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Ally Quick Start for Instructors
Improve the usability and accessibility of your content
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
Typically, you should see your accessibility score within 15-90 seconds. This may take longer if your content is complex, or if you have a lot of course content and it is being assessed all at once.
Alternative formats
Ally creates alternative formats of your course files based on the original. These formats are made available with the original file so students can find everything in one convenient location.
You don’t need to do anything. The alternative formats are created for you. If you want, you can disable alternative formats for any individual content item for whatever reason.
Select the menu beside your file and select Alternative formats to see the different formats available.
A window displaying options to download alternative formats [1] will be displayed.
To disable alternative formats, click the drop-down arrow [2] and select Disable alternative formats for this file.
To download the file in an alternative format, click the Download button [3].
Many classrooms today, both physical and digital, are integrated with students with diverse needs. Alternative formats provide greater opportunity for everyone to access the information they need in the way they need or want it.
With alternative formats, all students can meet the same learning objectives using resources that are built to target the needs of the individual student. For example, Ally creates audio and electronic braille alternatives for students with visual impairments.
Alternative formats aren't just for a select group of students. Alternative formats benefit everyone. For example, your students may be prone to eye strain, or maybe they are an auditory learner. They can listen to an audio format of the file you uploaded instead. Or use the HTML or ePub formats for easier reading on a mobile device.
More on the different alternative formats and their benefits
Instructors don’t need to do anything. Ally creates alternative formats for you.
Accessibility score indicators
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.
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Low (0-33%): Needs help! There are severe accessibility issues.
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Medium (34-66%): A little better. The file is somewhat accessible and needs improvement.
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High (67-99%): Almost there. The file is accessible but more improvements are possible.
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Perfect (100%): Perfect! Ally didn't identify any accessibility issues.
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 to fix first. It will show you how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file.
More on accessibility scores
Instructor feedback
Ally provides you with detailed feedback and support to help you become an accessibility pro. Learn about accessibility issues, why they matter, and how to fix them. Green is the goal!
Select the Accessibility score to open the instructor feedback. 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.
Select All issues if you want to see how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file.
Find the available alternative formats
After files are attached to a course, Ally creates alternative formats of the file based on the original. For example, if the original file is a PDF, Ally creates audio, electronic braille, and ePub formats of the same content. These formats are made available with the original file so everything is in one convenient location.
The alternative formats created depend on the original file type. 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.
If you've added files to a Course Page, click the Alternative formats link next to the page title.
Find a file attached to your course. Select the drop-down menu button beside it [1] and select Alternative formats [2]. Choose the version that is best for your needs!
You can find alternative formats anywhere a file is located in the course.
What alternative formats does Ally generate?
Ally can provide alternative formats for these file types:
- PDF files
- Microsoft® Word files
- Microsoft® Powerpoint® files
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice files
- Uploaded HTML files
- Image files (JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BPM, TIFF)
These alternative formats can be generated:
- OCR’d version (for scanned documents)
- Tagged PDF (currently for Word, Powerpoint, and OpenOffice/LibreOffice files)
- Mobile-friendly HTML
- Audio
- ePub
- Electronic Braille
- Beeline Reader
More on each alternative format
Disable alternative formats
You can turn off alternative formats for individual content items if you want. If you change your mind, you can enable it again later.
This only disables alternative formats on the selected file. You must follow these steps for every file you want to disable.
- Find a file attached to your course.
- Select Alternative formats.
- Select the menu beside the Download alternative formats heading.
- Select Disable alternative formats for this file.
- Select Close.
If students try to download alternative formats when disabled, they see a message telling them the alternative formats for that content item are not available.
Enable disabled alternative formats
You can turn alternative formats on if they are disabled.
This only enables alternative formats on the selected file. You must follow these steps for every file you want to enable.
- Find a file attached to your course.
- Select the menu beside it and select Alternative formats.
- Click the Enable for this file button.
- Select the Close (X) button.
Course Accessibility Report
The course accessibility report acts as a complement to the existing accessibility indicators. It provides an accessibility summary and overview at the course level.
It can be found under the Course Menu:
Ally’s course accessibility report includes Overview and Content tabs so that you can get the big picture as well as specific details about the accessibility of your digital course content.
- The Overview tab shows the accessibility score for the course, course content grouped by content type, and a list of all issues identified in the course
- The Content tab shows you the content with accessibility issues.
Use the report to help you decide what to fix first. For example, the content that's easiest to fix or content with the most severe issues.
Issues are listed in order of priority from severe to minor. Those at the top of the list should be addressed first. Ally looks at the number of students impacted, how often the issue occurs, and the accessibility score to determine the priority.
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Severe. These issues are the greatest risk to accessibility and require the most attention.
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Major. These issues impact accessibility, and while not severe, require attention.
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Minor. These issues should be considered for a better accessibility score.
Select an issue to see all the pieces of content that have that issue. Select a piece of content to open the Instructor Feedback panel to fix the issue.
FAQs
What does the instructor need to do to generate alternative accessible formats for a content item?
Nothing. Ally automatically picks up on any existing or new materials, runs them through the accessibility checklist, and makes the alternative accessible versions available to both the student and the instructor.
Is there a file size limit?
No, there is no file size limit. There may be cases where the algorithm fails to generate alternative accessible formats for certain large files, but Ally doesn’t enforce a maximum file size.
How does Ally handle password-protected content?
Ally detects password-protected content, gives them a 0% accessibility score, and provides guidance to help remove the password through the instructor feedback. Ally does not generate any alternative formats for password-protected content, as we can’t get access to the actual content.
Can I disable alternative formats?
Yes. You can turn off alternative formats for individual content items if you want. If you change your mind, you can enable it again later.