Fix Tables in Canvas Content

Tables should have captions and headings to assist screen readers in reading the data correctly. Students who use screen readers greatly benefit from tables that are formatted with row and/or column headers because they make content easier to comprehend.

If labeling headers rows or columns doesn’t make sense for a table, then consider providing the information in a non-table format.

Best Practices for Tables

Follow these best practices for increasing the accessibility of your Canvas Tables.

• Use clear and concise headers.
• Make sure each header and their associated cells make sense when read together.
• Keep the table layout simple. Screen readers keep track of where you are in the table by counting cells and lose count with complicated layouts.
• Don’t merge cells, split cells, or nest tables within tables.
• Don’t leave rows or columns completely blank/empty.
• Add an appropriate and relevant caption.

Adding Table Headings in Canvas

Pinning Services in myCI Guide

Note: You don’t have to designate the “Header Cell” one-by-one.

• When adding Column Headers, you can select the entire Row before opening the “Cell Properties” dialogue box to designate them all as “Header Cell” with the Scope of “Column” rather than repeating the process, but, it doesn’t hurt to check that it applied correctly.
• When adding Row Headers, you can select the entire Column before opening the “Cell Properties” dialogue box to designate them all as “Header Cell” with the Scope of “Row” rather than repeating the process, but, it doesn’t hurt to check that it applied correctly.

Steps for Fixing Tables in Canvas…

1. Sign in to myCI and click CI Learn to open Canvas
2. From the Canvas Dashboard, select the course you’d like to work on and click on the course card to open it.
3. Navigate to the content area where the table is located.

By Adding Column Headers

1. Select the row of cells that will become the Header Cells
2. Select “Table” > “Cell” > “Cell Properties”
3. In the “Cell Type” list, select Header Cell,
4. In the “Scope” list, select “Column” and click “Save”.
5. When finished, be sure to save the Canvas content item before closing the browser tab/window.

By Adding Row Headers

1. Select the column of cells that will become the Header Cells
2. Select “Table” > “Cell” > “Cell Properties”
3. In the “Cell Type” list, select Header Cell,
4. In the “Scope” list, select ” Row” and click OK.
5. When finished, be sure to save the Canvas content item before closing the browser tab/window.

By Adding a Caption

1. Click into a cell in the table
2. Select “Table” >> “Table Properties”
3. Check the “Show caption” box in the Table Properties window, and click “Save”.
4. Click into the caption area above the table and type an appropriate caption.
5. When finished, be sure to save the Canvas content item before closing the browser tab/window.

Resources

• How do I insert a table using the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?