Welcome, accessibility warriors! 

We are lightly theming our initiative after Stranger Things, the Netflix series set in the 80’s and whose Season 5 is set to premier in late November. So you will be seeing a few references to the series, but nothing to get in the way of you learning about accessibility and what it looks like in your courses.

From now until September 8, we will prepare for our battle with the Accessibility Upside Down by getting to know our Canvas accessibility tools: Panorama and UDOIT3. 

Your Mission: Enable our battle tools, Panorama and UDOIT3, then explore the tools and note any questions that come up for you.

Our first accessibility tool is Panorama. Like Joyce’s communication Christmas lights, this tool is fun and flashy, and easy to use. 

Get Started with Panorama:

1. Colorful accessibility icons appeared in your course during the Week of Celebration and learning.

2. To access more Panorama features (and make more options available to students), enable Panorama in Course settings. Click “Settings.” Click ‘Navigation,’ then find Panorama at the bottom of the disabled app list. Click the ‘kabob’ (three vertical dots) and select ‘Enable.’ Click ‘Save’ at the bottom of this page.

Explore Panorama:

1. Clicking on an accessibility icon in your course will open the accessibility report for that item of content. From this page, you can review accessibility issues, learn about those issues, and repair them with Panorama’s guidance. Enjoy celebratory confetti when all the issues for that item are resolved!
2. Clicking the Panorama link in Canvas course navigation will take you to the instructor’s accessibility dashboard. The Panorama dashboard offers several key features: Reporting & Analytics will show you your progress as you make your content accessible.
3. Students always see the standard blue icon, while instructors see the color-coded accessibility scores. When students click on the small blue human icon, they will have alternative options for engaging with the text on that page.

Our second Canvas accessibility tool is UDOIT3. 

Much like Joyce’s axe lacks the flair of her Christmas lights, UDOIT isn’t flashy, but it is thorough. UDOIT will take us to deeper corners of the course to root out accessibility issues.

Get Started with UDOIT:

1. Enable UDOIT3: From within your Canvas course shell, click “Settings.” Click ‘Navigation,’ then find UDOIT 3 at the bottom of the disabled app list. Click the ‘kabob’ (three vertical dots) and select ‘Enable.’ Click ‘Save’ at the bottom of this page. Students will not see the UDOIT3 tab or anything related to UDOIT3.
2. Next, from the Canvas Home Page, click the UDOIT3 link. This will allow the tool to scan your course. UDOIT3 will return a list of accessibility errors as well as a list of best practice suggestions. Yes, it will likely return hundreds of errors. Don’t panic!
3. From the UDOIT3 dashboard, UDOIT3 will assist you in repairing accessibility roadblocks in your course.
4. One way that UDOIT3 is easier to use than Panorama is that it offers you several ways to sort the issues found in your course. You can choose to focus on just issues within announcements, or visual impact issues, or even just alt text errors.
5. You’ll notice the list of accessibility errors decrease with each scan. UDOIT3 doesn’t offer you confetti, but let Lisa and Beth know when you are done. We are happy to stop by your office to throw some confetti on you.

Support: You aren’t alone as you prepare for battle! Please join us for workshops introducing you to these tools this Thursday, August 28, at 1:30-2:00 PM, and Friday, August 29, from 9:00-9:30. Visit GCCAZ CTLE’s Events and Calendar page to register for these workshops. Check your email for the link to Accessibility Support Hours or reach out to the CTLE.

Watch for your next battle assignment on September 8!