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UMOnline is committed to ensuring barrier-free access to online learning for all

UMOnline is committed to ensuring barrier-free access to online learning and UM's learning management system, Canvas. Our team provides support to faculty and staff who develop content within the LMS and any user who encounters a barrier is encouraged to contact our office. We work with vendors to continuously improve the system and welcome your feedback.

Universal design for learning and digital inclusion address a broad range of issues that are focused on making technology available to all people. By emphasizing universal design principles in the development of online, blended and face-to-face course supplements, UMOnline supports the construction of online learning experiences that take into account varying learning preferences and accessibility issues.

Learn more about universal design for learning and digital inclusion in UMOnline's self-enrollable, self-paced . This online course describes what digital accessibility is, why it’s important, where to go for more information, and includes how-to guidelines for accessible design. 

Key considerations in designing an accessible online learning environment are:

• Make sure the course content is well-structured and easy to navigate.
• Take advantage of accessibility features that are built into Canvas (tools for creating tagged headings and lists, quiz time extension options, etc.).
• Ensure hyperlinks make sense out of context. Phrases like "click here" are problematic.
• Caption videos and provide text transcripts for audio content.
• Provide appropriate alternative text for images.
• Summarize information contained in graphs and charts in the narrative body of the page.
• Do not use color alone to convey meaning.
• Ensure accessibility of non-Canvas content (Word, PowerPoint, PDF files). 

Contact Information

The instructional design team can help check course shells for accessibility. Please contact the Instructional Design Team to request a review.