Help Section

Accessibility Help

We have tried to develop a Web site that is accessible to the widest range of clients possible, regardless of the technology they use. Below are some tips and features that will help you get the most out of the information presented on CanLearn.ca:

  1. Accessibility Features Statement
  2. Accessing PDF Documents
  3. Increasing Text Size
  4. Client-side CSS for enhancing accessibility

Accessibility Features Statement

In order to make this site more accessible, the CanLearn.ca Web site has employed the Web Experience Toolkit (WET) which:

  • respects accessibility (WCAG 2.0 AA and WAI-ARIA), usability, and interoperability;
  • uses HTML5 semantic elements and WAI-ARIA landmarks;
  • are HTML5 conformant, to improve compatibility with adaptive technologies, handheld devices, browsers, and search engines;
  • have been successfully tested on a wide range of adaptive technologies and browser/platform combinations;
  • include major components, such as the common menu bar, side menu, and content area that are properly marked up with headings to simplify navigation with a screen reader;
  • employ table-less layout and design to simplify screen reader navigation by reducing the structural complexity of Web pages;
  • improve accessibility by allowing visitors to configure visual elements to meet their accessibility needs;
  • use scaleable fonts and text-based navigational elements to improve accessibility and simplify navigation using adaptive technologies;
  • provide printer-friendly functionality in the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to render pages more compatible with printers and to prevent printing unnecessary page elements;
  • separate visual presentation from the document structure;
  • avoid truncated and overlapped elements at very large font sizes;
  • display the title value when a link gains keyboard focus; and
  • employ skip navigation links at the beginning of the page for quickly moving to the content or the institutional links. These skip navigation links become visible when a mouse pointer hovers over top or when selected using a keyboard or other alternate input device.

Accessing PDF Documents

In some cases we provide both Portable Document Format (PDF) and HTML versions of our documents. To access the PDF version you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase on the Internet:

An accessible version of Acrobat Reader, which includes support for screen readers, is also available. Alternatively, you can convert a PDF file to HTML or ASCII text by using one of Adobe’s conversion services.

Please Note: These websites are outside of the control of CanLearn.ca and are listed solely for the convenience of our users. CanLearn.ca does not endorse any of the software found on these sites and is unable to provide technical assistance to users who install this software on their computers.

Increasing Text Size

To increase the text size on our Web pages, you can change the settings in your Web browser. Just follow the instructions below based on the browser you are using or see your browser's help for details.

Internet Explorer

  1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
  2. Select "Text Size".
  3. Select "Larger" or "Largest".

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
  2. Select "Text Size".
  3. Select "Increase".
  4. To increase the text size further, continue selecting "Increase".

Opera

  1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
  2. Select "Zoom".
  3. From the menu, select the size with which you would like to view the Web site.
  4. To increase the text size further, increase the percentage.

Safari

  1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
  2. Select "Zoom In".
  3. To increase the text size further, continue selecting "Zoom In".

Client-side CSS for enhancing accessibility

The design of the Web pages on this Web site are flexible enough to allow you to configure the visual presentation to meet your accessibility needs by using a client-side Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) file.

Most browsers provide the ability to specify a client-side CSS file, which would be applied to every Web page on this Web site that you visit. To take advantage of this feature, perform the following steps:

  1. How to create a client-side CSS file, and
  2. How to configure your browser to use the client-side CSS file