{"id":2177,"date":"2018-08-15T14:08:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T14:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/?p=2177"},"modified":"2022-09-20T11:14:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T11:14:00","slug":"getting-started-with-blackboard-ally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/","title":{"rendered":"Create accessible content: getting started with Blackboard Ally"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is Blackboard Ally?<\/h2>\n<p>Blackboard Ally is designed to make digital content more accessible. The tool is integrated into all Blackboard Courses and Organisations.<\/p>\n<p>Ally allows students on your course to choose the formats that work best for them: for example, HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, Electronic Braille for the visually impaired, and Audio versions to enable learning on the go.<\/p>\n<p>Ally also helps you to improve the accessibility of content that you provide through Blackboard. It automatically scans your course content, and performs a series of steps to make uploaded files more accessible.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Generates alternative formats for students to download<\/li>\n<li>Provides accessibility scores for you as an Instructor<\/li>\n<li>Gives Instructor feedback on how to improve your accessibility scores.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/digitalaccessibilityintl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more about Accessibility and Inclusive Practice on the TEL website<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Accessibility score indicators for Instructors<\/h2>\n<h3>Uploaded files<\/h3>\n<p>Ally measures the accessibility of each file attached to your course and shows you at-a-glance how it scores.<\/p>\n<p>Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score the fewer the issues that Ally can find.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img data-attachment-id=\"13525\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally_teacher_score_low-01-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_low-01-2-e1655114448428.png?fit=46%2C32&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"46,32\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ally_teacher_score_low-01-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_low-01-2-e1655114448428.png?fit=46%2C32&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_low-01-2-e1655114448428.png?fit=46%2C32&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13525 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_low-01-2-e1655114448428.png?resize=46%2C32&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ally low score icon\" width=\"46\" height=\"32\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Low:<br \/>\n<\/strong>File is not very accessible and there are lots of issues that can be fixed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img data-attachment-id=\"13523\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally_teacher_score_medium-02\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_medium-02-e1655114479310.png?fit=50%2C31&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"50,31\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ally_teacher_score_medium-02\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_medium-02-e1655114479310.png?fit=50%2C31&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_medium-02-e1655114479310.png?fit=50%2C31&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13523 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_medium-02-e1655114479310.png?resize=50%2C31&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ally medium score icon\" width=\"50\" height=\"31\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Medium:<\/strong><br \/>\nFile is somewhat accessible and could be improved.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img data-attachment-id=\"13526\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally_teacher_score_high_01\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_high_01-e1655114585282.png?fit=50%2C42&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"50,42\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ally_teacher_score_high_01\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_high_01-e1655114585282.png?fit=50%2C42&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_high_01-e1655114585282.png?fit=50%2C42&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13526 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_high_01-e1655114585282.png?resize=50%2C42&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ally high score icon\" width=\"50\" height=\"42\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>High:<\/strong><br \/>\nFile is accessible but could be improved.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img data-attachment-id=\"13527\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally_teacher_score_perfect-01\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_perfect-01-e1655114727240.png?fit=55%2C40&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"55,40\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ally_teacher_score_perfect-01\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_perfect-01-e1655114727240.png?fit=55%2C40&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_perfect-01-e1655114727240.png?fit=55%2C40&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13527 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/ally_teacher_score_perfect-01-e1655114727240.png?resize=55%2C40&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ally perfect score icon\" width=\"55\" height=\"40\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Perfect:<\/strong><br \/>\nNo more issues have been detected in this file.<\/p>\n<p>For files with <em>Low<\/em> to <em>High<\/em> scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them &#8211; see &#8216;Instructor Feedback&#8217; below.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Instructor\/Accessiblity_Scores\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More on accessibility scores (Blackboard Help site)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Content that you type into Blackboard<\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">From January 2022, Ally also checks and provides Instructor feedback for WYSIWYG content<\/span> &#8211; i.e. the text and media that you insert directly into Blackboard using the content editing window.<\/p>\n<p>You will see an Ally accessibility indicator whenever you are creating or editing course content &#8211; for example, a content item, announcement, blog or discussion post.<\/p>\n<p><img data-attachment-id=\"12090\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally-wysigyg-indicator\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?fit=908%2C397&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"908,397\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ally WYSIGYG indicator\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?fit=908%2C397&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?fit=908%2C397&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12090\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?resize=908%2C397&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Screenshot showing the Ally indicator for WYSIGYG content\" width=\"908\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?w=908&amp;ssl=1 908w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?resize=768%2C336&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?resize=150%2C66&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?resize=366%2C160&amp;ssl=1 366w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-WYSIGYG-indicator.png?resize=770%2C337&amp;ssl=1 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Instructor\/WYSIWYG\">More on WYSIWYG Accessibility (Blackboard Help site)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Instructor feedback<\/h2>\n<p>Ally provides detailed feedback and support to help you create more accessible content. Ally can help you learn about accessibility issues, why they matter, and how to fix them.<\/p>\n<p>Click on the <em>Accessibility score <\/em>icon to open the instructor feedback for any content item.<\/p>\n<p>Follow the steps on screen to go step-by-step through the issues which Ally has identified.<\/p>\n<p>Select <em>All issues<\/em> to see every issue in the file and decide which issues to fix first.<\/p>\n<p>Selecting <em>All issues<\/em> also allows you to see how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file.<\/p>\n<p><img data-attachment-id=\"13520\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?fit=1918%2C913&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1918,913\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?fit=1918%2C913&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?fit=980%2C466&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13520\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=980%2C466&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Image showing the Accessibility gauge\" width=\"980\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?w=1918&amp;ssl=1 1918w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=768%2C366&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=1536%2C731&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=150%2C71&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=366%2C174&amp;ssl=1 366w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Accessability-gauge-on-instructor-feedback.png?resize=770%2C367&amp;ssl=1 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Course Accessibility Report<\/h2>\n<p>You can also see a summary of\u00a0 accessibility issues for all content in your course &#8211; and start to fix those issues &#8211; from the <a title=\"Blackboard Ally: Course Accessibility Report\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/08\/30\/blackboard-ally-course-accessibility-report\/\">Course Accessibility Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Alternative formats for Students<\/h2>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to do anything. The alternative formats are created for you, but the more accessible the content you create, the more accessible those alternative formats will be.<\/p>\n<p>Click on the <strong>Alternative formats<\/strong> icon to see the different formats now available to your students.<\/p>\n<p><img data-attachment-id=\"5614\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/ally-12-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?fit=1185%2C368&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1185,368\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ally 12\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?fit=1185%2C368&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?fit=980%2C304&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5614 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png\" alt=\"Ally alternative format icon and opening the alternative format menu\" width=\"1185\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?w=1185&amp;ssl=1 1185w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?resize=768%2C239&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?resize=150%2C47&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?resize=366%2C114&amp;ssl=1 366w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/Ally-12-1.png?resize=770%2C239&amp;ssl=1 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Student\/Alternative_Formats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More on alternative formats for students (Blackboard Help site)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What if I don&#8217;t want to generate alternative formats?<\/h3>\n<p>If use of a file you&#8217;ve uploaded is restricted by copyright, or you simply don&#8217;t want students to be able to generate alternative versions of it, you can turn Ally off for that individual file.<\/p>\n<p>To do this, access the Alternative formats screen and click on the drop-down at the top of the window and choose &#8211; <em>Disable alternative formats for this file.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img data-attachment-id=\"14227\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2018\/08\/15\/getting-started-with-blackboard-ally\/2022-09-14_09-36-35\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?fit=658%2C781&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"658,781\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2022-09-14_09-36-35\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?fit=658%2C781&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?fit=658%2C781&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14227\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?resize=658%2C781&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"screenshot of Alternative Formats window with the &quot;Disabled alternative formats for this item&quot; option displayed in the open contextual menu. Immersive Reader option is circled as it is a new addition to the alternative formats options. \" width=\"658\" height=\"781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?w=658&amp;ssl=1 658w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?resize=126%2C150&amp;ssl=1 126w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2018\/08\/2022-09-14_09-36-35.jpg?resize=366%2C434&amp;ssl=1 366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If the file you&#8217;ve uploaded is a PDF and you find that you cannot access alternative formats for it, it&#8217;s likely one of these meta-tags have been set to &#8220;Not Allowed&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Content Copying<\/li>\n<li>Content Copying for Accessibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Immersive Reader<\/h3>\n<p>Immersive Reader has been added to the list of alternative formats.<\/p>\n<p>Immersive Reader is an online alternative format that enhances the reading experience, increasing the readability of the content it allows learners to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Change font size and text spacing<\/li>\n<li>Change the contrast between the text and the background color<\/li>\n<li>Learn spelling and grammar by splitting words into syllables<\/li>\n<li>Highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives, and sub-clauses<\/li>\n<li>View a picture dictionary<\/li>\n<li>Increase reading speed with line focus<\/li>\n<li>Convert text-to-speech (both male and female voices)<\/li>\n<li>Translate content in real-time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>See <a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Student\/Alternative_Formats#:~:text=Different%20language-,Immersive%20Reader,-In%20a%20nutshell\">the Blackboard help page on Alternative formats<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<h2>Where to get help with Ally<\/h2>\n<p>Blackboard Help site<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Instructor\/Accessiblity_Scores\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What are Accessibility Scores?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Instructor\/View_File_Accessibility\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Viewing File Accessibility<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Instructor\/Improve_File_Accessibility\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Improving File Accessibility<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/Ally\/Ally_for_LMS\/Instructor\/FAQs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALLY Instructor FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Help with creating accessible materials<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility-and-inclusive-practice\/accessible-blackboard-courses\/\">Inclusive Design and your Blackboard Module<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/09\/13\/create-accessible-content-microsoft\/\">Create accessible content: Microsoft<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/09\/13\/create-accessible-content-adobe-acrobat-pdfs\/\">Create accessible content: Adobe PDFs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/09\/13\/create-accessible-content-images-and-media-files\/\">Create accessible content: Images<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Blackboard Ally? Blackboard Ally is designed to make digital content more accessible. The tool is integrated into all Blackboard Courses and Organisations. Ally allows students on your course to choose the formats that work best for them: for example, HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, Electronic Braille for the visually impaired, and Audio versions to enable learning on the go. Ally also helps you to improve the accessibility of content that you provide through Blackboard. It automatically scans your course content, and performs a series of steps to make uploaded files more accessible. Generates alternative formats for students to download Provides accessibility scores for you as an Instructor Gives Instructor feedback on how to improve your accessibility scores. Read more about Accessibility and Inclusive Practice on the TEL website Accessibility score indicators for Instructors Uploaded files 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 that Ally can find. Low: File is not very accessible and there are lots of issues that can be fixed. Medium: File is somewhat accessible and could be improved. High: File is accessible but could be improved. Perfect: No more issues have been detected in this file. For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them &#8211; see &#8216;Instructor Feedback&#8217; below. More on accessibility scores (Blackboard Help site) Content that you type into Blackboard From January 2022, Ally also checks and provides Instructor feedback for WYSIWYG content &#8211; i.e. the text and media that you insert directly into Blackboard using the content editing window. You will see an Ally accessibility indicator whenever you are creating or editing course content &#8211; for example, a content item, announcement, blog or discussion post. More on WYSIWYG Accessibility (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; Instructor feedback Ally provides detailed feedback and support to help you create more accessible content. Ally can help you learn about accessibility issues, why they matter, and how to fix them. Click on the Accessibility score icon to open the instructor feedback for any content item. Follow the steps on screen to go step-by-step through the issues which Ally has identified. Select All issues to see every issue in the file and decide which issues to fix first. Selecting All issues also allows you to see how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file. Course Accessibility Report You can also see a summary of\u00a0 accessibility issues for all content in your course &#8211; and start to fix those issues &#8211; from the Course Accessibility Report. Alternative formats for Students 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\u2019t need to do anything. The alternative formats are created for you, but the more accessible the content you create, the more accessible those alternative formats will be. Click on the Alternative formats icon to see the different formats now available to your students. More on alternative formats for students (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; What if I don&#8217;t want to generate alternative formats? If use of a file you&#8217;ve uploaded is restricted by copyright, or you simply don&#8217;t want students to be able to generate alternative versions of it, you can turn Ally off for that individual file. To do this, access the Alternative formats screen and click on the drop-down at the top of the window and choose &#8211; Disable alternative formats for this file. If the file you&#8217;ve uploaded is a PDF and you find that you cannot access alternative formats for it, it&#8217;s likely one of these meta-tags have been set to &#8220;Not Allowed&#8221;: Content Copying Content Copying for Accessibility Immersive Reader Immersive Reader has been added to the list of alternative formats. Immersive Reader is an online alternative format that enhances the reading experience, increasing the readability of the content it allows learners to: Change font size and text spacing Change the contrast between the text and the background color Learn spelling and grammar by splitting words into syllables Highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives, and sub-clauses View a picture dictionary Increase reading speed with line focus Convert text-to-speech (both male and female voices) Translate content in real-time See the Blackboard help page on Alternative formats for more information. Where to get help with Ally Blackboard Help site What are Accessibility Scores? Viewing File Accessibility Improving File Accessibility ALLY Instructor FAQs Help with creating accessible materials Inclusive Design and your Blackboard Module Create accessible content: Microsoft Create accessible content: Adobe PDFs Create accessible content: Images &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[255,256,234,241],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Create accessible content: getting started with Blackboard Ally - Blackboard Help for Staff - University of Reading<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Create accessible content: getting started with Blackboard Ally - Blackboard Help for Staff - University of Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is Blackboard Ally? Blackboard Ally is designed to make digital content more accessible. The tool is integrated into all Blackboard Courses and Organisations. Ally allows students on your course to choose the formats that work best for them: for example, HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, Electronic Braille for the visually impaired, and Audio versions to enable learning on the go. Ally also helps you to improve the accessibility of content that you provide through Blackboard. It automatically scans your course content, and performs a series of steps to make uploaded files more accessible. Generates alternative formats for students to download Provides accessibility scores for you as an Instructor Gives Instructor feedback on how to improve your accessibility scores. Read more about Accessibility and Inclusive Practice on the TEL website Accessibility score indicators for Instructors Uploaded files 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 that Ally can find. Low: File is not very accessible and there are lots of issues that can be fixed. Medium: File is somewhat accessible and could be improved. High: File is accessible but could be improved. Perfect: No more issues have been detected in this file. For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them &#8211; see &#8216;Instructor Feedback&#8217; below. More on accessibility scores (Blackboard Help site) Content that you type into Blackboard From January 2022, Ally also checks and provides Instructor feedback for WYSIWYG content &#8211; i.e. the text and media that you insert directly into Blackboard using the content editing window. You will see an Ally accessibility indicator whenever you are creating or editing course content &#8211; for example, a content item, announcement, blog or discussion post. More on WYSIWYG Accessibility (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; Instructor feedback Ally provides detailed feedback and support to help you create more accessible content. Ally can help you learn about accessibility issues, why they matter, and how to fix them. Click on the Accessibility score icon to open the instructor feedback for any content item. Follow the steps on screen to go step-by-step through the issues which Ally has identified. Select All issues to see every issue in the file and decide which issues to fix first. Selecting All issues also allows you to see how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file. Course Accessibility Report You can also see a summary of\u00a0 accessibility issues for all content in your course &#8211; and start to fix those issues &#8211; from the Course Accessibility Report. Alternative formats for Students 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\u2019t need to do anything. The alternative formats are created for you, but the more accessible the content you create, the more accessible those alternative formats will be. Click on the Alternative formats icon to see the different formats now available to your students. More on alternative formats for students (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; What if I don&#8217;t want to generate alternative formats? If use of a file you&#8217;ve uploaded is restricted by copyright, or you simply don&#8217;t want students to be able to generate alternative versions of it, you can turn Ally off for that individual file. To do this, access the Alternative formats screen and click on the drop-down at the top of the window and choose &#8211; Disable alternative formats for this file. If the file you&#8217;ve uploaded is a PDF and you find that you cannot access alternative formats for it, it&#8217;s likely one of these meta-tags have been set to &#8220;Not Allowed&#8221;: Content Copying Content Copying for Accessibility Immersive Reader Immersive Reader has been added to the list of alternative formats. Immersive Reader is an online alternative format that enhances the reading experience, increasing the readability of the content it allows learners to: Change font size and text spacing Change the contrast between the text and the background color Learn spelling and grammar by splitting words into syllables Highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives, and sub-clauses View a picture dictionary Increase reading speed with line focus Convert text-to-speech (both male and female voices) Translate content in real-time See the Blackboard help page on Alternative formats for more information. Where to get help with Ally Blackboard Help site What are Accessibility Scores? 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Blackboard Ally is designed to make digital content more accessible. The tool is integrated into all Blackboard Courses and Organisations. Ally allows students on your course to choose the formats that work best for them: for example, HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, Electronic Braille for the visually impaired, and Audio versions to enable learning on the go. Ally also helps you to improve the accessibility of content that you provide through Blackboard. It automatically scans your course content, and performs a series of steps to make uploaded files more accessible. Generates alternative formats for students to download Provides accessibility scores for you as an Instructor Gives Instructor feedback on how to improve your accessibility scores. Read more about Accessibility and Inclusive Practice on the TEL website Accessibility score indicators for Instructors Uploaded files 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 that Ally can find. Low: File is not very accessible and there are lots of issues that can be fixed. Medium: File is somewhat accessible and could be improved. High: File is accessible but could be improved. Perfect: No more issues have been detected in this file. For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them &#8211; see &#8216;Instructor Feedback&#8217; below. More on accessibility scores (Blackboard Help site) Content that you type into Blackboard From January 2022, Ally also checks and provides Instructor feedback for WYSIWYG content &#8211; i.e. the text and media that you insert directly into Blackboard using the content editing window. You will see an Ally accessibility indicator whenever you are creating or editing course content &#8211; for example, a content item, announcement, blog or discussion post. More on WYSIWYG Accessibility (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; Instructor feedback Ally provides detailed feedback and support to help you create more accessible content. Ally can help you learn about accessibility issues, why they matter, and how to fix them. Click on the Accessibility score icon to open the instructor feedback for any content item. Follow the steps on screen to go step-by-step through the issues which Ally has identified. Select All issues to see every issue in the file and decide which issues to fix first. Selecting All issues also allows you to see how much each fix will improve the accessibility of the file. Course Accessibility Report You can also see a summary of\u00a0 accessibility issues for all content in your course &#8211; and start to fix those issues &#8211; from the Course Accessibility Report. Alternative formats for Students 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\u2019t need to do anything. The alternative formats are created for you, but the more accessible the content you create, the more accessible those alternative formats will be. Click on the Alternative formats icon to see the different formats now available to your students. More on alternative formats for students (Blackboard Help site) &nbsp; What if I don&#8217;t want to generate alternative formats? If use of a file you&#8217;ve uploaded is restricted by copyright, or you simply don&#8217;t want students to be able to generate alternative versions of it, you can turn Ally off for that individual file. To do this, access the Alternative formats screen and click on the drop-down at the top of the window and choose &#8211; Disable alternative formats for this file. If the file you&#8217;ve uploaded is a PDF and you find that you cannot access alternative formats for it, it&#8217;s likely one of these meta-tags have been set to &#8220;Not Allowed&#8221;: Content Copying Content Copying for Accessibility Immersive Reader Immersive Reader has been added to the list of alternative formats. Immersive Reader is an online alternative format that enhances the reading experience, increasing the readability of the content it allows learners to: Change font size and text spacing Change the contrast between the text and the background color Learn spelling and grammar by splitting words into syllables Highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives, and sub-clauses View a picture dictionary Increase reading speed with line focus Convert text-to-speech (both male and female voices) Translate content in real-time See the Blackboard help page on Alternative formats for more information. Where to get help with Ally Blackboard Help site What are Accessibility Scores? 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