Accessible Canvas for Students
Canvas provides various accessibility features for all users. Let’s find out what features are available to you.
Immersive Reader
Microsoft Immersive Reader in Canvas is a tool that enhances reading comprehension by offering text-to-speech, translation, and text customization (font size, spacing, colors) on Canvas pages and assignments.
Key Features of Canvas Immersive Reader
- Read Aloud: Reads text aloud with highlighting and allows for speed/voice changes.
- Text Options: Change font size, text spacing, font style, and background color (including dark mode).
- Grammar Options: Breaks words into syllables and highlights parts of speech like nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
- Reading Preferences: Focus on 1, 3, or 5 lines, and offers a picture dictionary for word visual aids.
- Translation: Translates text into over 60 languages.
How to Use it
- Locate Button: Click the Immersive Reader button in the top right corner of a Canvas Page, Syllabus, or Assignment.
- Audio Settings: Click the Play button to listen, or use voice settings for speed adjustments.
- Exit: Select the exit button to return to the normal Canvas
Limitations
- It works best on web browsers and is generally not supported in the mobile Canvas app.
- It is not available for Quizzes, Discussions, or file previews (PDFs).
Keyboard Navigation and Screen Readers
Canvas offers keyboard shorts for faster navigation and compatibility with screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver.
- View All Shortcuts: Press Shift + ? to display a menu of available keyboard shortcuts on most Canvas pages.
- Rich Content Editor: Use Alt + F9 to open the editor menu bar, Alt + F10 to open the toolbar, and Esc to close.
- Navigation & Modules: Use J to move to the next item and K to go to the previous item, E to edit, and Shift + Enter to navigate through items.
- Move-to Option: Available in Modules, Assignments, and Discussions for reordering components.
User Interface Customization High Contrast Settings
Under user settings, you can enable a High Contrast UI feature to enhance accessibility for better visibility for users with low vision or light sensitivity and Underline Links to make navigation easier. This setting increases the color contrast of text, buttons, and interface elements, making them easier to identify. It is enabled via Account > Settings > Feature Options.