Blackboard Ally for Courses

Ally is an accessibility tool that is directly integrated with Blackboard. Ally focuses on digital accessibility for students and provides guidance and tips for lasting improvements to your content accessibility. With Ally you can:

  • Receive feedback on the accessibility of your content
  • Improve content accessibility with Ally’s step-by-step instructions

In addition to providing you with insight to your content accessibility, Ally automatically creates alternative versions of your files. This allows students to choose the type of file they want that best suits their needs. While you’re in the process of improving files, students still access alternative copies.

Why use Blackboard Ally?

Your class is full of diverse students with unique learning abilities. Providing them with more accessible original content means they can choose formats that work best for them: HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, Electronic Braille for the visually impaired, and Audio for learning on the go. Ally automatically scans your original content, and performs a series of steps to make them more accessible.

  • Generate alternative formats for students to download
  • Provide accessibility scores
  • Give instructor feedback on how to improve your accessibility score

Note: When you receive any type of accessibility “score” on your content, this acts as a recommendation, not a definitive evaluation. Accessibility scores do not have any effect on courses directly, and only serve to offer guidance to you as an instructor.

Video: Overview for Instructors of Ally for Blackboard

Access to Ally for Your Course

Ally is seamlessly integrated into your Blackboard course environment, requiring no additional software installation. If you wish to opt out of Ally’s functionality within your course, please complete the designated opt-out form linked below.

How to tell if Ally is Enabled

When you log in to your Blackboard course, look for the Download Alternative Formats icon (shown below) next to any supported content. To explore the full list of supported alternative formats generated by Ally, visit this page.  You can then view and download the format that best meets your learning preferences or accessibility needs.

Download Alternative Formats icon
How to locate Alternative Formats icon in your Blackboard course

Alternative Formats

Ally automatically generates alternative formats of your course content based on the original files. These formats are made available alongside the original materials, allowing students to access everything from a single, convenient location. No action is required on your part, Ally creates these alternative formats for you. However, if needed, you can choose to disable alternative formats for individual content items.

To view the available formats or manage their availability, select the Download Alternative Formats icon wherever it appears in your course. Note: The alternative formats created depend on the original content. If you don’t see an option to download alternative formats, Ally isn’t enabled for that course or the file is not a supported content type.

Accessibility Scores and Course Accessibility

Ally measures the accessibility of each file attached to your course and shows you at-a-glance how it scores. Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score the fewer the issues.

  • Accessibility Scores Range - Low Low: File is not accessible and needs immediate attention.
  • Accessibility Scores Range - Medium Medium: File is somewhat accessible and could use improvement.
  • Accessibility Scores Range - High High: File is accessible but could be improved.
  • Accessibility Scores Range - Perfect Perfect: File is accessible. No improvement needed.

For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them.

Find a file and select the Accessibility score. Follow the steps in front of you to go step-by-step. Select All issues to see every issue in the file and decide what issues to fix first.

Remediating Common Content Accessibility Issues

Additional Tutorials and Videos