Strategies
Related Guidelines1: WCAG 2.2.1, WCAG 2.2.3, WCAG 3.1.3, WCAG 3.1.4, WCAG 3.1.6, WCAG 3.2.3, WCAG 3.3.2
When developing assignments, it can be helpful to keep accessibility in mind from the beginning. Here are a few key areas to focus on to help make your assignments more accessible to all learners.
Setting up an Assignment
From an accessibility standpoint, clarity is key. Here are a few steps you can take make your Canvas Assignments more accessible:
- Include clearly established due dates and times: Edit Due and Availability Dates.
- Set up specific dates and times for any students that need accommodations: How do I assign an assignment to an individual student?
- Remember that examples work to your advantage. For instance, when requiring students to fill out or structure an assignment in a specific format, it’s often helpful to include an example document that demonstrates that assignment goal.
- Example: When asking students working on a research paper for their rough draft of a Chicago writing style works cited, provide an example of a properly formatted Chicago style works cited in the instructions.
Instructions and Guidelines
Clarity is also important when giving directions. Here are a few things you can do to minimize confusion when writing instructions and guidelines for your assignments:
- When possible, use succinct and unambiguous/literal language.
- Tools such as Hemingway Editor can help.
- Try to use consistent titles and names for assignments and course materials.
- Example: If you refer to an assignment as the “Article 3 Discussion” in the syllabus document, make sure to title it as “Article 3 Discussion” in the Canvas Assignment.
- When possible, avoid using only colors to distinguish between different elements when giving instructions.
- Example: Instead of writing “click the blue button”, you can write “click the submit button” or even “click the blue submit button”.
- Try to use consistent formatting for assignment instructions.
Tips
Set up the Gradebook Before the Semester Begins
You may be familiar with the expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When it comes to Canvas Gradebook, prevention is key to both clear communication with students and avoiding technical headaches.
Here’s what you can do: Before the semester starts, verify that the Gradebook in Canvas reflects the grading policy and assignments outlined in the syllabus and your grading preferences. For details, visit Getting Started in the Gradebook.
We recommend this approach because making major structural changes to the Gradebook after students are already enrolled in the course can not only confuse learners, but also cause technical issues that are time-consuming for instructors to fix.
Tip: If you’re not sure if your Gradebook is set up correctly, schedule a consultation at canvas@cornell.edu.
Create Flexible Assignments
Another way to create more inclusive assignments is to build in flexibility and offer alternatives. For example, an instructor could offer students one or more of the following assignment options:
- Choice of formats (e.g., a choice of a paper, presentation or video.).
- Ability to collaborate (e.g., allow learners to work in a group or solo).
- Choice of topics (e.g., learners can choose a topic within the scope of the course that is relevant to their own interests, goals and/or experiences).
- Different question banks (e.g., learners can choose question banks based on different topics).
- Grading flexibility (e.g., out of a series of ten assignments, learners can drop the lowest score).
For more information about the benefits and application of this teaching approach, visit Universal Design for Learning.
Context
Who benefits from these strategies?
While making sure that assignments are set up correctly and have clear instructions minimizes questions and confusion for all learners, remember that one or more of these steps may be required for those who:
- Require a consistent and straightforward layout: Cognitive, Learning, and Neurological Disabilities.
- Have a memory barrier.
- Have difficulty decoding uncommon words and phrases.
- Struggle with nonliteral word usage.
- Have difficulty maintaining focus and/or increased chance of getting distracted.
- Are English language learners.
These are just a few examples where individuals may benefit from these strategies – there are many more.