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I'm just starting to review and remediate a course for the first time. What should I do first?
It depends on how you want to prioritize your remediation efforts. Do you want to focus on the material that students are most likely to see soon, or do you want to focus on materials that have the lowest accessibility scores/most issues (keep in mind, those materials might be unpublished)? For your very first step, there are 2 options:
- View Accessibility Course Report. Do this if you want a big-picture overview of the course as a whole. See the overall accessibility score for the whole course, and sort all files/course materials in order of score or sort by issue type. This can allow you see which files have the lowest scores and/or tackle the most serious issues first. To find reports, Click on "Panorama" in the Canvas Course Navigation. Then, in the Panorama frame, click on "Reports". Don't see Panorama in Course Navigation? You may need to enable it (see How do I manage Course Navigation links?)
- Use Accessibility Icons to Check and Remediate Content in Place: Go straight to the content that is most visible to students: either Modules, or the index pages for Files, Pages, Assignments, etc. You will see icons indicating High, Medium and Low accessibility scores. Click on the icon to see the score for that document and begin remediating issues. This option will allow to focus on the course content that is most visible and most pressing for students (course material being covered right now, assignments due soon).
What types of course materials in Canvas can be checked for accessibility?
Panorama can check materials created in Canvas (Pages, Assignments, Discussion Boards, etc) and files uploaded to Canvas. Currently, Panorama checks for PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, PPT, PPTX, ODP, HTML, XLSX, XLS, ODS, and GIF file types.
Panorama does not check Canvas Quizzes, External Tool content or the content on external websites that are linked from Canvas. As such, it will not check the accessibility of files linked via Google Docs or MS OneDrive, only files that are actually uploaded to the course.
What issues can be remediated in Panorama?
Using Panorama, users can perform inline remediation for materials created in Canvas (again, with the exception of Quizzes) and for some, but not all, issues in files. An example of a minor issue that cannot be remediated within Panorama is: a table in a Microsoft Word document does not have a caption. Because this change would require adding/editing actual content of the document, rather than just properties, the user would be required to open the application (Microsoft Word), make the change there, and then upload the new version. However, because this is a minor issue, if the user just ignored the issue, they could still have a very high accessibility score.
Some issues may not require any changes, just a manual check, particularly "Reading Order" in PDFs and PPTs. That manual check of the reading order cannot be done within Panorama. The user must open the application, perform the check there, and, if necessary, make changes and upload the new version.
For all issues, Panorama provides a detailed explanation of how to remediate the issue within the relevant application (click "Learn More" to see that)
For a full list of accessibility issues, see Accessibility Issues That Can Be Resolved With Panorama
What accessibility score should I be trying to achieve?
Rather than aiming for a specific numerical "passing grade," we encourage faculty to focus on continuous improvement and the usability of their course materials. Tools like Panorama are excellent at catching technical errors (like missing Alt-text), but they cannot always detect nuances like whether a description is actually helpful or if a heading structure follows a logical flow. For example, a complex STEM diagram might have a slightly lower "score" due to its complexity, but if it has a high-quality long-form description, it is more accessible than a "simple" image with a 100% score and a vague description.
Focus your efforts on high-impact fixes first. Our goal is to eliminate barriers to learning. Moving a document from a "Red" or "Orange" status to a "Green" status represents a significant win for student equity.
Can I disable alternative formats for my course content?
As an instructor, you cannot change Panorama settings within your course, including the availability of alternative formats for learners. If you require any changes to the availability of alternative formats in your course, reach out to the Education Technology Office by submitting a service request or emailing eto@framingham.edu
How do I get support for Panorama?
In Panorama (either inside Canvas) or at framingham.panorama.yuja.com, click on your profile picture/icon in the top right corner (likely a letter). Select "support" from the drop-down menu. You will have access to support via phone, live chat, email and more. Or visit https://support.yuja.com/. When communicating with support, make sure you mention that you are using Panorama for Canvas LMS, not any of the other products Yuja offers.