Accessibility & UDL in Action: Course Readiness Series is a hands-on summer professional
development series designed to help faculty make practical improvements to their courses
before the start of the term. Sessions will focus on accessible Canvas design, documents,
slides, videos, and Universal Design for Learning strategies that support clearer,
more flexible, and more inclusive learning experiences.
Session 3: PDF, Word or Canvas Page
Date: Tuesday, August 4
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 PM PST
Host: Shawn Jordison - Accessibility Expert
Co-Facilitator: Matt Larcin - Instructional & Universal Designer
Location: Zoom
Join us for the third session in the Accessibility & UDL in Action: Course Readiness Series, a hands-on summer professional development series designed to help faculty make
practical improvements to their courses before the start of the term.
This session will help faculty decide whether to keep a file as-is, remediate it,
convert it, or rebuild it as a Canvas page. Faculty will explore common accessibility
barriers in PDFs and other course files, including scanned or image-only documents,
and consider when Canvas pages or accessible Word documents may be better options
for students.
Topics will include when a PDF is appropriate, how to identify scanned/image-only
PDFs, when to convert a PDF to Word or Canvas, how SMC Canvas templates can help faculty
avoid starting from scratch, and how tools such as PlayLab may support content conversion
and accessibility improvements. Referral options for more complex remediation will
also be discussed.
Faculty are encouraged to bring one PDF, Word document, handout, or assignment to
review during the supported work time. Participants will leave with a decision/action
plan for at least one file and, when feasible, one converted or improved course item,
along with a Should This Be a PDF? Decision Tree + File Conversion Workflow resource.
This session is appropriate for all faculty, especially those who use PDFs, handouts,
assignment sheets, or uploaded course files in Canvas.
Zoom Link for Session 3: PDF, Word or Canvas Page
This series will be exclusively held on Zoom and interested parties can view the full
schedule of sessions in Canvas Central: Accessibility & UDL in Action: Course Readiness Series
