Accessibility & Inclusion
Accessibility
Ally adds flexible options for students to view course materials in ways that adapt to their needs. When students view courses in Blackboard, students can click on the Ally symbol wherever text, image, link, and file content is present to access their choice of alternative document format, such as speech-to-text MP3 audio, machine translated language, electronic braille, beeline reader, and immersive reader.
Faculty can use Ally to ensure that materials are easily accessible. Wherever you have composed text and shared files in a Blackboard shell, you will see an Ally Accessibility Score gauge that will provide feedback about the content’s accessibility based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Instructors can click on the Ally Accessibility Score to see a Feedback Panel with an explanation of any issues and step by step instructions for improving the content’s accessibility.
Expression
Faculty and students can customize their Blackboard profiles with their preferred pronouns and pronunciation tips. This information is available wherever a Blackboard profile avatar appears in a course, such as the Discussion Board, Journal, and Gradebook. Simply click on a user’s avatar icon to view their information.