Spring 2021 Ally Pilot

The Learning Management Systems Team at the office of Digital Transformation is planning to pilot Blackboard Ally during Spring 2021 semester. Ally helps faculty make their digital course content files, links and multimedia content more accessible and diverse by providing alternative formats and guiding faculty all the way to help fix any accessibility issues found in the course.

Video: Blackboard Ally for courses

Aim of the Project:

Help provide and promote inclusivity in digital learning materials for equal opportunity to all students having access to online course materials.
In addition, to enable the university to become compliant with web accessibility guidelines on published web content

What is needed from Pilot Participants:

1. Send the Spring 2021 course ID to enable Ally on by filling this form
2. Attend a one-hour orientation session
3. Acquaint students with the new icons enabled to students after the Ally activation
4. Share your overall feedback of the pilot

Faculty Benefits in Using Ally:

1. Eliminate the need to use multiple accessibility checker tools to review your course materials. Ally does the whole job.
2. Ally automatically generates alternative material formats to your original document allowing for more diverse content for students to select the best suitable version of the document that meets their needs.
3. Guides faculty and provide feedback on how to fix accessibility issues found in the course
4. A complete compiled accessibility report review can be exported.