Overview

You can run the Pope Tech Accessibility Checker from the bottom of any page in Canvas. The button appears below the Rich Content Editor, next to the Cancel and Save buttons:

pope tech button

The checker will slide out on the right, and notify you of errors and alerts.

pope tech checker on the right

Errors & Alerts

- - Errors are issues that the checker has caught, that should be fixed.
  - Alerts draw your attention to items that need to be checked by a human.
    - Because the Pope Tech Checker cannot verify whether or not these areas have been updated to accessibility standards, the alerts do not disappear after you fix the issues. The artificial intelligence simply isn't at that level of capability.
    - They exist simply to draw your attention to areas that need your human input, and you can use the educational information inside the checker to ensure you take the correct steps.

You can continue adding and adjusting content while you have the checker open, but if you add new contnet, you'll want to click the "Rescan" button for an updated list.

Hands-On Help

What makes the Pope Tech Checker special is that it will help you understand what you need to do for any error it catches.

Not sure what's expected of you? Simply click the Question Mark icon within any section to learn more!

question mark icon

Checking Images

The Pope Tech Checker will help you catch images that do not have proper alt text. It also allows you to quickly review and adjust the alt text for all images on your page.

alt text box and apply button

See our resources on image accessibility:

- - 🎬 Accessibility: Images & Alt Text
  - Providing Alt Tags for Images

Checking Links

The Checker also looks for links that are not properly titled, so you can name them more meaningfully. You can do this easily from within the Checker:

link text and apply button

See our resources on link accessibility:

- - 🎬 Accessibility: Links
  - Naming URLs/Links Meaningfully

Checking Text and Contrast

The Checker will ensure that your color contrast is acceptable. If there's a problem, you can use the options in the Checker to pick a different color, or adjust the lightness/darkness, until the color contrast is correct.

color contrast toggles and apply button

See our resource on color contrast:

- - 🎬 Accessibility: Fonts & Colors

Checking Headers / Headings

It can get tricky to manage the proper organization and hierarchy of Headers on a page. The Pope Tech Cheker will provide an outline view of all your Headings, and allow you to make adjustments quickly and easily.

header outline and apply button

See our resource on headers for accessibility:

- - 🎬 Accessibility: Headers
  - Using Header Styles in the Rich Content Editor
  - Header Hierarchy Example (This is Header 1)

Checking Tables

The Pope Tech Checker will identify tables that do not have appropriate captions and header columns/rows, for your review.

table headers and caption and the apply button

See this resource on accessibility for tables:

- - Web Accessibility Tutorials: Tables Concepts

Checking Lists

To be accessible, lists must be created with the List tool in Canvas, rather than by typing numbers (1), asterisks (*) or dashes (-).

The Checker will flag lists created in this way for your review. It will locate them on the page, and give you the option to convert them into true lists.

incorrect list and buttons to fix it to unordered or ordered list

See our resource on lists for accessibility:

- - 🎬 Accessibility: Lists

Checking Documents and Videos

This section covers items that need human wisdom, so you will see these alerts regardless of how many times you run the scan and update your content.

Remember, as I mentioned in the Overview, artificial intelligence is limited. It can detect that documents and videos are present, but it cannot do the necessary checking to ensure they are accessible. Instead, it just alerts you, the human, to the fact that you have items that may (or may not!) need your attention.

Luckily, the Pope Tech Checker does a great job of providing the information you'll need to know to make your content accessible!

Multiple Results in a Single Category

If the Pope Tech Checker catches two images without alt text (for example), it will provide you little buttons to switch between the items it found.

You will type the alternative text (for the image previewed) and click "Apply." That first red icon will disappear from the display, and you will move on to the next one.

Or, you can choose to navigate through the different items by clicking on the icons themselves:

multiple icons to select from

Saving Your Work

Your changes will be applied in the Rich Content Editor each time you click the "Apply" button in the Checker.

But just like with any content in Canvas, you'll need to click the Save button to confirm your changes and present them to your students.

Once you've fixed all your errors and checked all your alerts, click the "X" button in the upper right of the checker:

close button

Then, click the "Save" button at the bottom right of the Canvas page:

save button