Introducing Deep Dives 2: Accessibility in Canvas

Welcome to Deep Dives 2: Accessibility in Canvas from eLearning! Watch the video below to learn more about the series and how to navigate the Deep Dives 2 Canvas module.

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This video series from your Instructional Design team in eLearning takes an in-depth look at tools and processes to enhance your teaching and improve your students' learning experience. Each series contains video tutorials under 5 minutes long, focusing on one specific aspect at a time, so you can quickly find and learn what you need without having to wade through what you don’t. The videos are organized by task or topic for easy navigation.

In Deep Dives 2, we focus on accessibility in Canvas, walking you through best practices in Course Design, tools to respond to student accommodations, and features built directly into Canvas to aid with accessibility. And while we’re focusing on Canvas, we’ll take a quick detour to Panopto and its useful accessibility features. We hope you enjoy this series, but don’t forget—the Instructional Designers in eLearning are happy to answer any questions you might have about designing for accessibility in Canvas! Welcome to Deep Dives 2!

A Message from Ben Whitmore, Director of eLearning

Watch the video below to learn more about changes to accessibility standards and how eLearning can help!

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Greetings Colleagues. As you know, Spokane Colleges is committed to creating equitable and inclusive learning environments. We strive for accessible activities, services, and programs. In April 2024, the Department of Justice ruled that public institutions are required to meet a higher standard of accessibility for our digital environments. That includes our websites, internal communications, and of course our instructional materials. They set a pretty high bar when it comes to digital accessibility and it may require us to change how we go about developing documents and instructional materials. Any change that impacts our workflow naturally creates some questions as to why.

So why do I need to make my courses more accessible? Research shows that digital accessibility increases student learning and success for most students. A study by Whitney and Dallas indicates that providing captioning on videos increased exam scores by 10% in 2019. We know over 20% of college students have a disability. This is a large part of our student body and we also know on average over two-thirds of students with disabilities don’t request accommodations or work with our DAS offices. Creating more accessible courses helps all students meet their educational needs. Finally, it’s the law. The Department of Justice’s guidelines require us to follow the WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

So what does it look like? This may sound a bit daunting. I want to assure you that it’s not and with the help from eLearning and your colleagues you will feel more comfortable developing the skills necessary. The following training created by eLearning will show you how to meet those standards. Some of those skills include using headings when structuring your Canvas pages and documents. Ensuring captions are turned on. When sharing images, especially ones that carry meaning, adding alternative text for those who use screen readers.

How do I get started? You’ve come to the right place. The Accessibility Deep Dive series is a collection of bit sized videos that show you how to make the small changes needed for a more accessible learning environment. I’m thrilled you are here and we are excited to help you develop your skills needed for creating a more inclusive learning space for our community.