Skip to main content

Accessible online courses: what content creators can fix

· Khushwant Parihar

After auditing many courses across learning platforms like Canvas, Moodle and Blackboard, one pattern stands out: the platform is rarely the main problem. Most accessibility barriers come from course content, and most of them take minutes to fix.

A note on scope: these are the patterns we have observed most often in our own course audits, not a complete rulebook. LMS platforms and authoring tools ship updates regularly, and new platforms keep arriving, so who fixes what can shift. A platform bug may be fixed in the next release, or a new editor may let creators fix something that used to need a developer. Check your platform's latest release notes and accessibility documentation alongside this guide.

What most courses already get right

A modern LMS gives creators a solid base. In course after course, these usually pass:

  • Readable text. Default body text and headings have enough contrast.
  • Keyboard access. Standard pages, links and buttons work without a mouse.
  • Visible focus. Students can see where they are when tabbing.
  • Zoom. Pages built in the LMS editor reflow at 200% zoom.

Problems creep in with what gets added on top: interactive widgets, custom styling, embedded tools and instructions written for sighted mouse users.

Seven things content creators can fix

These are the issues we find most often, in roughly that order. Each one is in the creator's hands, not the platform's.

  • Buttons and icons with no real name

    Why it matters
    Screen readers announce "button", "image" or a file name like "flip.png"
    How to fix it
    Give every control a text label that says what it does

  • Instructions based on shape or position

    Why it matters
    "Click the + on the right" means nothing without sight
    How to fix it
    Name the control: "Select the Expand button under each heading"

  • Links shown by colour alone

    Why it matters
    Students with low vision or colour blindness can't spot them
    How to fix it
    Keep links underlined inside sentences

  • Vague link text

    Why it matters
    "Click here" and "Read more" say nothing when read out of context
    How to fix it
    Use the destination as the link: "Read the study guide"

  • Missing or noisy alt text

    Why it matters
    Key diagrams are skipped, while decorative art is read aloud
    How to fix it
    Describe images that teach; mark decorative ones as decorative

  • Videos without captions or transcripts

    Why it matters
    Deaf and hard-of-hearing students miss the content
    How to fix it
    Add accurate captions and a transcript next to the video

  • Fixed time limits on activities

    Why it matters
    Students who need more time are shut out
    How to fix it
    Let students extend the limit, or remove it from practice work

Interactive content from tools like Articulate Storyline, Rise or H5P deserves extra care. Their default accessibility settings often name controls after image files and read decorative artwork aloud. Test every interactive with a keyboard and a screen reader before publishing.

Structure, tables and documents

A few habits make every page easier to use:

  • Use real headings in order. Pick Heading 2, then Heading 3, from the editor menu instead of making text bold and large. Screen reader users jump between headings to skim.
  • Keep tables simple. Use them for data, not layout, and mark the header row. Wide rubrics should fit a phone screen or scroll inside their own box.
  • Check uploaded files. PDFs, Word files and slides need the same care as pages: headings, alt text and real text rather than scanned images.
  • Fix templates once. A broken link or colour in a shared course template repeats on every page that uses it, and so does the fix.

Who fixes what

Every accessibility issue in a course lands with one of three people: the content creator, a developer or instructional technologist, or the LMS or tool vendor. Sorting issues this way on day one stops creators waiting on fixes they could make themselves, and stops vendor problems being patched page by page.

  • Headings, lists, link text

    Content creator
    Yes, in the editor

  • Alt text on uploaded images

    Content creator
    Yes, in the editor

  • Captions and transcripts

    Content creator
    Yes, upload or edit them
    LMS or tool vendor
    Only if the video player can't show captions

  • Instructions and wording

    Content creator
    Yes

  • Table headers and simple tables

    Content creator
    Yes, in the editor
    Developer / ID tech
    Wide or complex tables

  • Time limits in quizzes

    Content creator
    Yes, in quiz settings or per-student extra time
    Developer / ID tech
    Timers built into external activities

  • Links underlined course-wide

    Content creator
    Per link only
    Developer / ID tech
    Yes, via theme CSS

  • Storyline, Rise, H5P interactives

    Content creator
    Report it
    Developer / ID tech
    Yes, edit the source file and republish
    LMS or tool vendor
    Tool bugs go to the tool's vendor

  • Custom HTML widgets (tabs, accordions, flip cards)

    Content creator
    Report it
    Developer / ID tech
    Yes, fix the code

  • Shared templates and blueprint courses

    Content creator
    Report it
    Developer / ID tech
    Yes, fix once at the source

  • Quiz engine, navigation, calendar, discussions

    Content creator
    Report it
    LMS or tool vendor
    Yes

  • Third-party tools (publisher content, proctoring, video players)

    Content creator
    Report it
    Developer / ID tech
    Check the configuration
    LMS or tool vendor
    Yes

Content creators: fix it in the editor today

Most day-to-day issues need no code and no ticket.

  • Run the built-in checker. Each platform has one in its editor: the Canvas Accessibility Checker, the Moodle accessibility checker, the Blackboard Ultra Accessibility Checker and the Brightspace Accessibility Checker. All four flag images without alt text, low contrast and tables without headers. Canvas, Blackboard and Brightspace also flag headings out of order. Moodle's documented checks don't cover heading order, though it flags long text without headings. Blackboard's checker works in Ultra Documents and is off by default at institutions with an Ally license. These checkers review what you write in the editor, not uploaded files, and they don't replace keyboard and screen reader testing.
  • Write real alt text. Describe what the image teaches, not what it looks like. Tick "decorative" for borders, banners and stock photos.
  • Rewrite vague links. Change "click here" to the destination, such as "Download the week 3 worksheet (PDF)".
  • Rewrite sensory instructions. Swap "click the blue + on the right" for "select the Expand button under each topic".
  • Fix captions. Auto-captions are a start, not a finish. Correct names, terms and punctuation, and add a transcript link below the video.
  • Adjust time limits. Remove limits from practice work, and use the LMS's per-student extra-time setting for students with accommodations.
  • Check uploaded files. Rebuild PDFs from the original Word or PowerPoint file with headings and alt text, rather than uploading scans.

Developer or instructional technologist: fix it at the source

Some fixes need code, admin rights or the original project file. Log these with whoever manages your LMS theme, templates or e-learning builds.

  • Course-wide link styling. Most LMS editors strip custom CSS, so creators can't underline every link at once. One rule in the institution's theme stylesheet fixes every course.
  • Storyline, Rise and H5P content. Fixes happen in the source file, then the package is republished. Typical work: set alt text or mark images decorative, give buttons real names, fix the focus order, turn off auto-advancing slides, and add a transcript for narration.
  • Custom HTML widgets. Tabs, accordions and flip cards built in raw HTML need proper buttons, aria-expanded states and keyboard support. Pasting the same snippet into many pages repeats the bug, so fix the snippet and replace every copy.
  • Templates and blueprint courses. An empty link or bad colour in a shared template appears in every course built from it. Fix it once at the template, then sync.
  • Embedded tools and iframes. Give each embed a descriptive title, check that it works by keyboard, and confirm the tool doesn't trap focus.
  • Complex tables. Rubrics and data tables with merged cells need header scopes, or a simpler layout, plus a horizontal scroll container on small screens.

LMS or tool vendor: report it and track it

Anything built into the platform, or into a third-party tool, can only be fixed by the company that makes it. Common examples:

  • Quiz and assessment screens, such as answer options that are grouped or labelled poorly for screen readers
  • Course navigation, menus, breadcrumbs and sticky footers that cover focused content
  • Calendars, date pickers, discussion boards and the gradebook
  • The mobile app
  • Publisher content, proctoring tools, video players and other LTI tools

How to report it so it gets fixed:

  1. Check the vendor's accessibility conformance report (VPAT) and known-issues list first. The issue may already be logged.
  2. Write down the exact steps, the page URL, the browser and the assistive technology used, such as NVDA with Chrome or VoiceOver with Safari.
  3. Name the WCAG criterion it fails, such as 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value, and add a screenshot or short screen recording.
  4. Send it through your LMS admin or the vendor's support channel, and ask for a ticket number and expected fix date.
  5. Until it's fixed, tell students about the workaround, such as a different view or an alternative format, and log the issue so it's checked again after each platform update.

Quick checklist before publishing

  • Headings are real headings, in order
  • Links are underlined and their text says where they go
  • Images that teach have alt text; decorative ones are marked decorative
  • Every button, icon and interactive control has a clear name
  • Instructions name controls rather than describing shape, colour or position
  • Videos have captions and a transcript
  • Timed activities can be extended
  • Tables have header rows and fit a small screen
  • Uploaded PDFs and documents are accessible too
  • Each page has been tried with only a keyboard and with a screen reader

Sources

Share this article

Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)Share on X (opens in a new tab)Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)