{"id":2176,"date":"2024-11-14T18:25:20","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T18:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/?p=2176"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:24:09","slug":"using-the-designplus-sidebar-to-check-for-accessibility-in-your-canvas-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/using-the-designplus-sidebar-to-check-for-accessibility-in-your-canvas-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the DesignPLUS Sidebar to Check for Accessibility in Your Canvas Course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The DesignPLUS sidebar includes an accessibility checker to ensure that your course pages meet accessibility standards. The accessibility checker analyzes the page you are editing in real-time, and it provides feedback and suggestions on how to correct any issues that it finds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ET+I team at CCS recommends try this tutorial in your Canvas &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course. Once you are comfortable using the accessibility checker in your &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course, you can begin using it in your semester course(s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your Canvas &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course typically has a course name of <strong>[YourFirstName]&#8217;s Sandbox<\/strong>. You may need to go to your <strong>Courses<\/strong> &gt;&gt; <strong>All Courses<\/strong> screen in Canvas to locate this &#8220;sandbox&#8221;.  Your &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course is available for you to try out things in Canvas before you implement them in your semester course(s). No CCS students are added to &#8220;sandbox&#8221; courses in Canvas.  However, a dummy student account, &#8220;Alfred Student&#8221;, is added to each &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-advgb-infobox advgb-infobox-wrapper has-text-align-left advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd\"><div class=\"advgb-infobox-wrap\"><div class=\"advgb-infobox-icon-container\"><div class=\"advgb-infobox-icon-inner-container\"><i class=\"material-icons-outlined\">info<\/i><\/div><\/div><div class=\"advgb-infobox-textcontent\"><h3 class=\"advgb-infobox-title\">DesignPLUS vs. UDOIT Accessibility Checkers<\/h3><p class=\"advgb-infobox-text\">Unlike the <a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/the-udoit-accessibility-checker\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2203\">U<strong>DO<\/strong>IT accessibility checker<\/a>, the DesignPLUS accessibility checker only checks the current page you are editing.  U<strong>DO<\/strong>IT, on the other hand, can scan an entire course for accessibility concerns and provide assistance to correct any issues it finds.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In your &#8220;sandbox&#8221; course, create a new, blank Canvas page.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.instructure.com\/en\/kb\/articles\/660947-how-do-i-create-a-new-page-in-a-course\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Instructor-Guide\/How-do-I-create-a-new-page-in-a-course\/ta-p\/1031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How do I create a new page in a course?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on the \u270f\ufe0f <strong>Edit<\/strong> button at the top right-hand corner of the screen.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on the \ud83d\ude80 rocket ship icon at the top right-hand corner of your screen to open the DesignPLUS sidebar.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut <strong>Alt\/Option<\/strong> + <strong>Shift<\/strong> + <strong>D<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Follow along with this video tutorial from Cidi Labs to learn more about making your course content accessible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"vidyard_iframe\" title=\"DesignPLUS Sidebar: Accessibility &#038; Usability\" src=\"\/\/play.vidyard.com\/JUQuTySAMK8WXcDEb3dNXR.html?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<style class=\"advgb-styles-renderer\">#advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd, .advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd {background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 20px 20px 20px 20px;border: 0px solid #e8e8e8 ;border-radius: 0px;}#advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-icon-container, .advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-icon-container {background-color: #f5f5f5;padding: 0;margin: 0;border: 0px solid #e8e8e8 ;border-radius: 0px;}#advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-icon-container i, .advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-icon-container i {color: #251c5c;font-size: 70px;display: block;}#advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-textcontent .advgb-infobox-title, .advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-textcontent .advgb-infobox-title {color: #333;padding: 0;margin: 5px 0 10px 0;white-space: pre-wrap;}#advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-textcontent .advgb-infobox-text, .advgb-infobox-95b667ee-3584-409f-9951-30acc64d90dd .advgb-infobox-textcontent .advgb-infobox-text {color: #333;padding: 0;margin: 0;white-space: pre-wrap;}<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The DesignPLUS sidebar includes an accessibility checker to ensure that your course pages meet accessibility standards. The accessibility checker analyzes the page you are editing in real-time, and it provides feedback and suggestions on how to correct any issues that it finds. The ET+I team at CCS recommends try this tutorial in your Canvas &#8220;sandbox&#8221; &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/using-the-designplus-sidebar-to-check-for-accessibility-in-your-canvas-course\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Using the DesignPLUS Sidebar to Check for Accessibility in Your Canvas Course&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,244],"tags":[311,38,242,122,121,310],"class_list":["post-2176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-canvas","category-cidi-labs","tag-accessibility","tag-canvas","tag-check","tag-checker","tag-designplus","tag-sidebar"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Chris Hofer","author_link":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/author\/chofer\/"},"featured_img":null,"coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/canvas\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Canvas<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Cidi Labs<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Canvas<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Cidi Labs<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">accessibility<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Canvas<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Check<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Checker<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">DesignPLUS<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/category\/cidi-labs\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">sidebar<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">accessibility<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Canvas<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Check<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Checker<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">DesignPLUS<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">sidebar<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 2 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 14, 2024","modified":"Updated on February 19, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 14, 2024 6:25 pm","modified":"Updated on February 19, 2026 9:24 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2176"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6572,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions\/6572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu\/ed-tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}