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What is Ally?

Blackboard Ally is a course content accessibility tool that integrates with Blackboard, allowing instructors to address accessibility issues and provide alternative formats for students at Harper College. This page provides resources, self-help guides, and tutorials related to Blackboard Ally.

Get Started with Ally

The Ally tool will run an automated check on documents uploaded to your course and provide an accessibility “score” for each document. Once the scoring is complete, you will see a gauge next to each document, letting you know how accessible the document is.

Improve Content Accessibility

Once you know the accessibility score for your course, or course files, you can begin to explore the accessibility issues and improve your content to raise the score.

Alternative Formats & Students

Alternative formats benefit everyone. One of the features of Ally is the ability to generate alternative formats for many of your course documents.

Become an Ally Advocate

Ally Advocates are recognized for their ability to leverage the Blackboard Ally tool to improve the accessibility, quality, and usability of course content for all students. An Ally Advocates will be awarded a badge and 1.0 CEUs for completing a chosen pathway in the Ally Checklist.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Don’t worry – it is not as scary as you think. You don’t have to fix everything at once – and we promise you won’t need to learn whole new programs or learn to code. Ally is just a tool to help start the conversation about how you can ensure that your materials are inclusive for all students.