I know the feeling. You open your inbox and there it is – another email asking for “one more thing.” Maybe your annual training is about to expire. Maybe it’s a new system migration. Or perhaps you’re getting a warning that your Zoom cloud recordings will soon be deleted unless you take action now. I get it. I, too, am guilty of hitting “delete” or pinning that email with the full intention of coming back to it… and then never doing so. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sometimes that “one more thing,” even when it promises to be helpful, is just one more thing we can’t, or simply don’t, get to. We’re juggling enough.

So I say this with full awareness that your eyes might already be glazing over: I’m about to suggest one more thing. But this time, I truly believe it’s worth your time. It’s small, it’s simple, and it has a potentially transformative impact for our students.

Let’s talk about the new button in Canvas: “Check Accessibility with UDOIT.”

The Button I Ignored (Until I Couldn’t)

I first noticed this button some time ago. It quietly appeared in my Canvas courses. “Check Accessibility with UDOIT” looked at me from the menu.  But buttons come and go in Canvas, and I felt reasonably confident that I had already designed my courses with accessibility in mind. So, I ignored it. Moved on.

That changed the day a student came to me struggling in one of their classes. English wasn’t their first language, and the required readings were long, dense, and difficult to comprehend, even after hours of effort. They were doing their best, but it just wasn’t working.

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t sure how to help. So I reached out to our campus accessibility lead, Kristi O’Neil-Gonzalez, and shared the situation. In less than a flash — half a flash, really — Kristi was in my office, asking me if I’d clicked that little UDOIT button. 

One Click. One Minute. Big Impact.

She showed me what happens when you run UDOIT in a Canvas course. Instantly, it scans the course content and gives feedback on accessibility. But more than that, it enhances your uploaded files, especially PDFs, by giving students access to alternative formats.

Let me explain. After running UDOIT in a course, I saw that each uploaded PDF now had a small dropdown arrow (yes, the carrot, a triangle that’s easy to miss). When clicked, it gave a menu of options: students could view, download, listen to, or even translate the file.

That’s when it hit me. For the student I had just met with, struggling through long English readings, this was exactly what they needed. Being able to listen to the text instead of just reading it? Game changer. Being able to translate it into their first language? Even better.

I’d ignored that button for weeks. And in just one minute, truly less time than it’s taking me to type this paragraph, I had transformed how my course materials could be accessed.

Naturally, I clicked the button in all my other courses too.

What Happened Next

The following week, I pointed out the “carrot” menu to my students when introducing required readings. Some were indifferent. But many were visibly pleased, even grateful.

It turns out, this wasn’t just helpful for students whose first language isn’t English. It supported:

• Students who process information better when they hear it aloud.
• Students who rely on screen readers or other assistive technology.
• Students who want to read on mobile devices or convert text to braille.
• Students who simply benefit from having options.
  

In short, this small step made my course materials more accessible for a wide range of learners. No change to the content. No compromise on rigor. Just flexibility in how students access the information.

Accessibility is a Shared Responsibility

In my work preparing future educators, we talk a lot about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which is the idea of designing lessons that support all learners by anticipating variability, rather than reacting to it. When we design with UDL in mind, we embed supports from the beginning so that no student needs to ask for special accommodations later.

That’s exactly what UDOIT enables us to do. It’s not about changing what we teach. It’s about making sure that how we teach is more inclusive. Even if you believe, as I did, that you’re already doing fine on accessibility, I urge you to click that button anyway. UDOIT doesn’t just flag problems; it enhances what you’ve already created. It adds flexibility for your students without adding workload for you.

So, Here’s Your “One More Thing”

If you’re looking for a meaningful “one more thing” to tackle this week, let it be this:

• Open one of your Canvas courses.
• Click the “Check Accessibility with UDOIT” button.
• Let it scan your content.
• Check your PDFs for the dropdown carrot.
• Show it to your students.
  

That’s it. A minute or two of your time could mean the difference between a student quietly struggling and confidently engaging with your course materials.

I get how easy it is to ignore yet another update, another feature, another button. But this one, this very quiet, unassuming little button, is doing big things. It made me rethink how accessible my “accessible” courses really were.

I’m glad I finally clicked it. I hope you will, too.

P.S. If you’re unsure how to get started, reach out to Kristi O’Neil-Gonzalez. Chances are, she’ll be in your office before you finish the email. *wink*