Accessible bCourses Sites

Ally is a built-in accessibility tool within bCourses designed to help instructors create more inclusive and accessible courses. It supports both instructors and students by providing actionable feedback and alternative formats of course materials.

How Ally Helps Instructors:

• Course Accessibility Report: Ally also offers a comprehensive Course Accessibility Report(link is external), summarizing the overall accessibility of your course materials. This feature is enabled by default in bCourses. Ally’s course accessibility report includes Overview and Content tabs so that you can get the big picture as well as specific details about the accessibility of your digital course content. 
  • The Overview tab shows the accessibility score for the course, course content grouped by content type, and a list of all issues identified in the course.
  • The Content tab shows you the content with accessibility issues. 

Start with the Course Accessibility Report to prioritize fixes, then re-run the report to confirm improvements (Diagnose → Fix → Confirm).

• Accessibility Scores (Gauges): Ally assigns accessibility scores to uploaded files using colored gauge icons next to each document. (These are the accessibility score indicators, the round color “dials” that appear next to files in Files and Modules. The Pages list itself doesn’t show file gauges; to review Pages, use the Course Accessibility Report.) Scores range from red (low accessibility) to dark green (high accessibility). Clicking the gauge icon opens a detailed feedback panel that highlights specific accessibility issues and offers step-by-step suggestions for remediation. (Note: Ally shows scores for student-facing files;typically files linked in Modules. Files sitting in Files but not linked may not display a gauge.) Watch the tutorial for instructors using bCourses(link is external) to learn about this feature. 
  
  
• WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) Instructor Feedback Tool: When editing bCourses content created with the Rich Content Editor (Pages, Assignments, Discussions), Ally provides real-time, contextualized feedback through an accessibility score indicator in the editor’s toolbar(in bCourses, this appears toward the top-right of the editor). Clicking this icon gives immediate guidance for improving the accessibility of specific page elements, and the score updates in real time as you fix issues. Read Ally WYSIWYG Instructor Feedback Tool(link is external) to learn more.

How Ally Benefits Students:

Ally automatically generates alternative formats of your course materials, enabling students to select the formats best suited to their learning preferences and needs. Watch the tutorial on Ally for students at UC Berkeley(link is external) to learn about this feature. Available formats include:

• Tagged PDF (for screen readers)
• HTML (mobile-friendly)
• MP3 audio files (for listening)
• Electronic Braille
• ePub (for e-book readers and tablets)
• Translated versions (machine translations of documents

For any Ally-related questions, you can receive customized assistance by emailing  allyhelp@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) or by scheduling a 1:1 consultation.

Once Ally surfaces accessibility issues, unpublish/delete what you can’t fix or don’t need, and move the rest to a private project site.

• Unpublish items (Pages, Files, Assignments, Quizzes, Modules) so it's hidden from students but retained for future editing. In Pages, click View All Pages to access publish/unpublish.
• Delete an item if it's no longer needed or has been replaced. For guidance on removing specific types of content in bCourses, consult the Canvas instructions for each content category:
  • Delete Announcements(link is external)
  • Delete Assignments(link is external)
  • Delete Discussions(link is external)
  • Delete Files(link is external)
  • Delete Pages(link is external)
  • Delete Quizzes(link is external)
• Move outdated resources to a private sandbox (project) site for safe storage and future updates. To do so, consider creating a bCourses project site–a private bCourses space that you control.
  • Create a project site(link is external)using your CalNet login.
  • Once your site is created, follow these steps to import course content(link is external) from a past bCourses course into your new project site.
  • This project site can serve as your personal space; a place to organize, revise, and reuse your teaching materials anytime.
• For a new term, import only the items you will reuse, rather than copying ‘All Content’. Use Import Course Content → Copy a Canvas Course → Select specific content(link is external).

In bCourses, almost everything you write for students–Pages, Assignments, Discussions, Quiz instructions, the Syllabus–uses the Rich Content Editor (RCE). The RCE is where headings, lists, links, images, etc. live and it’s also where bCourses provides built-in accessibility checks.

1. Use built-in headings

When you create or edit a Page or Assignment:

1. ClickEditto open the Rich Content Editor.

2. Use theparagraph style menu(often labeled “Paragraph”) to apply headings:

   • Heading 2 for the main section titles on the page (since the highest customizable level is H2. bCourses automatically assigns titles an H1.).

   • Heading 3 (and 4, if needed) for subsections.

Avoid making headings by justbolding or enlarging text; screen readers won’t recognize those as real headings. Using Canvas headings allows students to jump through the page by heading, which is especially important for screen-reader users. Make sure to use headings in order. In other words, don’t skip from Header 2 to Header 4. Break long pages into short sections (e.g.,Overview,Objectives,Instructions,Due Date & Grading). One heading for every few paragraphs keeps things scannable.

2. Use built-in bulleted and numbered lists

Use thebulleted or numbered list buttonsin the RCE, instead of typing hyphens or numbers by hand. This ensures each item is announced clearly by screen readers and helps students visually scan instructions.

3. Add images with alt-text

When you insert an image, diagrams, or icons into a page or assignment:

• UseInsert → Image, or the image icon in the RCE.
• In the image’s Attributes or Alt textfield, briefly describe what’s important about the image.

• If the image is purely decorative, mark it as Decorative

• If the image contains text, include that text in the surrounding content.

• If the image is complex (e.g., infographic), summarize key points in the text and use alt text to point students to the summary.

4. Use meaningful hyperlinks

When you link to a file, activity, or website from a bCourses page or assignment:

1. Highlight meaningful text (e.g.,“Week 3 Reading: Smith (2020)”).

2. Use the Link tools in the RCE (Course Links or External Link).

Avoid link text like “click here,” “read more,” or bare URLs. Descriptive links help all students scan the page, and they let screen-reader users navigate from link to link and still know what each one does.

5. Math notation

Canvas includes a built-in tool for writing math and science expressions that uses LaTeX. This Math Editor is available directly inside the RCE. To open the Math Editor from the RCE menubar, click the Insert, then select the Equation option. 

You can use the Math Editor for anything from simple equations to more complex notation in upper-division or graduate-level classes. Both instructors and students can access this editor when creating content. For more details, see the Canvas Guides on using the Math Editor.

To display characters like#,$,%,&,^,,{, and}inside an equation, you’ll need to useAdvanced Viewand place a backslash (\) in front of the character. For example, type\%to show%.

• The tilde (~) can be added by typing\~~in Advanced View.

• To show a dollar sign in Basic View, type\$$.

When you open the equation editor, you’ll see a window where you can either build notation with buttons or switch to Advanced View to write or paste LaTeX code directly.

6. Use accessible text styling and color

Canvas allows you to format text, but keep it simple. In the RCE:

• Use bCourses default font.

• Ensure strong color contrast (dark text on a light background).

• Don’t use color alone to convey meaning.

• Avoid background colors behind large text blocks.Use Accessible Text Styling and Color

7. Run Ally WYSIWYG tool (bCourses accessibility checker mentioned above in the first section) before publishing

Look for the icon of aperson inside a circle. If there’s a number next to it, Canvas found issues. The checker helps you quickly fix:

• missing alt text

• heading order problems

• color contrast issues

• missing labels on links or media

The Course Navigation Menu is a series of links on the left side of your course that help you and your students access different course areas. As an instructor, you can control which links appear in Course Navigation. bCourses includes a set of default Course Navigation links that are shown by default. You can adjust the navigation menu(link is external) by disabling unnecessary links and moving frequently used ones to the top. This ensures students can quickly find what they need, improving accessibility and reducing confusion.

A well-organized Canvas course improves both accessibility and usability for all students. Clear structure and consistent design help students find what they need without confusion or unnecessary clicks.

• Use Modules to Structure Content: The Modules(link is external) feature allows you to organize your course materials in a logical sequence—by week, unit, or theme. Students can move through content using the “Next” button at the bottom of each page, making the experience smooth and predictable.
• Use Descriptive Titles for Pages and Modules: Each page, assignment, and module should have a clear, specific title (e.g., “Module 2: Introduction to Photosynthesis” rather than just “Module 2”). This makes it easier for students to identify what each item contains at a glance.
• Apply Consistent Naming Across the Course: Use the same terms or titles for files and resources throughout your syllabus, modules, and assignments. This consistency reduces confusion and helps students stay oriented.