Creating Accessible, Mobile-ready Content in Pages

Creating accessible and mobile ready content in Canvas is all about making sure it can be accessed in a variety of ways without losing information. This doesn't mean that it's without any formatting. Using certain formatting tools allows you to create content that is well formatted, but also allows the computer, mobile device, or assistive technology to present the information appropriately to your students. How does this work?

Once you complete the Orientation, you can learn more about creating accessible courses in the Intermediate: Building Accessible Content and Intermediate: Building A Mobile-Savvy Canvas Course modules.

Don't force the font to a certain size

Students can adjust the size of the text on their screen so that it's easily readable. In other words, ignore the "Font Sizes" menu in the editor. 

• Try viewing this now. Hold down the Control (PC) or Command (Mac) key, and type '+'. The size of the text on the screen will increase. Hold down the Control (PC) or Command (Mac) key, and type '-' to return to the usual size.

Use Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 for document sections

These options help structure a document, creating the bold, large, text which delineates sections of a document. For instance, the header on this section is Heading 3; the title at the top of the page is Heading 1. Don't use a combination of Font Size and Bold, since that isn't handled the same way by other devices, especially the screen-reading and magnification tools that visually impaired users will use. 

To make headings, highlight the text, then pick an option from the Paragraph menu at the top right side of the Rich Content Editor.

Never use tables to format pages

Unless the information is an actual data table, a longer page that uses bullet points and headers will be much easier to read on a variety of devices. On small screens, a table will force readers to scroll back and forth to see each line of text. For screen-readers, tables for formatting are confusing and often make the document unreadable. 

It's still okay to use tables to present data, for instance, a table of global temperature readings at the start of each decade. See this guide to creating accessible data tables for details Links to an external site..

Create visual structure with bullets and indent buttons

Use the buttons in the Rich Content Editor to make number and bullet lists, indent text, and justify paragraphs. This provides the visual structure in a way that can adjust for different displays. 

Don't use only color as the only way to represent information

Color blindness is one of the most common undocumented visual disabilities. It's okay to use color, but make sure something else indicates whatever you were showing with color. For instance, use a color and italic text to show important information.

Learn more

Highline College Accessible Technology Policy

The SBCTC Accessibility 101 Online Course is a great resource for learning to create accessible course materials:

• Publicly available course Links to an external site.
• Register for facilitated course Links to an external site.

Additionally, Highline's Accessible Technology Committee regularly offers workshops on creating accessible content.