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Accessibility · Canvas content

Use headings and page structure in Canvas

Give every page a predictable outline that works visually and with assistive technology.

Use real headings to create a usable page outline.

Headings are navigation, not decoration. Students using screen readers can move from heading to heading, and everyone benefits from a page that is easy to scan.

Bad: it looks like a heading, but Canvas still sees a paragraph

Canvas format Paragraph ▾ Bold + larger text
Week 3 activities

Read chapter 4 and review the lecture.

Discussion

Post your response by Thursday.

Assignment

Submit the worksheet by Sunday.

What Canvas and a screen reader get: three ordinary paragraphs that only happen to look bigger and bolder. There is no heading structure to navigate.

Good: choose real heading levels in Canvas

For the main section Heading 2 ▾

Week 3 activities

Read chapter 4 and review the lecture.

For subsections Heading 3 ▾

Discussion

Post your response by Thursday.

Assignment

Submit the worksheet by Sunday.

What Canvas and a screen reader get: a Heading 2 with two Heading 3 subsections. Students can move through the page by heading instead of reading every line to find a section.

Start below the Canvas page title.

The Canvas page title functions as the main heading. Major sections in the page body should normally begin with Heading 2.

Apply a heading style in the Rich Content Editor.

Select the section title and use the paragraph/format menu to choose Heading 2, Heading 3, and so on. Do not make a heading by changing only font size, bold, or color.

Rich Content Editor
Paragraph ▾Heading 2Heading 3

Keep the outline logical.

Use Heading 3 underneath a Heading 2. Do not skip directly from Heading 2 to Heading 4 just to get a different visual style.

Run the Canvas Accessibility Checker while you are designing.

The checker is especially useful in the moment: before you leave the Rich Content Editor, it can catch common heading-order and structure problems while the page is still fresh in your mind. Review the Canvas Accessibility Checker rules and instructions, correct the issue, then save the page.