CANVAS TESTING TOOLS
All of these tools offer an interface for fixing elements, making accessibility fixes quick and easy.
Ally Instructor Feedback and Alternative Format Tools
- Best tool to get an overview on the accessibility of a course
- Best tool for quickly identifying documents used in Canvas that have accessibility issues
- Guidance provided to fix issues on Canvas pages and documents
- Accessibility indicators in Canvas pages and the Files area lead to guidance to improve accessibility
- Page about ALLY Instructor Feedback features and Course Accessibility Report
- Page for Faculty about ALLY Alternative Formats
Pope Tech
- Most effective testing tool
- Tests per page
- Interface for fixing issues
- Access from Editing mode in Canvas
- Page about Pope Tech Dashboards for testing entire Canvas courses
- Page about Pope Tech Instructor Guide for testing Canvas pages
UDOIT
- Tests more things than the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker
- Course-wide testing tool
- Interface for fixing issues
- Access from Course navigation in Canvas
- Page about UDOIT and how to run a scan
- Page about how to work with UDOIT scan results
Canvas Accessibility Checker
- Best for Newbies
- Tests per page
- Interface for fixing issues
- Access when in Editing mode in Rich Content Editor
- Good for fixing images and tables, but does not test and fix as many things as the other tools
- How to use the Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor
CONVERT DOCUMENTS TO ALTERNATIVE FORMATS
CCC Document Converter Tool
Visit a web page set up by the CCC Chancellor's Office to administer the CCC Document Converter tool.
Upload a file and choose from available formats. The converted document will be emailed to you.
Available formats include MS Word, PDF, HTML, RTF, CSV, MS Excel.
This tool is especially good for scanned PDFs that are very inaccessible. Using the CCC Document Converter tool, the document can be converted to be compatible with assistive technology.
ALLY - Allow Students to Convert Documents to Alternative Formats
- Allows students to download alternative formats of documents
- The alternative formats benefit all students, so that they can access and engage with their classes in the ways they learn.
- Page for Faculty about ALLY Alternative Formats
- Page for Students about ALLY
ALLY - Locate which Documents have Accessibility Issues
- ALLY provides accessibility indicators for documents that show which documents have accessibility issues – in Canvas pages where documents are linked, in the Files area, and documents linked directly to from Modules
- ALLY Course Accessibility Report will list documents with named accessibility issues, including the all important scanned document warning
- Use the CCC Document Converter Tool described above for these identified scanned documents
- Page about ALLY Instructor Feedback features and Course Accessibility Report
DOCUMENT ACCESSIBILITY TESTING
Word Accessibility Checker
See instructions on using the Word Accessibility Checker
PowerPoint Accessibility Checker
See instructions on using the PowerPoint Accessibility Checker
PDF Accessibility Testing
- Use the Accessibility Wizard in Adobe Acrobat Pro to make your PDF more accessible
- If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro, contact IT (free Adobe Reader does not have this capability)
Google Docs
- Google provides some general guidelines on making your document or presentation more accessible.
- The Chrome browser offers an extension called "Grackle Docs" that checks for accessibility issues in Google Docs and Google Sheets. You can find it in the Chrome Web Store. SRJC no longer has a license, so will cost money.
COLOR CONTRAST TESTING
Checking Color Contrast in Canvas
When working in Canvas, there are many choices for checking color contrast for accessibility, including the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker, Pope Tech, UDOIT, and the Ally (Instructor Feedback tools). These tools will also provide an interface for choosing colors with sufficient contrast.
Clicking on the Ally Accessibility Indicators is particularly helpful to identify color contrast issues and is the only tool that checks documents for color contrast errors.
Once clicked on, the contrast issues will be highlighted. You will not be able to fix the issues, but this is a great diagnostic tool at your fingertips when working in Canvas.
Tool for Checking Color Contrast Everywhere
The app Colour Contrast Analyser can be downloaded for free and can sample colors on web pages (including Canvas pages) and documents. This tool will diagnose foreground and background contrast errors and give you tools to find a passing color, but you will not be able to fix the colors with it.
