Access4All (UDOIT)

On June 16, we are switching from Anthology Ally to Access4All (powered by CidiLab's UDOIT) in Canvas, which comes with a few key differences and advantages:

• Accessibility Scanning – Both tools scan course content for accessibility issues, but Access4All provides a more detailed breakdown and allows you to fix many issues directly within the tool. It also allows you to scan your course for any new content or changes immediately. 
• Fixing Issues In-Place – Access4All enables you to make corrections directly within the platform rather than navigating back to individual course pages.
• Broader Scan Scope – While Ally focuses primarily on files (like PDFs and Word docs), Access4All scans a wider range of content, including pages, discussions, quizzes, and even links.
• Cost & Integration – Access4All is often more cost-effective and integrates seamlessly with Canvas since it's designed specifically for it.

NOTE: Access4All can't be seen by students. Students can only access the ALT formats provided.

Why Create Accessible Content?

“Inclusive learning and teaching recognizes all student's entitlement to a learning experience that respects diversity, enables participation, removes barriers and anticipates and considers a variety of learning needs and preferences.” (Higher Education Academy)

"Universal design is a concept that recognizes, respects, values and attempts to accommodate the broadest possible spectrum of human ability in the design of all products, environments and information systems." (North Carolina State University)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational approach based on the learning sciences with three primary principles—multiple means of representation of information, multiple means of student action and expression, and multiple means of student engagement. (UDL on Campus)

Chancellor's Office Directive

On August 26, 2024, the Chancellor's Office sent a memorandum to campuses that outlined their responsibilities to meet the enhanced standards of the Title II ADA Final Rule:

• Reaffirms CSU's commitment to digital accessibility.
• Directs campuses to prioritize captioning, transcription, and accessibility compliance for all digital materials.
• Ensures system-wide accountability for meeting the compliance deadline of April 24, 2026.

CSU Policies & Requirements

• Information technology resources and services need to be accessible to all users (EO 1111, Code Memo AA-2013-03)
• Faculty are legally required to make electronic course material accessible via captioning (Section 508)
• Title II - all course materials within the LMS must be accessible by April 24, 2026. 
• Making Audio and Video Media Accessible (W3C)

What is Access4All?

Access4All is an external tool that supports universal access by checking for accessibility issues in:

• Canvas content: Announcements, Assignments, Classic Quiz, Discussion, Pages, Syllabus, and Module URLs. 
• PDFs
• Word (DOCX)
• PowerPoint (PPTX)
• Module URLs
• Old file formats (DOC, XLS, PPT)

...added to Canvas and generates alternative accessible versions (not Video) in multiple formats (HTML, MP3, ePub, and text).

Access4All can help create more accessible content.

• Convert PDF to a Canvas Page
• Replacing files with accessible versions 
• Alt formats are stored in the Canvas course Files for future needs

What are Alternative Formats?

Alternative formats provide students a choice and added flexibility that comes with a more personal approach. 

• tagged PDF: students who need to access files on devices without MS Office or who need a smaller file size because of bandwidth issues can download PDFs.
• audio: students with processing challenges and non-native speakers who benefit from "bimodal presentations" can download the audio (MP3) file to read and listen at the same time. They can also listen on the go for flexible study options. 
• ePub: students can download the eBook and access on Reader (iPad, Kindle, etc) devices without internet.
• HTML: students who reply on mobile devices can convert PDF files to HTML which is responsive to small screens and easier, faster reading. 

NOTE: If the original file is NOT already accessible...the alternative format may not be usable. Meaning - a poor PDF image when OCR'ed would create a bad text file, a bad HTML file, bad audio, bad ePub..etc. Garbage in - Garbage out. 

What does this mean for me?

Access4All (UDOIT) accessibility score determines how many elements responsible for making a document, image, or video accessible to people who use screen readers, are hearing impaired, or have other learning barriers are present or absent in that file.

Access4All scans your course to make sure PDF documents are OCR'ed so screen readers can read it, that images have alternative text (ALT) that will provide people using screen readers meaningful information about the contents of the image, and that captions are present in videos embedded in your site.

There are many other things Access4All scans for. It looks to see if PDF's are tagged, which allows screen reader users to navigate easily among different sections of a document, whether documents are using Headings properly, whether a document’s language is set, etc.

 

Using Access4All in your Course >

Learn More: Access4All Quick Start >

 

SensusAccess

An automatic document conversion service funded by the Kennedy Library. The service can also be used to convert inaccessible files such as image-only PDF files, JPG pictures and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into more accessible and less tricky formats.
If you do not have the original DOC file to fix or just need help, you can import .DOC, .DOCX, .PDF, .PPT, .PPTX, .TXT, .XML, .HTML, .HTM, .RTF, .EPUB, .MOBI files to SensusAccess for conversion. 

Go to the Library page to use the tool and upload your file. 

 

CidiLabs Support

• User Guide
• Knowledge Base
• Support Portal
• Video Hub