what is blackboard ally

by Joyce Cassin 7 min read

Blackboard Ally is a revolutionary product that integrates seamlessly into the learning management system and focuses on making digital course content more accessible.

How do I use Blackboard ally?

0:000:46Ally for Students in Blackboard Learn - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipLet's take a look in your course select the icon to the right of a file to access the menu. ThenMoreLet's take a look in your course select the icon to the right of a file to access the menu. Then choose the version that works best for your needs.

What is the ally tool?

Ally is a tool that can help faculty check and improve the accessibility of their course documents. The tool integrates into your course shell to assess the accessibility of your course documents and provides feedback and instructions to help make your documents accessible for all.

How do I enable ally on blackboard?

Turn Ally on or off for a single course The course appears in the Institutional report. From Ally Configuration, find the course you want to update. Use the Search field and filters to search by course title, course ID and course code. Select Enable or Disable under the Enabled column to turn Ally on or off.

Is Blackboard ally free?

Blackboard Inc. announced the launch of the File Transformer, Powered by Blackboard Ally — a free resource enabling students to convert their digital course content into a range of alternative formats to meet their unique learning needs and preferences as they adjust to digital teaching and learning modalities.Apr 6, 2020

What is Ally integration?

Ally integrates with popular business applications, authentication providers and human resource information systems to seamlessly integrate OKRs with existing workflows and tools.

Does blackboard ally work with canvas?

Ally is a tool from Blackboard that integrates seamlessly with the UW's Canvas learning management system to automatically check accessibility of course content, including files uploaded by instructors.

Does ally work with canvas?

Ally is an external tool integrated into Canvas that scans the content you have added to your course site and assigns it an “accessibility score.” Based on the score, your content will show an accompanying colored dial.May 29, 2020

What is behind the blackboard?

Welcome to Behind the Blackboard! This is where system administrators can find support, download software, obtain reference materials, and manage their accounts. For students, faculty, and other users, Behind the Blackboard is the perfect supplement to your primary campus helpdesk!

How does Blackboard Learn Work?

You deliver course materials in the online format. You communicate and interact with students with online tools. Students interact, communicate, and collaborate online. You assess student work online.

How do I access Blackboard Learn?

To access Blackboard Learn, first make sure you are using the recommended browser, Google Chrome or Mozilla FireFox.Go to the Blackboard Learn site.Enter your username and password. Your username is your 8-digit NWTC ID number. Your password is the password that you created upon registration.

What is a11y compliance?

a11y is a Global Movement In a global economy that is largely digitally-driven, developers who participate in the a11y movement might use WCAG and the like as guidelines while striving to make websites and computer systems accessible worldwide and compliant with all nations' accessibility regulations.May 4, 2017

What is ally for Moodle?

Ally helps institutions gain detailed insight and understanding into the accessibility of their content. It provides guidance and feedback to instructors to help make their content more accessible and also automatically generates a range of alternative formats to provide students with a more accessible starting point.

Does Blackboard have an accessibility checker?

Blackboard Ally is an accessibility checker available in all Blackboard courses beginning Fall 2018 and all future semesters. Ally scans files uploaded to Blackboard, looking for common accessibility issues.

Accessible Content Is Better Content

Blackboard Ally helps institutions build a more inclusive learning environment and improve the student experience by helping them take clear control of course content with usability, accessibility and quality in mind.

Alternative Formats for All Learners

Improve the overall student experience with alternative formats that provide students with the choice and added flexibility that comes with a more personalized approach.

Institutional Reporting for the Bigger Picture

Automatically check for common accessibility issues and provide institution-wide reporting on the accessibility of your course content to efficiently prioritize your resources and tackle problems.

Instructor-Specific Feedback to Save Time & Resources

Automatically increase awareness and provide detailed insight and guidance to instructors on how to improve the accessibility of their content.

Supporting First-Gen Students through Inclusive Course Design

On this on-demand webinar, you'll learn about key tenets of inclusive design and accessibility and how they relate to the needs of first-generation learners. Dr. John Scott discusses course design strategies that foster a greater sense of inclusion and belonging that can help students find academic success.

What is Blackboard Ally?

Blackboard Ally is a tool that seamlessly integrates with your Learning Management System (LMS) to provide insight into your institution's accessibility. With Blackboard Ally, you can: Gain an understanding of your institution's accessibility performance. Proactively tackle accessibility and target both instructors and content.

Can you upload content to a hidden folder in Ally?

Ally scores only the content used in a course. Unused content may skew the Institution Report and is not included. You can upload content to a hidden folder in a course, if instructors want to make accessibility updates before making it available.

September

ITSpotlight is designed to keep the campus up to date on ITS activities and services.

For Faculty

Blackboard Ally is an accessibility tool that helps faculty identify and remove potential content barriers that can get in the way of learning.

For Students

Blackboard Ally lets you download course content in different formats like an audio file, ePub format for an iPad or other e-book readers, among others.

When will Blackboard Ally launch?

We hope to launch an initial pilot in fall, 2021.

What is NIU's unique learning ability?

NIU 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 ...

Looking for More Answers?

Not finding the answer to your Blackboard question? Submit your question to our NIU Blackboard support experts!

Ask Your Blackboard Question

Not finding the answer to your Blackboard question? Submit your question to our NIU Blackboard support experts!

What is a blackboard ally?

Blackboard Ally is a fantastic tool for students who use assistive technology, as well as students who may be wondering if they can benefit from accessing materials in a modified format. I hope that this post on using Blackboard Ally with low vision is helpful for others!

What is beeline reader?

Beeline Reader is a tool that adds color gradients to digital text to help students read more easily and focus on lines. Assignments opened in Beeline Reader will open in a new tab in the web browser, and users can choose between different color gradients so that they can scan text more easily without their eyes darting off the page. There is also a dark mode available, which is great for users who have trouble focusing their eyes at night.

What is Braille formatted file?

Braille Formatted Files, also known as electronic Braille, are digital forms of contracted or uncontracted Braille that can be printed on an embosser or read with a Braille reader or refreshable Braille display. Users can also get accessible books in this format. Since I am not a Braille reader, I have not personally tested this feature, though I have received positive feedback from other users who have worked with it- however, they did note that there were minor formatting issues and that they preferred to get materials from their college assistive technology office whenever possible.

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