Ally in Learn@UCO (D2L) - Instructors

Description

Ally is a feature that promotes inclusivity for all learners. Ally integrates into D2L to gauge the accessibility of your content, while also providing guidance and tips for lasting improvements to your content accessibility.

Article Contents

Instructions

Course Accessibility Report

The course accessibility report acts as a complement to the existing accessibility indicators. It provides an accessibility summary and overview at the course level.

On your Navigation bar, click on More, then Ally Course Report.

Ally's course accessibility report includes Overview and Content tabs so that you can get the big picture as well as specific details about the accessibility of your digital content. You will also be able to see the overall accessibility score of your course.

  1. The Overview tab shows the accessibility score for the course, course content grouped by content type, and a list of all issues identified in the course
  2. The Content tab shows you the content with accessibility issues.

Accessibility Score

At the top of the report is an accessibility score for the entire course.

Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score the fewer the issues.

Low (0-33%): Needs help! There are severe accessibility issues.

Medium (34-66%): A little better. The file is somewhat accessible and needs improvement.

High (67-99%): Almost there. The file is accessible but more improvements are possible.

Perfect (100%): Perfect! Ally didn't identify any accessibility issues but further improvements may still be possible.

All Course Content

See all content in your course grouped by content type. Select View to go to the Content tab and start fixing issues.

Currently, Ally checks files in these formats:

  • PDF files
  • Microsoft® Word files
  • Microsoft® PowerPoint® files
  • OpenOffice/LibreOffice files
  • Uploaded HTML files
  • Image files (JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BPM, TIFF)
  • HTML (WYSIWYG/VTBE) content
  • YouTubeTM videos embedded in WYSIWYG/VTBE content

HTML Content Editor (WYSIWYG)

Ally also checks these content types created through the system content WYSIWYG editor for accessibility issues.

  • Discussion Topics 
  • File 
  • Web Links 
  • Module 
  • Quiz description

Choose What to Fix First

Use the report to help you decide what to fix first. For example, content with most severe issues first or start with the content that's easiest to fix. To get started, select Start.

Remaining Issues

Issues are listed in order of priority from severe to minor. Those at the top of the list should be addressed first. Ally looks at the number of students impacted, how often the issue occurs, and the accessibility score to determine the priority.

  •  Severe. These issues are the greatest risk to accessibility and require the most attention.

  •  Major. These issues impact accessibility, and while not severe, require attention.

  •  Minor. These issues should be considered for a better accessibility score.

Select an issue to see all the pieces of content that have that issue. Select a piece of content to open the Instructor Feedback panel to fix the issue. 

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File Accessibility

After you upload files in your course, Ally produces an accessibility score for each file. In lessons with multiple files, the accessibility score is shown for each file. In your Content page, the accessibility icon is located to the right of the file. Select the icon to view information and improve file accessibility. 

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Instructor Feedback

For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows you the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them. Find a file and select the Accessibility score to view the Instructor Feedback panel.

The Instructor Feedback panel provides everything you need to understand and fix the accessibility issues in your file.

  1. Accessibility score: See the overall score for the entire file.
  2. All issues: Select All issues to see every issue in the file. This view shows you by how much the score can improve by fixing each issue. Find the issue you want to start fixing and select Fix.
  3. Description of issue and step-by-step help: See the description for an issue with the file.
    1. Select What this means to learn more about the issue.
    2. Select How to and follow the steps to improve the file's accessibility.
    3. NOTE: These instructions change depending on the file and the accessibility issues found.
  4. Upload: Upload updated files to replace the existing one.

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Additional Resources

Details

Article ID: 107589
Created
Wed 5/13/20 4:27 PM
Modified
Fri 10/13/23 12:01 PM