Welcome to the second edition of Accessibility Matters Digest, where we discuss the benefits of designing accessible courses, acknowledge the complexities in that process, and highlight the research and tools that can support delivering accessible courses in Canvas. This month, we’re exploring how course design can facilitate proactive accessibility work.
“LMSs offer the potential to create flexible and inclusive learning spaces, but only if institutions move beyond reactive accommodations and embrace proactive accessibility practices”
(Kontio, 2025).
When thinking of course accessibility, perhaps the idea of remediating existing content or applying accommodations comes to mind. What if creating accessible Canvas courses didn’t have to feel like doubling-back or applying retrofit solutions? Research suggests that rather than approaching accessibility as an afterthought in the course design process, taking a proactive approach–such as utilizing universal and accessible design principles–leads to more effective and inclusive learning experiences (Burgstahler, 2021; Casarez et. al, 2019; Kontio, 2025).
Just like building homes, when building accessible courses, a solid foundation is a critical step. Creating courses that are accessible by design gives institutions a strong foundation for supporting a variety of learners and needs and ultimately makes the journey toward accessible courses far more manageable!
Let’s explore a few tips for developing a proactive strategy for accessible course design in Canvas and the tools that make it much easier.
Each time you edit course content, remind yourself that accessibility isn’t an afterthought, it’s core to great design. When structuring content: format headings, lists, and tables using the formatting tools for those elements. When adding resources: use descriptive text for links, add alternative text for images or mark as decorative where relevant, and ensure videos are captioned and audio transcribed. When styling: avoid using color alone for emphasis, ensure adequate color contrast, and streamline cluttered visual design. And don’t forget: you can multiply your efforts and scale accessible designs at your institution through templates designed with accessible structure and style and with common resources already descriptively labeled and captioned.
From flatbed scanned PDFs to slideshows with no reading order, files are often the least accessible content in your courses. Because “[it] is relatively easy to make content accessible when you enter it directly into the pages of a learning management system” (Burgstahler, 2021), shift from creating hurdles to hoorays by moving content into Canvas. Using Canvas Pages for course content provides a more accessible foundation, leverages familiar accessible design procedures, and can cut down on the remediation workload considerably.
The classic question “How do you eat an elephant?” applies to course accessibility. Identifying accessibility issues while editing in Canvas helps you manage the process “one bite at a time.” Make a habit of scanning for accessibility before selecting “Save” to ensure your newly created content is accessible by design.
“Cidi Labs has been a lifesaver for my team! The instructional design tools allow us to create visually appealing, engaging, and accessible content for all learners.”
– Tori Klaff, Classroom Technology Designer, Katy Independent
Learn More:
To see this Digest come to life, join us for our Accessibility Matters Live! webinar “Accessible Courses by Design.” We’ll dive deeper into the research behind this digest edition and showcase amazing, practical examples of how our tools can help you take a proactive approach to accessibility through course design.
Do you have a favorite way Cidi Labs tools help you create courses that are accessible by design? Share it out! Tag Cidi Labs on social media and describe how our tools help you deliver more accessible learning experiences right from the start! We’ll do a drawing from the share-outs and feature great ideas in our upcoming communication.
To keep the digest, well, digestible, each month we’ll deliver a bite-sized solution for a common accessibility challenge. We hope these small but mighty tips will empower you and provide momentum on your journey of developing and delivering accessible Canvas courses!
Challenge:
Your Canvas courses use tables to lay out content in columns or grids and you’ve learned that’s not the most accessible or usable design practice.
Solution:
Using the DesignPLUS Table to Columns button, you can convert existing layout tables to responsive columns with a single-selection!
Citations:
Burgstahler, S. (2021). What Higher Education Learned About the Accessibility of Online Opportunities During a Pandemic. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, 21(7).
Casarez, L., Hooks, D., Shipley, G., & Swafford, D. (2019). Snapshot—Proactive Design to Ensure Accessibility. Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL, 30.
Kontio Jr, J. P. (2025, April). From reactive to proactive: Leveraging Learning Management Systems for a more accessible learning experience. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM SIGUCCS Annual Conference (pp. 1-4).
© 2023 Cidi Labs, LLC All Rights Reserved
Description