When creating teaching and learning content for a diverse learner group, we need to also make considerations for our digital learning environment to ensure consistency, clarity and simplicity. The following offers some tips and ideas on how to make Canvas, our Learning Management System (LMS), more inclusive. 

By building consistency in Canvas we can manage expectations and reduce the amount of time students spend trying to find information or to learn how to navigate each of their modules.  

Use formatting tools within the Canvas to structure pages, announcements and assignments. Applying styles to headings, paragraphs and other text helps students to navigate your content easier. 

When using headings, it’s important to follow a linear structure and not skip heading levels, for example moving from heading 2 to heading 4, as this will cause confusion for users. 

Format lists using the bullet or list options in Word to help maintain your structure and consistency. 

Using units to organise your learning material by week, or by topic, can help students find the content they need. 

Use headings to further categorise the content in your units and indent the items under each heading to make the categories clearer. 

The Canvas module calendar automatically adds information like assessment due dates and scheduled Zoom meetings which can give students an oversight of module requirements. Consider adding other key dates to the calendar to give students a view of important module milestones for the semester. 

Provide clear and consistent feedback for module assessments where possible. Consider using built in tools like speech recognition or media comments, like audio or video, which may be quicker and more convenient. 

Make use of module links to provide multiple ways of guiding students to your content. For instance, if you mention an assessment in an announcement, add the direct link to that assessment. 

Keep your module menu consistent and remove any unused links. Use the student view to check what redundant items might be showing up for your students.  

Outline key dates and assessment deadlines early in the semester where possible. Consider adding these to the module calendar to help students prepare for busy periods in the semester. 

Let students know early on how you will be communicating with them and how you expect them to communicate with you. Make use of the tools in Canvas like the announcements feature to provide clear and consistent updates to students. 

Ensure text is written in clear, simple language throughout your module. Avoid unnecessary jargon and if using complicated or specialised terminology consider providing a glossary.

Chunk content into short sections or paragraphs and use headings to make it easier to absorb or to scan quickly if needed. 

Choose a sans-serif font no less than 12pt for text (12pt - 16pt is recommended). Left-aligned text is preferable with 1.5 spacing. 

Avoid using colour alone to highlight information and use the built in formatting tools to add emphasis.