Accessibility & UDL in Action: Course Readiness Series - Session 3 - PDF, Word, or Canvas Page?

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.