Tech Highlight
Introducing Blackboard Ally
UFV has brought on Blackboard Ally in order to help instructors create accessible content for students to access.
What does Ally do?
Blackboard Ally works seamlessly with Blackboard Learn to gauge the accessibility of your course content. Ally provides guidance and tips for lasting improvements to your content accessibility.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.
Why use Ally?
Accessible course content makes it easier for everyone to read and access your materials and can help improve overall quality and usability. There are many low-effort adjustments instructors can make to start creating more accessible content.
Instructor Testimonial
Michelle Johnson, (Instructor, College of Arts, PORT 398 Course)
“Ally has peen particularly helpful for my students who are overwhelmed with so much reading from a computer monitor. Ally gives them the opportunity to access files in a variety of formats one of those being audio. Instead of reading a posted article, students can listen to it while commuting, exercising, or preparing dinner for their families. I also saw a great benefit in the way that I organized and formatted my own assignment instructions after reviewing the files in different formats. Listening to a computer-narrated audio file of my assignment instructions allowed me to understand how important different levels of headings, and other formatting structures are. I improved the clarity of my assignment instruction documents by adding numbered lists, and alternative text for images for example. The interface in Ally showed me how to do these things as well as why to do them for better accessibility for all learners.”
Use the Blackboard Ally Accessibility Checklist
Learn more about using Ally
Ally is available for any instructor to use at this time. Requests for Ally can be sent to asktlc@ufv.ca. Faculty who wish to use Ally will be enrolled in TLC’s webinar information session upon implementation. Read more about Ally here: www.ally.ac