Advice for Accessibility audit across the school

[EWANZ]

Hi everyone,

I've been asked to undertake an accessibility audit across all of our courses and report on how well, or badly, we are supporting students with accessibility needs. 

I know that you can run a 'report' on each page for accessibility but can't find anything which would allow a course by course, (or ideally!) a whole of school report for accessibility standards and support.

If anyone has done something similar in the past or has any ideas I would appreciate any advice on methodology or tools. (even those beyond Canvas)

Thanks

[Chris_Hofer]

@EWANZ ...

Check out UDOIT and Cidiscape from Cidi Labs.  UDOIT scans entire courses, and if you are a Cidi Labs customer, then you can get Cidiscape for free.  Cidiscape is an admin tool that integrates with Canvas, and you can set up "batches" of courses...and it will scan all courses in the "batch" with UDOIT...pretty much exactly what you are looking for.

[John__Lane]

We use Blackboard (Anthology) Ally.  It has an institutional report that Canvas Admins can run.   It's a pretty comprehensive report and can easily be shared with your leadership.  

~JL

[paul_fynn]

We are also on Ally, and whilst we have our grumbles about it it has a lot to recommend it (a current issue is that after where you are rolling over legacy content from A to B and update the imported accessibility in B, when you subsequently roll over to C it reverts to the content version from 'A' - a back to the future problem that needs discussion between Ally and Instructure to sort out).

I've only recently discovered a difference between the Canvas Course level options and the Canvas Sub Account options for Ally. With the latter it is possible to look up a specific course and download a detailed list of all content including accessibility issues - a bit of judicious VLOOKUP in Excel to join the New Analytics report and you can work out whether the affected content is getting any traffic or could just be deleted.

Improvements would be

• ability to delete content with low accessibility score straight from the Ally interface
• deal with the back to the future problem
• allow teachers to download a content listing with accessibility from within their course
• allow admins to download a listing of all files and their accessibility scores at account/sub account level
  • Our most common issues (after properly formatting teacher content are
    • third party content including journal articles loaded as scanned pdfs
    • Speedgrader versions of student work loaded as exemplars without resolving accessibility
    • formulas and architectural content

[LauraF1]

I believe there are four options from third-party vendors:

• YuJa Panorama for Digital Accessibility
• Anthology (Blackboard) Ally
• uDoIt
• Popetech Canvas LMS Accessibility

[arovner]

Hi - We use Blackboard Ally to get an idea of how accessible content is. It's not perfect (and scans old content in a course) but it's a decent starting place. You can run reports by quarter for the whole college and can track trends over time. These are also helpful as you plan your accessibility training goals because it summarizes which areas need the most improvement. Faculty can also run for their own courses and, if your faculty contract/ etc. allows, the Ally Admin can run for specific courses. We recently set up sub accounts in Canvas and are hoping to run reports for Departments or Divisions to bring awareness to needed improvements.

[maccabeejane]

Hello,

I am a student with low vision, and I don't feel supported at all. I have repeatedly faced challenges in accessing necessary information for class. Often, I have been informed that the issues are due to problems on my end, such as my connection, cache, or browser settings. However, I have taken steps to resolve these issues on my own, and the problems persist.

A particularly distressing incident involved a proctoring software made available through Canvas, which disabled my computer’s accessibility tools without warning and without my consent. As a DSPS student with well-documented disabilities, this left me helpless and panicking during a test, unable to see the time as it ticked away.

Despite these challenges, I have maintained an A average in my courses. My vision loss is relatively new and continues to change, making it even more critical for me to have reliable access to accessibility tools and support. These experiences have left me feeling very discouraged, and I am considering leaving school as a result.

Any feedback or advice would be invaluable in understanding why these issues persist and what can be done to prevent such treatment in the future. Kind thanks in advance.

[ipriest]

Hey there - have you connected with your school's disability support services on campus? Typically, they are really good advocates in addressing issues just like this. I'd also recommend connecting with your professor to explain the issues you're having to see if they can come up with an alternative. Those are the two big things I'd suggest.

[maccabeejane]

Hello, I have connected with all. There aren't any "really good advocates in addressing issues just like this" at my school's district which happens to be the biggest in the nation. My professors the ones denying my lawful accommodations are the problem. Please be open minded to students and our unique situations. I would not have posted here if I had not fully exasperated all of my options.

[mtuten]

Hi. I just replied to another of your posts in a separate topic. 

Now that I know more about your situation, I wouldn't recommend sending an email to Canvas support the way I had suggested in the other topic.

As @ipriest suggests, I would recommend that you first contact your instructor, your institution's disability support services, and (I would add) your institution's IT support department. If they cannot produce results and the professor/their department or the IT department does not say that they will work with the proctoring solution on your behalf and you want to pursue this as far as you can, then I would recommend reaching out the the proctoring solution. 

If it is Honorlock, Google for "Honorlock support" to try to access their support website. Once there, look for an email address or else a Contact Us or Help link where you can send concerns. 

If it is ProctorU, same thing.  Google for "ProctorU support" to try to access their support website. Once there, look for an email address or else a Contact Us or Help link where you can send concerns. 

Same thing for pretty much any other proctoring solution.

If you contact them, you will still probably have the best experience if you submit the same sort of information that I listed in my response to your other post.

I hope this helps.

[maccabeejane]

Hi There!

Thank you for your reply and advice. Unfortunately, I have already spoken with all the relevant parties. The software in question was YuJa Verity, accessed through a Chrome extension. Here’s a summary of the responses I received:

YuJa Verity: They instructed me to consult my professor, stating that he controlled the administrator settings.

Professor: He informed me that he couldn’t control the settings and that it was the company’s responsibility. He also mentioned that he had provided me with extra time on the test as an accommodation.

Institution IT Department: Instructed me to speak to Canvas Support.

DSPS Offices: Both my home and sister schools’ DSPS offices have well-documented my disabilities, my deteriorating eyesight, and the tools I need to use. However, they were not helpful.

I explained to my professor that extra time on a test is not an adequate accommodation when the tools I rely on to see are abruptly and without warning disabled. These tools are essential for me and are not meant to be in exchange for more time on tests. Despite informing him and my sister school’s DSPS director about this issue, there was no resolution.

Given that neither my professor nor the DSPS offices were able to assist, I hoped Canvas might listen or care about the practices of their partners, especially since this affects disabled students, particularly those with low vision and blindness. This incident is not isolated; it’s part of a troubling pattern that has significantly impacted my education.

I appreciate any further advice or assistance you can offer.

Thank you.

[mtuten]

That is rough.

Since I have read your response in the other topic as well, I will try to answer both here so that you don't have to navigate the message board as much. As for the readability of this site, are you able to use the Mac's display settings to invert colors to perhaps see better? If you can't, maybe see if there is a browser extension which increases contrast. I'm sure you wouldn't be able to use it during a test, but maybe it can at least help here.

Also, I imagine you know this, but, in your browser, if you hold down the command key as you press the = (which is also the +) key, the text in your browser should get bigger. Holding command as you press - will zoom out. And holding Command as you press 0 will return the page to the original (100%) Zoom level. You can also adjust your Mac's default font size and your browser's default font size. 

In your other response, you mentioned lots of flashing messages. I can't say that I've experienced many of those in Canvas, but I have in Yuja. We do not use Yuja Verity, but we do use one of Yuja's other products. If these alerts are what I think they are, they technically are called Toast Messages (using this term with support centers may produce better results). In our Yuja product, it is possible for individuals to adjust how long those messages stay available.  From what I see in the Yuja Verity Support Center, you might not have that ability. Whether or not the instructor does, I don't know. There is also the possibility that the problem is not in Canvas or Yuja, but rather in another system. Sometimes textbook publishers create tests that can be plugged into Canvas. If your instructor uses those tests, it is possible that the problem is associated with the textbook publisher's product instead.

...I imagine that all of this somewhat-technical information is overwhelming...
Perhaps this metaphor will help with understanding how all the pieces work together. Let's say that you are at a restaurant. This restaurant represents your browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, or Safari). Canvas is your server/waiter and it is their job to present things to you. The quiz is your meal. Your instructor is the chef. The chef decides how much of each ingredient to add to the meal you have selected. These ingredients are the contents of the quiz and the question types (multiple choice, short answer, etc.). The seasonings (salt and/or pepper, let's say) that the chef adds is your proctoring solution: Everything you experience in that meal from that point on will have a salty and/or peppery flavor. The chef also gets to choose the kind of plate the meal is served on. The plate, is the platform where the quiz was created (i.e. Canvas Quiz or the textbook publisher's tool). If you ordered a large piece of lasagna and it is presented on a thin (so leaky), flimsy, paper plate, you will likely have a different eating experience than if it were prepared on a ceramic plate. Canvas then brings all of the chef's decisions (i.e. the meal on a plate) to you for you to consume. The condiments on the table which you may choose to add to your meal are like VoiceOver or your reading tool. All of these moving parts make it easy for something to not work right, and identifying where the problem lies can be interesting.

With regards to the reading tool disabling during an exam and to your answer selections being made incorrectly because you interacted with the question are items where I can't really suggest where the source of the problem may lie. It could be something that is occurring because of the plate/quizzing platform, the seasoning/proctoring solution, or the condiment/reading tool's compatibility with the restaurant/browser. 

The only other thing I can think to recommend to help in your discussions with everyone you have contacted so far as well as the Canvas, Yuja, or other support teams you may contact in the future is to ask your instructor if they help you with the following:

1. Create a Yuja proctored quiz in the same system that they use for other quizzes
2. Make it worth zero points and assign only you to it.
3. Include several question types (multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc.--for best results use the same question types as what is in other quizzes)
4. Let you complete the quiz with the understanding that you or someone helping you will record the whole experience with a cell phone or other device.

You can then use that recording in your discussions. 

I hope this helps.

[maccabeejane]

Hi,

I understand completely how things work and how to work my computer thank you. Inverted colors don’t work for me. I’ve developed a sensitivity to light and certain colors. Usually dark pages help. They help everyone’s eyes. I don’t know why Canvas doesn’t offer it on a desktop.

I worked in a professional industry for years. I realize computer basics isn’t rocket science. Everyone is passing the buck and that is what bothers me.

I can’t navigate anything successfully if Canvas gives school administrators and apps complete control to do as they wish with no regard to our rights or protections under the law.

Afterall, “waiters” check in with guests during the meal because they’re the ones ultimately paying the bill. Customers keep the restaurant in business and the chef employed. The minute something with ‘the customer’s dish’ is not to their liking or specifications, any waiter worth his or her salt fixes it. They don’t blame the chef.

Canvas has legal and ethical responsibilities and shouldn’t be compared to something as basic and straight-forward as food service. You needn’t make explanations rudimentary for my benefit.

My institution, various apps on this platform and the platform itself have let me down. I’m sure I’m not the only one. What’s happened to me has been egregious to say the least.

Administrators seem unwilling, unable or don’t know how to administer exams and quizzes on the platform because many lack the expertise or at least they say they do when caught. Apparently, they never bother to find out beforehand and Canvas is fine with it. However, students are traumatized, and we suffer. That’s not fair, nor is it lawful, or ethical.

I think at this point if I stay, I will have to let it be known what YuJa Verity did to me. No person or company can expound academic integrity when the disabled are stripped of our tools, lawful accommodations (in this case my eyes) without warning or consent. They were completely unapologetic. What’s next electric wheelchairs because they’re computerized and there might be an incident of cheating? It’s common fact these types of software hurt disabled students and other marginalized communities the most. I'm afraid there won’t be a next time for me.

Thank you again for your time and advice. It's appreciated 🙂

[paul_fynn]

Hi @maccabeejane ,

As a learning technologist I'm really disappointed to hear of your experience, and can't imagine how difficult all this must be for you - I have sent a private message through to you if you wish to reply offline.

My immediate and most practical suggestion is that you go back to your DSPS Director and request that for all online tests/quizzes they agree and arrange in-test support by providing a reader and scribe, both of which are established and commonly applied in education for students who cannot otherwise take tests on an equal footing. In UK terms this would be a way to meet the legal requirement for 'Reasonable Adjustments'.

• Depending on institutional policy and agreement this supporter might be a professional from the DSPS team, a student from another discipline, or someone who is in the same accommodation as you - ideally they should already be familiar with the test technology/environment

• With experience from Covid it is now entirely possible for that support to be delivered remotely with an appropriate video conferencing tool (eg Teams) through which an online support person can read and enter the answers as you instruct them

• In terms of the assessments that have already passed, where you feel that you have been disadvantaged by the form of assessment, please do seek redress under your institutional appeals processes. Again you should be able to get support for this from your DSPS, your student services function, or your student union/association

Please do persevere, not just for yourself but also to improve things for other students ...

[maccabeejane]

Hi Paul, 

Do you mean a notetaker? I asked about one for a statistics class I was taking but I was told this wasn't available. I also asked for legible learning materials but I wasn't given that either. Unfortunately my institution's DSPS office hasn't been very helpful or supportive.

This is extremely tuff. I appreciate your kind words of encouragement.

[cms_hickss]

I can highly recommend UDOIT (now available through Cidilabs and on GitHub) which stands for Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool, but UCF is also the university that built the tool so I might be a little bias 🙂

However, I can offer you the following two pages that might also help you with a plan on how to get started and give you guides with how UCF approached this topic:

• https://cdl.ucf.edu/teach/accessibility/
• https://cdl.ucf.edu/teach/accessibility/udoit/

And just to toss it out here, here's the blog post from one of the UDOIT creators: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Accessibility/UDOIT-Information/ba-p/242723

[asaylor]

So, I would love to do this with just the standard Canvas settings, but I think you will have to add something like Ally or YuJa Panorama or a new one I just learned about SensusAccess. Some schools also use products like site improve. I like the first ones I mentioned because they are added into Canvas, and I believe in Ally and YuJa, there are faculty notices and admin reports that can be pulled (I am not familiar enough with the others). They all cost money, though, so I am unsure if that is within your budget.

Someone else might have thoughts, but I saw no one had gotten back to you, so I wanted to tell you what I have learned.

Anne