Fix It Fast: Using UDOIT to Make Your ISU Canvas Course More Accessible

What UDOIT Does

UDOIT is a built‑in accessibility checker for Canvas. It reviews your course content—pages, announcements, assignments, discussions, and files you’ve added to rich‑content areas—and looks for common barriers for students who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies.

Getting Started

Pick one course you teach regularly, run a UDOIT scan, and commit to fixing just one or two categories of issues (for example, all missing alt text and vague links). Once you see how quickly you can reduce barriers with UDOIT, it becomes a simple habit that makes your ISU Canvas courses more usable and welcoming for all students.

Where to Find UDOIT in ISU Canvas

UDOIT appears in all courses as a link in the course navigation menu (on the left‑hand side of your ISU Canvas course).

How to Run a Scan

1. Open your ISU Canvas course.
2. Click the UDOIT link in the course navigation.
3. Authorize UDOIT-- the first scan of your course starts automatically.
4. For future scans, on the UDOIT landing page, select the Run Scan option (or a similar option).
5.  Wait a moment while it analyzes your course content. The results page will summarize the number of issues found and group them by type and severity.

You can re‑run a scan at any time, so it is safe to try, fix, and scan again as often as you like.

Understanding the Results

After the scan, UDOIT presents a list of issues, often grouped under headings such as “Images,” “Headings,” “Links,” “Tables,” and “Documents.”

Each item typically shows:

•         The location (for example, “Module 2 → Page: Week 2 Overview”).
•         A short description of the issue in plain language.
•         The specific content snippet causing the problem.
•         One or more buttons or links to fix the issue directly or to open the item.

You can usually expand or collapse sections to focus on one issue type at a time (e.g., fix all image issues, then all heading issues).

Fixing Issues Directly in UDOIT

UDOIT lets you correct many common problems from within the tool, without hunting through every page manually.

Examples:

•  Missing alt text for images: UDOIT shows the image and asks you to enter a brief, meaningful description or mark it as decorative.
• Heading structure problems: It suggests using proper heading levels instead of simply making text bold or larger.
• Vague link text: It prompts you to replace “click here” with descriptive text like “Download the Week 3 lab instructions.”
• Tables: It guides you to identify header rows or columns to improve screen reader navigation.

• File Remediation: It guides you through converting inaccessible documents into accessible alternatives and replacing them.

After you make a change, you can usually click a button to Save/Apply Fix, then move on to the next item. Once you have addressed a group of issues, run UDOIT again to confirm they are resolved.

The Instructional Technology Resource Center is available to help you implement UDOIT in your courses. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need assistance.

• AnswersITRC@isu.edu
• (208) 282-5880
• Drop-in College of Education building, room 356 (no appointment required)