Automated Accessibility Checkers: When and How to Use Them
Video Length
9:06
THE ROLE OF ACCESSIBILITY TOOLS
There are hundreds of accessibility checkers and tools out there, and it can be hard to know which to use, when to use them, and what to do with them.
The most important thing to remember is that accessibility tools are just that: tools. They help you get the job done, but they don't do it for you, and you should be skeptical of anything that tells you otherwise. Accessibility tools are more like a vacuum than a Roomba: you still have to make the decisions and put in the work to make your course accessible.
We cannot check all accessibility aspects automatically. Human judgement is required.
While some accessibility checkers are significantly more accurate than others, no checker will find all accessibility issues. According to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility Links to an external site., the best automated checkers only find 25% of accessibility issues. For example, the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker Links to an external site. (which we'll discuss in a later section), doesn't flag inaccessible hyperlinks, doesn't evaluate the quality of alt text, can't properly identify an inaccessible section header, and more. Every tool has gaps, and it's up to you as the user of these tools to fill in those gaps.
Some accessibility checkers will flag Canvas issues you cannot fix. For example, if you have Announcements at the top of your home page, this could be flagged by checkers because it is an H3 before an H1 (page title). If this happens, feel free to ignore these flags.
That's not to say that accessibility tools don't have a place: they are absolutely helpful when used properly. In the next section, we'll look at our recommendations for tools and how you can use them to make your course more accessible.
OUR RECOMMENDED TOOLKIT
Broadly, we can divide accessibility tools into two categories:
- Automated Accessibility Checkers: These programs may be built into editing software (like the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker), or they may require a separate download like the WAVE Browser Extension Links to an external site.. What checkers have in common is that they are trying to check the entirety of a page for a variety of accessibility issues, including links, section heading, images, videos, and more. The best checkers will not only identify errors, but they will allow you to fix them quickly and easily.
- Accessibility Tools: These programs don't try to "check" the accessibility of your content. Instead, they're designed to help make manual reviews more efficient. For example, the WebAIM Contrast Checker Links to an external site. is a tool that helps you manually check color contrast ratios.
We recommend the following tools for most faculty:
| Tool | Type | Description | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas Accessibility Checker
Links to an external site. |
Automated Checker |
This is built into the Canvas Rich Content Editor and is particularly helpful for working with tables in Canvas. It is also good at finding images with a filename used as the alt text, a common issue in Canvas courses. |
Use it on each Canvas page, assignment, quiz, or discussion board after you have completed the content. If you have any errors that need to be fixed, they will display as a number badge above the icon. |
| Microsoft Word Accessibility Checker
Links to an external site. |
Automated Checker | This is built into Microsoft Word, and it is one of the better automated accessibility checkers. You can also use built-in checkers in other Microsoft Office products Links to an external site.. | Use it before you upload a Word document, such as a syllabus, to your Canvas site. |
| Deque Axe
Links to an external site. |
Automated Checker | Deque Axe includes a free Chrome browser extension that will run an automated accessibility check on your content. This checker is known to be highly accurate and comprehensive, though it is still not a replacement for human judgment on accessibility. | Use it on each Canvas item in your course to supplement the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker. |
| WebAIM Contrast Checker
Links to an external site. |
Tool | This simple checker will let you know whether a pair of colors passes the WCAG standards for color contrast. For more information about this tool, read our page on How to Manually Check Color Contrast. | Use it to verify high color contrast whenever you have colored text or a colored background in your Canvas content. |
| Web Developer Toolbar
Links to an external site. |
Tool | This free browser extension is available in Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. Web Developer Toolbar is especially useful for working with images, as it allows you to display alt text, make images invisible (to evaluate how the page would function without images), outline images without alt text, and more. | Use it on any page in Canvas to check over content, especially images. |
Those who are comfortable with technology may also want to check out the WAVE Browser Extension Links to an external site., as it is extremely robust and thorough. While WAVE is probably the best all-around accessibility checker, it can be a lot to process, especially for those who aren't as familiar with web technologies.