WCAG 2.1 AA Overview and FAQ

Accessibility benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities. We can observe the "curb-cut effect," where designs created for one group improve the experience for many others.

What is WCAG?

Updated rules for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require that all services, programs, or activities of state and local governments meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA). WCAG is developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. Following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities.

What is POUR and why is it critical to WCAG standards?

WCAG 2.1 is built on four core principles, often remembered by the acronym POUR:
- Perceivable: Information and user interface (UI) components must be presented in a way that can be perceived by all users. This includes providing alternative text descriptions for non-text content (e.g., alt text for images), ensuring sufficient color contrast for readability, and offering captions or transcripts for multimedia content.
- Operable: User interfaces and navigation must be operable by all users. This means ensuring the website can be navigated entirely using a keyboard, allowing users enough time to interact with content, and avoiding content that could cause seizures.
- Understandable: Information and the way users interact with the website should be clear and easy to grasp. This involves using plain language, avoiding technical jargon, and providing clear instructions and error messages.
- Robust: Content must be presented in a way that’s reliable and compatible with a wide range of assistive technologies (AT) and user agents. This ensures the website works well with screen readers, voice recognition software, and other tools people with disabilities might use.

Want to know more? Highlights of the Requirements in the Rule

Workflow

Archive old content in OneDrive.
Use Cidilabs tools to clean, then remediate course content.
Evaluate content cyclically to maintain accessibility.

TidyUP

This tool scans your course for duplicates and unused content. It is a good way to identify what needs archived.

UDOIT

This tool can scan your course for compliance and identify items to fix. The Power Lab training series breaks the process down into manageable steps.

Basic Canvas Accessibility Tips

Use Real Text

Real text can be modified by assistive technology. This is important for users who may need to increase the size of the font or contrast in order to see better. This can also help folks who are dyslexic and may want to change the font type to one that's easier for them to read. People often fear making documents editable without realizing that allowing people to make modifications may help ensure that they receive the valuable information contained within the document.

How do you know if you're working with real text?

To check if the text is "real" or not, try to select the text with your cursor. If you're unable to highlight/select it then it is not real text, and therefore not accessible for all users.

Use Alt Text Descriptions or Click Decorative on all Images

Alt text describes images to someone using a screenreader. When determining what to write for alt text think about the purpose the image serves and what you would want to display if the image did not load. Focus on describing the information in the image, not the image itself. e.g. if you were writing alt text for an image of the White House, you would write "the White House", not "a white mansion built in the neoclassical style with a columned semi-circular portico".

Use Descriptive Hyperlinks

When you are providing a link to something, avoid pasting the full URL onto the page. Instead, you want to embed the URL into descriptive text that will tell the reader where they will be taken if they click on the link.

This also means to avoid embedding URLs into phrases like "click here" or "link" as they do not give the user much information about what will happen when they click on that link. Instead, use descriptive language.

Use Videos with Captions

Before adding any online video to your course, vet it for captions and caption quality following a few basic guidelines:

Captions should be no longer than two lines, when possible.
Captions should stay on the screen for a minimum of four seconds, and a maximum of six seconds.
Captions should be aligned with the audio they represent.
Error-free captions are the goal.

Helpful References