is a course content accessibility plugin that allows instructors to understand and tackle accessibility in a way that benefits all students. Ally automatically runs all of a course鈥檚 documents through an accessibility checklist, searching for common accessibility issues. Using advanced machine learning algorithms, Ally also generates a wide range of alternatives to the instructor鈥檚 original document file, such as accessible PDF, Semantic HTML, audio, ePub and electronic Braille.

Sharon Trerise, IT Accessibility Analyst in Information Technology Services (ITS), says the University licensed Blackboard Ally in the summer and has piloted its implementation in a few courses since September. At first, it was introduced in the . Since then, a variety of professors across the university have expressed interest, including professors in the聽. 鈥淲e wanted to find a solution to make it easier for faculty to provide accessible course content to students and help them learn how to create accessible documents from the beginning,鈥� Trerise says.

An important highlight of Blackboard Ally is that it is very simple to grasp. 鈥淭his Blackboard tool was very easy to use. It easily created accessible options for documents I’m using,鈥� says Assistant Professor of Music Education David H. Knapp. 鈥淭he accessible options such as cleaner PDFs for optical character recognition (OCR) are useful to all students.鈥� Once Ally has been turned on in a Blackboard course, there aren鈥檛 any additional steps for the instructors to implement the plugin.

Instructors will notice a change in the Blackboard they are accustomed to, once Ally is integrated into a course. 鈥淔aculty will see next to each document a visible indicator that looks like a speedometer or gauge,鈥� Trerise says. The color of the indicator rates each document鈥檚 accessibility. A red indicator means it is not very accessible in its native format; yellow means it鈥檚 somewhat accessible, and green means the posted document meets most or all of the accessibility criteria. An instructor can then follow the steps outlined by Ally to enhance the accessibility of documents that have poor accessibility ratings.

Stephen Kuusisto, a University Professor in聽Cultural Foundations of聽Education in the School of Education, says, 鈥淎s a blind faculty member, this is a good step forward for Blackboard. It puts the tools at the disposal of faculty who aren鈥檛 necessarily up to speed on accessible documents and course materials.鈥�

Associate Professor Alan Foley, director of the Center on Human Policy, agrees. 鈥淚 am glad to see that Bb has (finally) taken this step to improve the accessibility and universal design of its learning environment and the materials instructors put in Blackboard. I follow the principles of universal design for learning when I design and teach a class, and Ally gives me even greater capacity to do this.鈥�

Not only are professors having a positive experience with Blackboard Ally, but students are also benefiting. Foley says, 鈥淢y students were most excited about the ‘accessible versions’ feature, which offered them on-demand access to course readings I had posted as PDFs in alternative formats, including a downloadable audio version and an ePub version. This feature gave ALL my students access to course content in different formats and was widely used.鈥� Foley notes that 鈥渟tudents who need alt versions will have them at the same time as students who don鈥檛 need an alt version.鈥�

黑料不打烊 student Emmanuel Elia Mhewa concurs. 鈥淭he introduction of Blackboard Ally has brought simple life for me.鈥� Although he鈥檚 using Blackboard Ally in just one course, Mhewa said he can download materials in any format he wants. 鈥淚 like materials in HTML format if I鈥檓 using my PC,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut MP3 is the best when I鈥檓 walking. Blackboard Ally allows me to choose my format.鈥�

Trerise notes that ITS hasn鈥檛 seen any major drawbacks with the program yet, although it鈥檚 obviously in its early stages. For example, Kuusisto notes that he is 鈥渟till a bit unimpressed by the聽PDF converter, which isn鈥檛 quite fully reliable. But this is a step.鈥�

In any case, Ally has helped students and instructors, providing for a more accessible and effective learning experience. 鈥淚f professors take it seriously and modify their documents to make them accessible to their students, then it鈥檚 a win-win solution,鈥� Trerise says.

For more information about Blackboard Ally visit Answers.syr.edu and search for . Faculty members who wish to have Ally turned on in their current Blackboard courses are invited to email their request to help@syr.edu.