The Learning Environments team is excited to announce that UDOIT Cloud is now available to all instructors in Canvas!

What is UDOIT Cloud?

UDOIT Cloud is an LTI that makes it easy to identify and fix accessibility issues across your entire Canvas course, all from one convenient location. Rather than running an accessibility check on each individual content area, UDOIT Cloud scans your course and produces a report of all accessibility issues. UDOIT Cloud provides explanations, learning resources, and tools for reviewing and fixing issues. See the Access @ Rice website or more information about UDOIT Cloud.

Note: UDOIT Cloud is not a “magic bullet” that automatically fixes accessibility deficiencies for you. Instead, it is an educational tool for helping you improve your own accessibility design practices over time. For more information about accessible design in Canvas, see Rice’s Accessibility Course Guides.

Add UDOIT Cloud to the Canvas Course Navigation

1. Select the “Settings” link in the Canvas course navigation menu.
2. Select the “Navigation” tab.
3. Enable “UDOIT Cloud.” Click and drag it from lower box to upper box or use the ellipsis.
4. Click “Save.”

Start a UDOIT Scan

1. Select the “UDOIT Cloud” link in the course navigation menu to start the scan.
2. On the following UDOIT Cloud “Home” screen, review all issues categorized as either Errors or Suggestions.
   • For an explanation of all issues, click the ellipsis (three dots) in the top right corner, select “About,” then select “What does UDOIT look for?” in the bottom of the pop-up.
3. Select an error or use the “Ways to Get Started” filters on the right side of the screen.
   • Example: No Table Headers Found.

Fix Issues

1. After selecting an error or suggestion, you will find a list of all related issues.
   • Note that you are now under the “UFIXIT” tab.
2. Select one of the issues from the list to open a pop-up window with information and tools related to the issue.
3. In the pop-up, you will find the following:
   • a brief explanation of the issue.
   • a preview window with the option to view as HTML.
   • a link to open and view the issue in context on the Canvas page.
   • in many cases, tools for fixing the issue.
4. In the example of a table without headers, determine if the top row, first column, or both should be marked as headers and select the corresponding option to apply a fix.
5. Important: Select the “Save” button after applying the appropriate fix.
6. If the issue turns out to be a false positive, check the box labeled “Mark as Resolved.”
7. Select the “Next Issue” button to move to the next issue.
8. Repeat these steps until all issues are fixed or marked as reviewed.

Note: Some issues need to be manually fixed by editing the Canvas page directly. After applying the manual fix and saving the changes, you can run a new scan by clicking the UDOIT Cloud link in the course navigation menu again.

Review Files

UDOIT Cloud does not check the accessibility of external files. UDOIT alerts you of course files and gives you information and resources about manually checking and fixing them.

Note: By the last quarter of 2022, UDOIT expects to release a feature that generates alternative file formats like the Blackboard Ally File Transformer.

1. Click the “Review Files” tab in UDOIT Cloud to see a list of all files in the course.
   • Use the Filter button in the top right to view files by type like PDF and MS Word.
2. Click on a filename or click the “Review” button to see the details of a particular file.
3. In the pop-up, you can download the file or view it in the LMS (Canvas).
4. Recommended: Download and review the file in its native application to ensure that it is accessible.
   • Word Accessibility Check
   • Excel Accessibility Check
   • PowerPoint Accessibility Check
   • PDF Accessibility Check
5. After saving changes to the file, use the “Replace File” tool in UDOIT Cloud to upload a more accessible version to Canvas.
6. Save your changes by checking the box labeled “Mark as Reviewed.”

Check for Closed Captions

UDOIT Cloud cannot check the accuracy of closed captions, but it can identify if captions were auto-generated or missing in the following three platforms:

• Kaltura
• YouTube
• Vimeo

Note: If your course contains videos from any other platform, UDOIT Cloud will generate the error “No Closed Captions Found.” Please review these videos in a similar way as described below.

Rather than manually searching through your course for videos, use UDOIT filter tools to aggregate a single list of videos for you to review.

1. From the UDOIT Cloud “Home” tab, select the radio button labeled “By issue type” in the right-hand “Ways to Get Started” menu.
2. Use the dropdown menu labeled “By issue type,” select “Closed Captions Were Auto-Generated,” then select the “Get Started button.”
3. In the following pop-up, use the preview window or select the link to view the video on the Canvas page.
4. If the captions need to be edited for accuracy, go to the video platform and make the needed edits.

• See Basic Accessibility Techniques for Captions

5. After confirming that captions are accurate, check the box labeled “Mark as resolved.”

Additional Resources

For more information about using UDOIT Cloud, see Rice’s UDOIT Training for Instructors.

Back in February, Dr. Amanda Barnett joined me for a co-presentation about Universal Design for Learning in Canvas.

It’s taken a little longer than expected, but we’re happy to announce that the recorded workshop has finally been edited and available to share. The recording includes accurate closed captions, as well as a searchable text transcript.

We start with an overview of UDL and talk about the underlying principles and guidelines. We discuss the overlap between UDL, accessibility, usability, and inclusiveness and demonstrate some practical ways to use the framework of UDL in your online and hybrid courses on Canvas.

Check out the following links to view the recording and access the PowerPoint presentation with several great resource links.
Note, right click the links in the presentation and choose open link, or press command and click to open. Alternatively, download the presentation.

• UDL in Canvas recorded workshop [video, 43:34]
• UDL in Canvas PowerPoint Presentation

Is February too late to make a New Year’s resolution? We don’t think so and we’ve got the perfect idea for you:
Make 2022 the year you commit 2 digital accessibility!
We can help you stick to that resolution with a new series of accessibility workshops throughout the month of February.
We’re even trying something a little different this time.

We’ve organized workshops into four main tracks based on different roles including web content, documents, communications, and teaching. We also have Accessibility Office Hours each Friday at 11 AM. Of course, there’s overlap in all of these areas, so feel free to sign up for any sessions that are relevant to your role.

If you prefer to see all of the training events in a monthly calendar, check out the Canvas Training Center.

Start Here

No matter what your role might be, or what track(s) you choose, everyone can get started by attending one of two workshops to learn some basic accessibility design principles.

How 2 A11y: Basic Accessibility Design Principles

• • Session 1: Wed. 2/02/22 @ 2 PM (closed)

• • Session 2: Tue. 2/22/22 @ 2 PM* (closed)

We also recommend that you attend one of the workshops about the Digital Information Accessibility Policy if you can. Read on for more info about training tracks and signing up for sessions.

* indicates repeated session.

Training Tracks

Web Content Track

• Get to Know Rice’s Digital Accessibility Policy.
  Session 1: Mon. 1/31/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Mon. 2/21/22 @ 10 AM* (closed)
  .
• How 2 A11y: Basic Accessibility Design Principles.
  Session 1: Wed. 2/02/22 @ 2 PM (closed)
• Session 2: Tue. 2/22/22 @ 2 PM* (closed)
  .

• Check Your Website Content for Accessibility.
  Session 1: Tue. 2/01/22 @ 10 AM (closed)
  Session2: Wed. 2/23/22 @ 10 AM* (closed)
  .
• PDF and Acrobat Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 2/08/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  .
• Better Video Captions, Wed. 3/02/22 @ 3 PM.

Documents Track

• Get to Know Rice’s Digital Accessibility Policy.
  Session 1: Mon. 1/31/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Mon. 2/21/22 @ 10 AM* (closed)
  .
• How 2 A11y: Basic Accessibility Design Principles.
  Session 1: Wed. 2/02/22 @ 2 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Tue. 2/22/22 @ 2 PM* (closed)
  .
• Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Essentials, Mon. 2/07/22, 10 AM (closed)
  .
• PDF and Acrobat Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 2/08/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  .
• Microsoft Word Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 2/15/22 @10 AM (closed)
  .
• InDesign Accessibility Essentials, Wed. 2/16/22 @ 3 PM (closed)

Communication Track

• Get to Know Rice’s Digital Accessibility Policy.
  Session 1: Mon. 1/31/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Mon. 2/21/22 @ 10 AM* (closed)
  .
• How 2 A11y: Basic Accessibility Design Principles.
  Session 1: Wed. 2/02/22 @ 2 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Tue. 2/22/22 @ 2 PM* (closed)
  .
• Accessibility Email Marketing, Mon. 2/28/22 @ 3 PM (to be rescheduled)
  .
• Social Media Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 3/01/22 @10 AM.
  .
• Better Video Captions, Wed. 3/02/22 @ 3 PM.

Teaching Track

• Get to Know Rice’s Digital Accessibility Policy.
  Session 1: Mon. 1/31/22 @ 3 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Mon. 2/21/22 @ 10 AM* (closed)
  .
• How 2 A11y: Basic Accessibility Design Principles.
  Session 1: Wed. 2/02/22 @ 2 PM (closed)
  Session 2: Tue. 2/22/22 @ 2 PM* (closed)
  .
• Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Essentials, Mon. 2/07/22, 10 AM (closed)
  .
• PDF and Acrobat Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 2/08/22 @ 3 PM. (closed)
  .
• Universal Design in Canvas, Wed. 2.09, @ 10 AM. (closed)
  .
• Microsoft Word Accessibility Essentials, Tue. 2/15/22 @10 AM (closed)
  .
• Better Video Captions, Wed. 3/02/22 @ 3 PM.

A11y Office Hour at 11 AM

A11y means Accessibility. Join me Fridays between 11 AM and noon to talk about anything related to digital a11y. Sign up for a session.

• Fri. 2/04/22 @ 11 AM (closed)
• Fri. 2/11/22, No session, out for conference.
• Fri. 2/18/22 @ 11 AM
• Fri. 2/25/22 @ 11 AM
• Fri. 3/04/22 @ 11 AM

It’s hard to believe we’re one full month into 2021. How would you qualify that sentence, “only one full month in,” or “already one full month in?” Sometimes, it feels like both.

February may be the shortest month, but we’ve packed it with a really versatile workshop schedule, including sessions on the brand new live caption feature is Zoom. Read more about Zoom live captions.

Each week in February has a kind of theme where most of the Monday and Wednesday sessions are informational and the Friday sessions are hands-on workshops. Week one is an exception though. None of the workshops have any prerequisites, so feel free to sign up for any and all of them.

Take a look at the schedule below and use the links to sign up.

NOTE: All workshops start at 10:00 am and last for one hour.

Week One: Accessibility Essentials

• Mon. 2/01/21 – Intro to Digital Accessibility
• Wed. 2/03/21 – Designing with WCAG
• Fri. 2/05/21 – Better Video Captions

Week Two: PDFs and Adobe Acrobat

• Mon. 2/08/21 – PDF and Acrobat Accessibility Essentials
• Wed. 2/10/21 – PDF Forms and Adobe Sign Accessibility
• Fri. 2/12/21 – Adobe Acrobat Hands-on Workshop

Week Three: Online Courses and Canvas

• Mon. 2/15/21 – Canvas Accessibility Essentials
• Wed. 2/17/21 – Better Video Captions
• Fri. 2/19/21 – UDL in Online Courses Hands-On Workshop 

Week Four: Accessible Document Design

• Mon. 2/22/21 – Microsoft Word Accessibility Essentials
• Wed. 2/24/21 – Microsoft PowerPoint Accessibility Essentials
• Fri. 2/26/21 – Accessible Document Design Hands-On Workshop