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D2L Course Shell

D2L Accessibility Checklist

How to address digital accessibility for D2L shareable course shells and custom course shells

Two methods to fix digital accessibility issues

  1. Using YUJA Panorama and working through the “Fix the Issue” processes it requires to increase your course’s overall Panorama score to 90% or higher.
  2. Using the faculty accessibility checklists and how-to training videos on the Aims Accessibility Hub which provide step-by-step workflows to fix digital accessibility issues for HTML pages, documents, presentations, and spreadsheets (PDF, Microsoft, and Google), media (audio/video, multimedia, animations), and images (photos, complex images of text) that are in a course shell.

What needs to be made accessible?

According to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, Level AA (WCAG), there are a number of important things that need to be done to make HTML pages and documents accessible. Please refer to the other accessibility checklists on the Hub to learn what you need to do. We will also discuss using the YUJA Panorama tool for D2L later in this checklist, but Panorama needs to be used together with the checklists to make a D2L course shell and its documents accessible.

  • ___ Structure your HTML page or document page content using a single H1 for the main heading, followed by H2, H3, and so on, in ascending order. Avoid skipping heading levels.
  • ___ Images within HTML pages that convey meaning need to have meaningful alt text descriptions. Decorative images that don’t convey meaning do not.
  • ___ Complex images of text that convey meaning - like charts, graphs, illustrations, and infographics must have an alt text stating what the image is and point students to the location of a long description adjacent to the image. This long description needs to provide the meaningful information that the chart or graph shows, its context in the overall lesson, and any information that is expected knowledge for an assessment.
  • ___ For links to third party content - link descriptions need to convey the location and meaning of the linked content.
  • ___ Video and audio/podcast content has captions. Some videos may need audio descriptions if meaningful information within the video is not communicated through the captions’ dialogue or narration. Please review the audio/video accessibility checklist for more details.
  • ___ The reading order of an HTML page, especially for navigation menus and other interactive components, should ideally follow the visual order of the page.
  • ___ Sufficient color contrast of text against background page color needs to meet the WCAG contrast ratio. Use this WebAIM color contrast checker to check your colors. To easily meet this requirement, simply use black text on a white page background.
  • ___ For HTML contact forms, text fields need to be labeled above the field. Text fields also need to have error handling that guides a user to the field where they made an error.
  • ___ For STEM course materials with equations and formulas:
    • For HTML content consider using MathML or LaTex to code the equations and formulas.
    • Second, if you decide to use images of text for the equations and formulas - that will require having alt text for the images and long descriptions adjacent to the images.
    • An alternative format would be to use audio files adjacent to the equations and formulas, so students can listen to them.
    • For Google Documents with equations and formulas: use the Google equations editor to place equations and formulas using text instead of using images
  • ___ Exam assessments need to be written in plain language and easy to understand.

How-to make your D2L course shell accessible

Before you start working on digital accessibility, make sure to maintain a source copy of all documents that you have in a D2L course. Save this source copy on your computer, in your Google Drive, or in a shared drive with other faculty on Google Drive.

  • ___ Start using Panorama in your D2L course shell to address D2L Course Shell HTML files. We are working towards getting a Panorama score of 90% or higher for every D2L course shell being created for Spring 2026.
    To start working on accessibility within your Spring 2026 D2L course shell, click on the Panorama icon regardless of whether it is red, yellow, or green, next to each of the following D2L sections to check for digital accessibility: Announcements, Course Information, Course Syllabus (Microsoft Word file or HTML format), Course Schedule, Table of Contents, Student Resources, Assessments, etc., and then for every content section within the course shell. Go through the course table of contents to address each chapter and content section within the chapter.
  • ___ Even if your Panorama score is starting at close to 90% or higher, when you begin working on digital accessibility for your course shell:
    Please make sure to click on every Panorama red, yellow, or green icon next to D2L course files and your content files. Then work through any accessibility issues that are found.
  • ___ Using the table of contents, work through Panorama for all content sections
    For every content item, click on the Panorama icon next to the content item, regardless of whether it is red, yellow, or green. When the Panorama window opens up, click on the Accessibility Report at the top of the screen. The Accessibility Report will open. Check if Panorama lists any known errors in your HTML content page or section or in a document. If it provides a “Fix the Issue” button then click the button and follow the process. After fixing the issue, make sure to click the Apply button.
  • ___ Check that Panorama fixed your content correctly - that it has actually made your content accessible
    After Panorama has fixed an HTML section or page or document, and you have clicked the Apply button, open the content file and make sure that:
    • Panorama has actually made your content accessible.
    • That there is no content missing, necessary formatting undone, or anything majorly wrong with the file.
    • If you see anything wrong with the file or if Panorama did not make it accessible:
      • Then work on another copy of your source file and make it accessible using the accessibility checklists and how-to guides on the Aims Accessibility Hub, to manually fix the accessibility issue.
      • Then upload the fixed version of your content file back into your D2L course.
  • ___ Panorama lists an issue but does not provide a “Fix the Issue” button
    In this case, you should still fix the issue manually by following the step-by-step process listed in one of the faculty accessibility checklists on the Aims Accessibility Hub, depending on the type of document that you are working in.
  • ___ Panorama is a useful tool for digital accessibility, but will not fix every issue and needs to be used in tandem with the accessibility checklists and how-to guides on the Accessibility Hub. Use Panorama along with the accessibility checklists and how-to training guides on the Aims Accessibility Hub to make your D2L course shell and documents as accessible as possible. The checklists and guides provide steps to address accessibility for Microsoft and Google documents and other files. 
    Panorama has some feature limitations, so use the checklists and guides to address the issues below. Panorama doesn't always effectively address:
    • Content tables in HTML pages and Microsoft or Google documents
    • Complex images like charts, graphs, infographics, illustrations, diagrams
    • PDF files
  • ___ After completing your accessibility work, update your source documents on your computer or in Google Drive
    Once you have used Panorama and the faculty accessibility checklists and how-to training videos on the Aims Accessibility Hub as guidance to make your D2L course shell and documents as accessible as possible, download a copy of these accessible documents from the D2L course shell. These accessible files should now become your new source documents saved on your computer or in Google Drive.
  • ___ Faculty digital accessibility support
    If you run into any problems when using Panorama or if you have any questions about how to make something accessible, first refer to the faculty accessibility checklists on the Aims Accessibility Hub. If you still need support, then contact digital accessibility support in one of these three ways:
    1. Email: aa.digital.accessibility@aims.edu
    2. Slack channel: team-aa-digital-accessibility-support-int. All Academic Affairs employees were automatically subscribed to this channel.
    3. Set up a 15 minute Zoom support appointment with this Calendly link: https://calendly.com/michael-forbes-aims to choose a date/time and receive a Zoom URL in the confirmation email.

Resources

YuJa Help Center
Panorama LMS Accessibility Platform Overview
Fixing Alternative Text Issues with AI Suggestions in Panorama's Accessibility Report
Using the Panorama Remediation Engine
How to Generate an Alternative Format with Panorama