Fixing Accessibility Errors - Tables with Blank Cells

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CrystalD2
Community Member

In reviewing the accessibility of Canvas assignments for courses designed by other instructors, I noticed that many teachers are using partially completed tables as a way of presenting a student assignment with the blank cells indicating the information students need to provide. For example (see image), the purpose of the task is to have students explain the meaning of vocabulary in context. The cells in the first column include the vocabulary in context and a second blank column is to indicate that students need to analyze the meaning of the word in the given context. I am guessing the reason the teacher designed this assignment using a table is because they wanted to provide an example answer in the second column. The submission requirement is a file upload. 1) Is using tables in this manner the best/most accessible way to design this type of assignment in Canvas? 2) Is there a more accessible way to format this assignment type without using tables?

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ProfessorBeyrer
Community Coach
Community Coach

Thank you @CrystalD2 for providing that screenshot. One helpful option from both an accessibility perspective and to make assignment collection easier is to link a file from the assignment. I do this for my writing assignments, where the Canvas assignment instructions include a link to a read-only Google Doc that I ask students to download and then submit either as an MS Word or PDF file. It would work just as well with an MS Word file linked from the assignment instructions.

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