Accessibility Tip of the Month

This month’s Accessibility Tip of the Month focuses on one of the most important accessibility issues the Pope Tech Canvas Accessibility Checker looks for: alternative (or “alt”) text for images. If ever there was a “poster child” for accessibility, it would have to be alt text. So, what exactly is alt text?

Alt text is essentially text description for non-text content. Alt text is written for informative images, rather than decorative images (such as decorative borders, for instance). For most content created in Canvas pages, informative non-text content consists of graphics, photos, graphs, charts, and the like.

Alt text is mostly used by people who are blind or have low vision and either cannot see the image or cannot see it well enough to understand it. In such cases, alt text is readable by assistive technologies that read the alt text aloud, such as screen readers, or convert it to Braille (as with Braille keyboards). Additionally, if the link to an image is broken and the image does not appear, the alt text description will become visible to all users. Some people with cognitive disabilities turn off images to reduce distractions, leaving alt text in its place. Finally, people in countries with slow internet may rely on alt text because they sometimes turn off images to conserve bandwidth and load pages faster.

Writing effective alt text requires careful thinking about the context and purpose of images. Because alt text is normally not shown to most learners without the use of assistive technologies, it is crucial that the main text related to the image (not the alt text) establishes the image’s context and purpose. In this way, the alt text then conveys only what’s needed to draw the connection between the image and what’s conveyed about it in the main text.

It follows that alt text should be as concise as possible. Although the Pope Tech Accessibility Checker will flag any alt text that exceeds 120 characters, there’s no hard and fast rule on a specific maximum number of characters alt text should contain. What’s most important is that alt text should be concise. The Pope Tech Accessibility Checker can’t determine if an image is informative or decorative, but it will give you an option to mark the image as decorative or provide alternative text description. If you don’t add alt text for the image, Canvas will automatically insert the image filename (e.g., image-name.jpg) as alternative text, and the checker will then flag filenames used as alt text.

• Be concise and specific: Describe what the image shows, not what it is (e.g., "A bar chart showing enrollment trends").
• Avoid repeating nearby text: Don’t restate what’s already clearly written in the content
• Skip phrases like "Image of" or "Picture of": screen readers detect images and will already indicate that an image is an image.
• Mark as decorative only when the image adds no meaningful content.

The Pope Tech Accessibility Guide in Canvas detects the following common image-related accessibility issues and provides tools to help instructors resolve them directly within the Canvas editor:

1. Missing Alternative Text

• What it checks: Whether an image is missing alt text.
• Why it matters: Screen readers rely on alt text to describe images to users who are blind or visually impaired.
• How to fix: Add a short, meaningful description, or mark the image as decorative if it doesn’t convey essential content.

2. Suspicious Alternative Text

• What it checks: Whether the alt text seems auto-generated or unhelpful (e.g., a file name like image1.jpg).
• Why it matters: Non-descriptive alt text fails to convey meaningful information and can confuse screen reader users.
• How to fix: Replace with a meaningful description that reflects the content or purpose of the image.

3. Decorative Images Not Marked Correctly

• What it checks: If an image appears decorative but is not properly marked as such.
• Why it matters: Decorative images should be skipped by screen readers to avoid unnecessary chatter and distraction.
• How to fix: Mark the image as decorative using the checkbox option in Pope Tech.

4. Images with Redundant Alternative Text

• What it checks: Whether the alt text repeats visible text that’s already next to or part of the image.
• Why it matters: Redundant alt text doesn’t improve accessibility and can be irritating or confusing for screen reader users.
• How to fix: Edit the alt text to provide new or supplemental information, or remove it if it is unnecessary.

5. Linked Images Missing Alt Text

• What it checks: Whether an image that is also a link lacks descriptive alt text.
• Why it matters: Screen reader users need alt text that explains where the link will take them.
• How to fix: Add alt text that clearly describes the link’s destination or function (e.g., "Visit the Library Homepage").

These checks help ensure that images in Canvas are meaningful, accessible, and usable for all students, including those using assistive technologies.

Step 1: Open the Canvas Page containing the Image

1. Go to your Canvas course.
2. Navigate to the page, discussion, assignment, etc., that contains the image you want to fix.
3. Click “Edit” to open the content editor.

Step 2: Launch the Pope Tech Accessibility Guide

In the Rich Content Editor toolbar, click the Pope Tech accessibility icon (a small gauge/meter icon, usually near the right side of the toolbar).

Step 3: Review Detected Issues

1. The Pope Tech Accessibility Guide will slide out from the right-hand side of the screen.
2. Issues will be categorized (e.g., Images, Headings, Tables, etc.).
3. Click on the “Images” category to expand it if it isn’t already open.

Step 4: Select the Image That Needs Alt Text

1. Pope Tech will display a list of all images with missing or problematic alternative text.
2. Click the thumbnail of the image or the arrow next to it to begin editing.

Step 5: Add Alt Text or Mark as Decorative

You now have two choices:

Option A: Add Alternative Text

1. In the “Alt Text” field that appears, type a short, meaningful description of the image (typically 1–2 sentences or less).
2. Click “Apply” to save the alt text.

Option B: Mark as Decorative

1. If the image is purely decorative (e.g., borders, icons that repeat info already in text), check the box labeled “Decorative Image”.
2. Click “Apply” to confirm.

Step 6: Save the Page

After you finish reviewing and fixing issues, click “Save” (or “Save & Publish”) at the bottom of the Canvas page.