Below are strategies and considerations to help you organize your Canvas course. Thoughtful organization supports accessibility and helps students find the content they are looking for.

1. Organize the course navigation links

An easy accessibility win is to update the default Canvas course navigation to match the needs of your course. Fewer links can help reduce cognitive load and barriers for students navigating with assistive technology.

Take a few minutes to:

• Hide tools you are not using
• Place them in an order with the most used or important links at the top
• If there is an important tool or resource external to the course considering using the redirect tool to create a link in the course navigation

See the “How do I manage Course Navigation links?” guide for instructions on how to control the way the links appear in your Canvas course.

2. Use clear, descriptive names for pages, files, and assignments

Clear naming helps all students quickly understand what they are clicking on. People using a screen reader often navigate through the content by listening to lists of links or headings. Descriptive titles make navigation much easier.

Tips:

• Use meaningful titles like “Week 3 Lecture: Research Methods” instead of “Lecture 3”
• Keep naming consistent from week to week
• Avoid vague labels such as “Document,” “Reading,” or “Click here”

3. Structure Canvas pages using headings

When you create Canvas pages, use the built‑in heading styles to organize content. Headings help screen reader users move through content efficiently and make pages easier for everyone to scan and understand.

Tips:

• Break long pages into sections with clear headings
  • A syllabus page is the perfect candidate for breaking up a content with headings
• Be sure to use Canvas heading styles rather than bold text or larger font sizes

See the Canvas guide on how to use the rich content editor for instructions on how to change the text style.

To learn more about best practices for headings see our Headings guide.

4. Add a clear “Start Here” or orientation module

A “Start Here” module or page gives students a way to orient themselves to your course. Keeping this information in one place helps reduce confusion, especially for students using screen readers or students who need extra time to orient themselves.

Consider including:

• A short welcome or overview of how the course is organized
• Where to find the syllabus and other important resources for the course
• How students should get started in the first week
• Where to go for questions or help

Get Support 

If you have questions about creating accessible summer courses you can: 

• Book an Accessibility Consultation 
• Send an e-mail to t2access@umw.edu