As you prepare your Canvas course for Fall 2025, now is a great time to revisit an often overlooked aspect of digital accessibility: keyboard navigation. While it’s easy to assume that a clean, visually appealing course is also user-friendly, true accessibility requires thinking beyond the mouse.
Why Keyboard Navigation Matters
Many students rely on keyboard only navigation due to mobility impairments, temporary injuries, or assistive technologies like screen readers. If a student can’t access your course using just the tab, enter, and arrow keys, key information and functionality may be completely out of reach.
Try This: A Quick Accessibility Test
Open your course in Canvas and put your mouse aside. Use the Tab key to navigate through your homepage or a module. Are you able to:
• Clearly see where the focus is on the page?
• Reach and activate all links, buttons, and menus?
• Navigate content in a logical order?
If not, some elements might not be coded properly for accessibility, or could be confusing for students using keyboards or screen readers.
What to Watch Out For
• Unlabeled or custom buttons that don’t receive focus.
• Embedded content (like videos or third-party tools) that traps the focus or skips it entirely.
• Inconsistent heading structure, which can disorient users moving by keyboard or assistive tech.
What You Can Do
• Stick to native Canvas tools and built-in page templates when possible, as they’re designed with accessibility in mind.
• Use clear, descriptive labels for all links and buttons.
• Test early: Run a keyboard check when you’re building or updating pages.
• Consider using the Accessibility Checker in the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE) to catch common issues. An image of the Canvas RCE icon is shown to the right.
Accessibility is Inclusive Design!
Keyboard navigation isn’t just for a small subset of users, it benefits everyone! Designing your courses so that they work without a mouse helps create a smoother, more predictable experience for all students, especially those using mobile devices or assistive technology.
Upcoming Events
New Instructor Conference
Thursday, August 14, 2025 12:30pm-4:30pm
Clemson Online’s annual New Instructor Conference will take place on August 14, 2024, from 12:30-4:30 pm. The conference will cover everything new instructors need to know about getting started with Canvas, including setting a Canvas home page, creating assignments, organizing course content, grading online work, and more!
Check out the schedule and register here!
When you register, please indicate whether you plan to attend in person or via Zoom. After registering, you will receive a schedule with Zoom/location information.
Clemson Online Drop-ins
August 18, 11 am-12 pm and August 19, 1-2 pm
All Clemson instructors are invited to drop in for one-on-one support with Canvas on August 18th and 19th. Whether you have a quick question, want support building or changing elements of your Canvas course, or want to see an online tool demonstrated, our team is here to help!
There is no need to register for drop-ins. Ensure you are logged into Zoom with your Clemson ID to access drop-in hours.
Clemson Online Summer 2025 Events Calendar
Review our Summer 2025 Events Calendar to see what Online Instruction Development opportunities await!
We have a robust lineup of topics and live training formats to support your use of Canvas and other e-learning tools. Topics cover demonstrations of using Kaltura, engaging your students, and workshops to get your Canvas site ready to teach!
All of our live training is recorded. Registrants will automatically receive a link to that day’s video after it has been processed.
Contact Millie Tullis with any questions regarding these sessions.
Clemson Online – Where Tech and Teaching Meet
