Learning is Accessible for All with Blackboard AllyApril 27, 2021 at 10:48 AMDear Campus Community,
A powerful new instructional technology tool called Blackboard Ally will enable faculty to make their online and hybrid courses more accessible for all learners and better ensure that all online course content is compliant with the federal guidelines associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Ally will automatically be enabled in Blackboard starting with all Fall 2021 courses. Both faculty and their students will see important enhancements in their Blackboard online classrooms. First, both faculty and their students will have access to multiple alternative formats automatically created by Ally. The alternative formats include versions for those with auditory and visual disabilities as well as formats that assist all learners, such as text documents that can be read aloud by a screen reader.
Further, instructors will notice accessibility indicators in the online classroom next to all course files that show to what extent that content is ADA compliant. Faculty can also run reports to identify the overall accessibility of their course content, and Ally will identify areas of noncompliance as well as supply tutorials for how to address them.
The Instructional Technology team in IT will begin offering training for faculty over the summer and will continue to offer training regularly in the 2021-22 academic year. The link below gives you more information as well as the link to IT’s resources on Ally and its functionality.
Instructors are encouraged to reach out to Instructional Technology or the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership (CETAL) to learn more.
https://uca.edu/cetal/files/2021/04/Bb-Ally-Introduction.pdf
Thank You,
University of Central Arkansas
Division of Information Technology
Burdick Hall
Conway, AR 72035
501-450-3107 | uca.edu/it | @UCAInfoTech
A powerful new instructional technology tool called Blackboard Ally will enable faculty to make their online and hybrid courses more accessible for all learners and better ensure that all online course content is compliant with the federal guidelines associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Ally will automatically be enabled in Blackboard starting with all Fall 2021 courses. Both faculty and their students will see important enhancements in their Blackboard online classrooms. First, both faculty and their students will have access to multiple alternative formats automatically created by Ally. The alternative formats include versions for those with auditory and visual disabilities as well as formats that assist all learners, such as text documents that can be read aloud by a screen reader.
Further, instructors will notice accessibility indicators in the online classroom next to all course files that show to what extent that content is ADA compliant. Faculty can also run reports to identify the overall accessibility of their course content, and Ally will identify areas of noncompliance as well as supply tutorials for how to address them.
The Instructional Technology team in IT will begin offering training for faculty over the summer and will continue to offer training regularly in the 2021-22 academic year. The link below gives you more information as well as the link to IT’s resources on Ally and its functionality.
Instructors are encouraged to reach out to Instructional Technology or the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership (CETAL) to learn more.
https://uca.edu/cetal/files/2021/04/Bb-Ally-Introduction.pdf
Thank You,
University of Central Arkansas
Division of Information Technology
Burdick Hall
Conway, AR 72035
501-450-3107 | uca.edu/it | @UCAInfoTech