Ally is a Blackboard integrated tool that helps makes course materials accessible to all students regardless of differences in vision or hearing, specific learning disabilities, or learning preferences. Leveraging the Ally tool in Blackboard helps address students' diverse needs online. Ally provides equitable access to online course materials, not just for accessibility accommodations.
Ally Alternative Formats
Ally creates alternative formats of instructors' course content based on the original. Instructors do not need to do anything to provide these options to students. The user gains access to the automatically created alternative formats via the Ally link that appears next to content items in Blackboard courses. For a complete description of the formats, go to the Blackboard Ally Alternate Format page.
Accessibility Score Indicators
Ally measures the accessibility of each file attached to a course and shows the instructor at a glance how it scores (these scores are not visible to students). Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score, the fewer the issues. For files with Low to High scores, Ally provides the instructor with information about the problems and step-by-step guidance on fixing them. To get the course report from the Add Menu Item on the Course Menu, click Tool Links and select from the (Type row) drop-down menu Accessibility Report. Once you choose it, you must type in a name for the link; you do not have to make the link available to users. Click the Submit button, and the link will appear on the Course Menu.
Course Accessibility Report
The report shows instructors this helpful information:
- Accessibility score for the course
- Distribution of course content by content type
- List of all issues identified in the course
Watch the two brief videos, Introduction to Ally and an Overview for Faculty, to learn more about Ally. As always, you are welcome to request a consultation with an Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team member to learn more about Blackboard Ally or any other instructional design/technology topics. To request personalized assistance, don't hesitate to contact OIT's Support Center at 281-283-2828 or supportcenter@uhcl.edu.
