{"id":8717,"date":"2021-05-26T13:37:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T13:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/?page_id=8717"},"modified":"2021-05-26T13:50:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T13:50:49","slug":"accessibility-checkers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility-checkers\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility Checkers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Accessibility checkers allow you to find areas which might cause issues for anyone interacting with your documents or presentations.<\/p>\n<h2>Microsoft Accessibility Checker<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft has its own <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/office\/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f#picktab=windows\">Accessibility Checker<\/a>, which is available in all Office programmes from 2010 onwards.<\/p>\n<p>Ensuring you are using Office 365 will give you\u00a0 a prompt to check accessibility at the bottom of the page and add the accessibility checker to the ribbon.<\/p>\n<p>The checker highlights any issues in a file and provides guidance on how to fix it and why it is important.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6933 aligncenter\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/44b98d9e-9467-4555-9d6b-1191d1bec34a-300x135.png\" alt=\"Microsoft Check Accessibility option in the ribbon\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/44b98d9e-9467-4555-9d6b-1191d1bec34a-300x135.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/44b98d9e-9467-4555-9d6b-1191d1bec34a.png 374w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Blackboard Ally<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility-and-inclusive-practice\/accessible-blackboard\/accessible-blackboard-courses\/\">Blackboard Ally<\/a> is available on all Blackboard courses and automatically provides alternative formats for your students that allow them to <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/designing-your-blackboard-module\/creating-resources\/\">diversify the way they engage<\/a> with your materials. Ally also offers tips on how to improve the resources you upload, so that it can provide more effective alternative formats.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/ally_student_alternative_formats_download-1.png\" alt=\"Blackboard Ally Alternative formats download dialogue\" width=\"587\" height=\"629\" \/><\/p>\n<style>#sp-ea-6862 .spcollapsing { height: 0; overflow: hidden; transition-property: height;transition-duration: 500ms;}#sp-ea-6862.sp-easy-accordion>.sp-ea-single {margin-bottom: 10px; border: 1px solid #e2e2e2; }#sp-ea-6862.sp-easy-accordion>.sp-ea-single>.ea-header a {color: #444;}#sp-ea-6862.sp-easy-accordion>.sp-ea-single>.sp-collapse>.ea-body {background: #fff; color: #444;}#sp-ea-6862.sp-easy-accordion>.sp-ea-single {background: #eee;}#sp-ea-6862.sp-easy-accordion>.sp-ea-single>.ea-header a .ea-expand-icon { float: left; color: #444;font-size: 16px;}.sp-ea-one.sp-easy-accordion .sp-ea-single .ea-header a {\r\n    padding: 10px !important;\r\n    color: #434343 !important;\r\n    background-color: #EAEAEA !important;\r\n    font-weight: normal !important;\r\n    font-size:1px !important;\r\n \r\n}\r\n.ea-expand-icon.fa {\r\n    color: #434343 !important;\r\n  }<\/style><div id=\"sp_easy_accordion-1776378550\"><div id=\"sp-ea-6862\" class=\"sp-ea-one sp-easy-accordion\" data-ea-active=\"ea-click\" data-ea-mode=\"vertical\" data-preloader=\"\" data-scroll-active-item=\"\" data-offset-to-scroll=\"0\"><div class=\"ea-card sp-ea-single\"><h3 class=\"ea-header\"><a class=\"collapsed\" id=\"ea-header-68620\" role=\"button\" data-sptoggle=\"spcollapse\" data-sptarget=\"#collapse68620\" aria-controls=\"collapse68620\" href=\"#\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"ea-expand-icon eap-icon-ea-expand-plus\"><\/i> Checking your files<\/a><\/h3><div class=\"sp-collapse spcollapse spcollapse\" id=\"collapse68620\" data-parent=\"#sp-ea-6862\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"ea-header-68620\"> <div class=\"ea-body\"><h2>Uploading Documents<\/h2><p>When you upload a file to Blackboard, it will be reviewed by Blackboard Ally to check its accessibility. Ally then renders a score, which indicates the <strong>quality of alternative formats<\/strong> that it is able to produce from the original file. The more accessible a file is initially, the higher this score will be and the better the resulting alternative format will be.<\/p><p><img class=\"alignnone wp-image-6947 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/Ally-Indicators.png\" alt=\"Blackboard Ally Indicators\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/p><p>This score is<strong> only visible to instructors<\/strong> on the course and the information in the Blackboard Ally interface should be used in conjunction with <strong>other <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/office\/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f#picktab=windows\">accessibility checkers<\/a><\/strong> to improve and re-upload files that will supply poor quality alternative formats.<\/p><h2>Uploading Video<\/h2><p>To ensure that your\u00a0 video content is as accessible as possible, you should upload all of your video files to MS Stream and embed them individually into Blackboard, rather than uploading directly, MS Stream can provide automatic captioning that particularly improves experience for students who are <strong>deaf or hard of hearing<\/strong> or for whom<strong> English is a second language<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Video content should not be uploaded directly to your Module. If you have video content that is not currently uploaded to Stream, then it should be removed and replaced with an embedded Stream version.<\/p><h2>Uploading Images<\/h2><p>You can make your Blackboard course more engaging with the use of illustrative images and by providing a variety of media for students to interact with, however this can present a greater accessibility risk.\u00a0If you choose to add images directly to Blackboard, or in-line with text content, it is vital that you add <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/09\/13\/create-accessible-content-images-and-media-files\/\">Alt Text to the image or mark it as 'decorative'<\/a>.<\/p><p><img class=\"alignnone wp-image-6864 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/inline-content.png\" alt=\"blackboard course content with in-line image\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/p><p>When adding alt text to images, it is important to consider the relationship of the image to the content. If the image is decorative, it can be marked as such, but if all or most of the understanding of the topic is held within an image, then it is important to consider how else to convey this information for users who may not be able to view the image.<\/p><p>For highly visual subjects, it can be easy to dismiss the need for alt text, however it is still important to consider how you might convey the information to someone who is unable to see an image. All subjects have the capacity to be studied by students with diverse requirements, and many students are currently accessing Blackboard from a variety of locations, with sometimes limited connectivity, and may struggle to access large image files.<\/p><p>Providing text alternatives, or relevant material that discusses the themes or concepts of an image not only demonstrate Proactive Inclusion, but also diversify engagement options for learners.<\/p><p>The UKAAF provides excellent guidance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukaaf.org\/standards\/#accessible-images\">how to provide alt text for images<\/a>.<\/p><h2>Scanned Content<\/h2><p>Scanned PDFs will present a particular accessibility challenge and are often difficult to read in general. Your School's\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/library\/contact\/staff\/lib-liaison.aspx\">Liaison Librarian<\/a> will be able to help you find copyright-friendly digital material from journals and articles, to avoid having to have inaccessible scanned content on your module.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ea-card sp-ea-single\"><h3 class=\"ea-header\"><a class=\"collapsed\" id=\"ea-header-68621\" role=\"button\" data-sptoggle=\"spcollapse\" data-sptarget=\"#collapse68621\" aria-controls=\"collapse68621\" href=\"#\" aria-expanded=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><i aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"ea-expand-icon eap-icon-ea-expand-plus\"><\/i> Reviewing your course<\/a><\/h3><div class=\"sp-collapse spcollapse spcollapse\" id=\"collapse68621\" data-parent=\"#sp-ea-6862\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"ea-header-68621\"> <div class=\"ea-body\"><p>Ally can help you identify issues you may have missed in individual documents when uploading them to\u00a0Blackboard,\u00a0but it can also give you an overview of the general accessibility of your Blackboard course materials.<\/p><p><img class=\"alignnone wp-image-6948 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2020\/07\/ally_instructor_course_report_overview.png\" alt=\"Blackboard Course Accessibility Report dashboard\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/p><p>The Course Accessibility\u00a0Report (found in the Control Panel under Course Tools) gives an overview of the number of files affected by accessibility issues and highlights which files are the least accessible in a course to help you identify areas which you may have missed, due to courses being copied forward from a previous year or due to being external resources from third parties.<\/p><p>This<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel-support\/2019\/08\/30\/blackboard-ally-course-accessibility-report\/\"> page from our Support Site<\/a> goes into the report in further detail.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accessibility checkers allow you to find areas which might cause issues for anyone interacting with your documents or presentations. Microsoft Accessibility Checker Microsoft has its own Accessibility Checker, which is available in all Office programmes from 2010 onwards. Ensuring you are using Office 365 will give you\u00a0 a prompt to check accessibility at the bottom [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","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,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Accessibility Checkers - Technology Enhanced Learning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/accessibility-checkers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Accessibility Checkers - Technology Enhanced Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Accessibility checkers allow you to find areas which might cause issues for anyone interacting with your documents or presentations. 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