions available, edited to meet 99% accuracy threshold.
  2. Transcript available for audio-only and video content.
Course navigation and modules Organization
  1. ‘Files’ area used to deliver learning content to students.
  2. Learning content uploaded to the course with unchanged generic file names.
 Learning content renamed and arranged meaningfully.
  1. Modules used to create logical course structure to guide students.
  2. Additional navigation links strategically embedded in content to provide multiple ways of navigating.
External files PDFs
  1. PDF is an image-only file such as a scan.
  2. PDF is not tagged.
  1. PDF includes tags with appropriate headings, paragraphs, links, table headers, etc.
  2. Images include alt text.
 PDF content also available as HTML (Canvas page/rich content area) or another format such as audio.

Key

  • Rich Content Editor (RCE) – Canvas’ content editor for creating rich text, links, embedding images, videos, equations, and more. The Rich Content Editor is used in features that support the editor like Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, or Syllabus. The RCE includes tools for formatting font size, color and style, embedding images, and an automatic accessibility checker.
  • My Media (Kaltura) – Kaltura is a repository for recorded videos uploaded to the ‘My Media’ area in Canvas. Videos are shareable within Canvas courses and receive automatic speech recognition (ASR) captions and transcripts. ASR is only 75% to 85% accurate and requires manual editing with the integrated caption editor to bring it up to the 99% accurate threshold.
  • Zoom cloud recordings – Zoom can be used to record class meetings or individual presentations. Videos recorded to the Zoom cloud are easily shareable and receive automatic speech recognition (ASR) captions and transcripts. ASR is only 75% to 85% accurate and requires manual editing with the integrated caption editor to bring it up to the 99% accurate threshold. Zoom videos recorded locally can be shared in Canvas by uploading to the My Media area and publishing to the course.
  • Course navigation/modules – This refers to the organization of the left-hand course navigation as well as modules and individual content items within pages.
  • External files – Any files uploaded to the course, including Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel. All files should be made fully accessible before uploading to Canvas.