6 Guide for Reviewing and Updating Your Courses for Accessibility

This guide walks you through the process of deciding which courses to review first and taking the steps to remediate content for better accessibility.

Inventory Your Courses

You can use a spreadsheet or table to track this information for each course:

• Course name
• Where it’s housed (Canvas, WAMAP, etc.)
• Where content is stored (last term’s course shell, department template, etc.)
• How often you teach it
• Average enrollment
• Types of content used (Canvas pages, videos, images, PDFs, external tools like Pearson, YouTube, etc.)

Prioritize Your Courses

You can use the following information to determine which courses have the biggest impact and should be worked on first:

• Most frequently taught
• Highest enrollment
• Least accessible (using Ally scores and/or your best judgement)

Request a Canvas Protoshell

At the Seattle Colleges, a Protoshell is a course shell in Canvas that allows you to work on accessibility remediation without affecting your live course(s). To request one, you can use the Canvas Protoshell Request Form (Seattle Colleges login required). If you need more than three protoshells, you may submit the form multiple times.

Submitting this form will generate an eLearning support ticket. Requests are typically fulfilled in two business days. Once your request is complete, you will receive an email confirmation. The protoshell course will then appear in your Canvas Dashboard. If you don’t see it, you can check your “All Courses” list, under Unpublished.

Copy Content to Protoshell and Remediate

Here is a suggested workflow for remediating an entire course. The steps can be completed in any order:

1. Copy a module from its original course into your Protoshell. You can follow the steps in How do I copy a module to another course?
2. Check the accessibility of Files:
   • Replace any inaccessible PDFs. Accessible Word versions are recommended.
   • Upload remediated files to the module if needed.
   • Delete inacessible files if they were replaced.
3. Review the module content item-by-item for:
   • Alt text on images
   • Descriptive link text
   • Formatted lists
   • Use of headings
   • Table structure
   • Color contrast
   • Readable fonts
   • Videos and Media content
4. Scan documents with the Ally Accessibility Checker (Word, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.). Review and remediate each flagged document. While Ally gives you a good start, a comprehensive review requires the checklists in Seattle Colleges’ Accessibility Training Hub.
5. Run the Link Validator in Canvas to check for broken links. This tool will show which links need to be fixed. The Ally tool only flag pages with broken links, without showing which link needs to be repaired.
6. Repeat the steps for all modules.
7. Copy your homepage to your Protoshell using the three-dot menu and “Copy To” option. Review and remediate using the Canvas checklist.

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