Anthology Ally is a tool integrated in D2L to give instructors information about the accessibility of their course materials. The score indicators provide quick access to an accessibility report for most content in D2L.
Accessibility Score Indicators
In Content the accessibility indicator will appear next to each topic that can be scanned by Ally. Certain types of content cannot be scanned by Ally and will not have an indicator.
When viewing a single file, the accessibility indicator will be to the right of the title.
The indicator provides a general idea of how accessible an item is. The score is based on the severity and number of identified accessibility issues. Selecting the accessibility icon will provide more detail.
- 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 fairly accessible, there are some things that can still 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.
Accessibility Scores
Select an accessibility score indicator for a detailed look at the identified accessibility issues and, in most cases, receive guidance on how to fix your content to make it more accessible. The accessibility score is displayed as a percentage, with a higher score for a more accessible document.
When you first open the accessibility score it will display the biggest accessibility issue below the overall document score. A document preview will be displayed on the left.
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 items that may need attention. Each item will be presented with the number of percentage points you can gain by fixing the issue. Select an item for more information and to access the guidance for remediation, when available.
Some issues will be highlighted in the document preview, which is useful for locating the specific part of a document that needs to be fixed. For example, if a document contains text with insufficient contrast the preview will highlight each section of text with poor contrast.
Fixing the document
To fix the accessibility issues 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 accessibility score report. From the accessibility report use the Browse button and select the correct file from your computer or drag and drop the file in the upload box. Shortly after the upload is complete the accessibility score should increase.
Uploading the new and improved file through the Ally accessibility report will allow us to show the value of Ally through the number of documents that have been improved.
Resources
For additional support fixing accessibility issues, submit an Accessible Document Design Consultation request.
Ally explains Accessibility Score indicators opens in new window and how you can use them to help you improve your course.