Accessibility Tools and Technologies

Microsoft 365 Apps

All Microsoft products have a built-in accessibility checker. To access the checker, go to the Review Tab in the ribbon and select "Accessibility Checker" in the Accessibility pane. A sidebar will appear with some accessibility issues and how to fix them. Learn more about the accessibility checker in Microsoft 365 Apps.

Panorama in D2L and DocHub

D2L has an integrated accessibility tool called Panorama that is enabled for all courses. Panorama will check course content and files for accessibility issues and allow you to remediate some issues online. Learn more about using Panorama in D2L.

Students will also have the ability to generate alternative formats of course material (e.g. change a PDF into a webpage) and use online reading tools. Learn more about alternative formats with Panorama.

Staff have access to Panorama through DocHub. Panorama DocHub provides accessibility reports and remediation capabilities similar to Panorama in D2L but without the need to have access to D2L. Learn more about Panorama DocHub.

AutoPilot and Structural Remediation

Panorama has an AI-powered remediation tool called AutoPilot that automatically identifies and proposes accessibility fixes for files like PDF, DOCX, PPTX, and HTML. It detects accessibility issues (e.g., missing titles, improper heading structure, untagged PDFs) and suggests fixes that can be applied with one click.

Panorama also has Structural Remediation which offers a comprehensive remediation toolset that enables users to address complex accessibility PDF issues, such as tagging, reading order, color contrast, image alt text, etc. all within the LMS.

Learn more about AutoPilot and Strucutral Remediation.

MediaSite

MediaSite is a video hosting platform that allows faculty to store, edit, and organize their videos for classroom instruction. MediaSite also has the ability to autocaption videos or add a separate audio description track to videos. Learn more about Mediasite.

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is used to create, edit, and remediate PDF files. Acrobat has a built-in accessibility checker that scans PDFs and offers remediation tools. Most remediation work for PDFs will be done in Acrobat. Learn more about making PDFs accessible.