Ally for Teachers College

Ally for Teachers College

Ally is an integrated tool in Canvas that helps instructors enhance the accessibility of digital content in their courses. Ally instantly checks your Canvas course files for common accessibility issues using a scoring system. Ally then provides guidance and tips for improvements that will drastically increase the accessibility of your course content and creates alternative formats for your files, such as audio files, screen-readable PDFs, etc. Instructors can improve file accessibility with Ally's step-by-step instructions.

Accessibility Indicators

You will see these indicators throughout your course once Ally has been enabled. These indicators will appear next to files, content uploaded into your course Modules, and in the content editor when you create a Canvas page. 

  •   Red indicators are low scoring (0-33%): Needs help! There are severe accessibility issues.
  • Orange indicators are medium scoring (34-66%): A little better. The file is somewhat accessible and needs improvement.
  •  Light green indicators are high scoring (67-99%): Almost there. The file is accessible but more improvements are possible.
  •   Dark green indicators are a perfect score (100%): Perfect! Ally didn't identify any accessibility issues but further improvements may still be possible.

To view the feedback associated with each indicator, click on the icon to receive feedback about the accessibility issues, how they may impact your students, and how to fix them! 

By following the steps laid out by Ally you will improve the accessibility of the content in your Canvas course. 

Once Ally has been enabled in your Canvas course you can view your course report and errors in one place. By clicking “Ally Course Accessibility Report” in your course navigation you will be directed to your accessibility score for your entire course and all of the contents.

  • Keep in mind that when your Ally score is generated it is looking at all files in your Canvas course, even the ones that are not published.
  • To improve your score click on the indicator next to the files that you are using that semester and make the needed adjustments. You can find these indicators in the modules section of your course or in the Ally Course Assaaibility Report.

One of the major benefits of enabling Ally in your Canvas course is the use of alternative formats for your students. Ally will automatically generate alternative formats for documents uploaded to your Canvas course. However, the more accessible the document is the better the alternative format will be.

To access the alternative formats for your course files you or students in your course can click the Ally icon next to the document. fA list of alternative formats for the document will appear.

 

The following guides are useful when working your way through your course accessibility report or your course modules. If you are not able to find the answer you are looking for here you can always contact DFI and we will help you out!

Teachers College Knowledgebase articles:

Blackboard Ally Resources:

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