Ally is a tool within Drexel Learn that automatically generates alternate formats of course content, such as audio and HTML, for text-based files like Word documents and PDFs. It also allows faculty to view feedback about the accessibility of their course content, as well as provide descriptions and instructions regarding issues and how to remediate them.

Ally Activation

As of Spring Quarter 2021-22, Blackboard Ally has been activated in all courses across Drexel Learn in order to provide a seamless and improved learning experience to all students.

Using Ally

With Ally is activated in a course, faculty will see colored gauges to the left of their course content that has been scanned by the system. Clicking on these gauges will open an overlay that identifies accessibility issues with the content, why those accessibility issues are important to address, and how to improve accessibility. Faculty also have access to a course-wide report that provides an overview of accessibility across the course, including the lowest scoring content, content with the easiest issues to fix, and a full breakdown of issues across the course.

Support

Training sessions for Blackboard Ally, as well as other Digital Accessibility topics are listed on the ITG Workshops page.

More help documentation is available on the Blackboard Help site for Ally.