Overview
Anthology Ally is a tool integrated in D2L that helps instructors make course materials more accessible by evaluating materials for accessibility and providing remediation guidance.
NOTE: This information is only available to the instructors of a course in D2L. Students do not see the accessibility score indicators or the course accessibility report. However, Ally does provide Alternative Formats for students to download materials in a format that better meets their needs
In this article
Accessibility Score Indicators
Course Accessibility Report
Accessibility Guidance
Accessibility Remediation
Additional Resources
Accessibility Score Indicators
In Content, Ally will display an accessibility score indicator for each content item to give you an idea of how accessible your materials are. Selecting the indicator will open accessibility guidance, explained in detail later in this article. Certain types of content cannot be scanned and will not have an indicator.
When viewing a single file, the accessibility indicator will be in the upper right corner of the page, after the title.
Indicator Levels
The accessibility score is based on the severity and number of identified accessibility issues.
- Low (red, indicator pointing left): there are severe accessibility issues with the content that will make it difficult or impossible for some students to access the information.
- Medium (yellow, indicator pointing up): there are some accessibility issues that may make it more difficult for some students to access the information.
- High (light green, indicator pointing right): overall the content is accessible, there are still some things that could be improved.
- Perfect (dark green, indicator flat to the right): no accessibility issues have been identified by automated scans. There may still be room for improvement.
Course Accessibility Report
The Course Accessibility Report provides an overall look at the accessibility of a course and allows you to look at all content and accessibility issues in one place.
Launch the Report
Access the Course Accessibility Report through the Ally widget on your D2L course home page. Select the Course Accessibility Report link and the report will open in a new tab. Students cannot see the Ally widget or the course report.
This widget includes links to knowledge base articles on accessibility and service requests for additional support making your course accessible.
The Course Accessibility Report will display the course accessibility score as a percentage. The higher the percentage the more accessible the course.
Report Overview
The report will open to the Overview tab, which shows a breakdown of the different types of files included in the course content. Selecting the View button will switch to the Content tab, which provides a list of all course content, accessibility scores, and the number of issues identified.
Next it will suggest content with accessibility issues that can be easily fixed and the lowest scoring content in your course. Select the corresponding Start button to view these items.
Last is a table of the accessibility issues identified in your course, sorted by severity. Select an issue for a list of the content items with this issue.
Content
The Content tab lists all content in your course along with the number of accessibility issues identified and the accessibility score for each item. By default this will be sorted by accessibility score with the lowest scoring content first.
Select a document to view more information on the accessibility issues and accessibility guidance.
Accessibility Guidance
For each document, Ally provides a detailed look at the identified accessibility issues and, in most cases, guidance on how to fix your content to make it more accessible.
The accessibility guidance can be opened from the accessibility score indicator or by selecting a document from the course accessibility report
When you first open the accessibility guidance it will display the biggest accessibility issue below the overall document score. The accessibility score is a percentage, with a higher score for a more accessible document.
Select the What this means button for an explanation of the accessibility issue at hand or the How to… button for instructions on how to fix it.
Select the All Issues button for a list of other issues that may need attention. Each issue will be presented with the number of percentage points you can gain if the issue is fixed. Select an issue for more information and remediation guidance, where available.
Accessibility Remediation
To fix the accessibility issues of uploaded files, you will need to edit the original document. This can be done by opening the document from your computer or downloading it from D2L if you are unable to find the original file.
After you have fixed the accessibility issues upload it to D2L through the Ally accessibility report. Use the Browse button and select the correct file from your computer, or you can drag and drop the file in the upload box.
Uploading the new file through Ally will allow us to show the value of Ally by the number of documents that have been improved.
Additional Resources
For additional support fixing your content, submit an Accessible Document Design Consultation request.
Ally also provides good documentation on the Course Accessibility Report opens in new window.