Ally Accessibility Tool

Ally IconWhat is Ally?           ally green

Ally is a built-in tool in your Moodle courses that automatically checks for accessibility issues in the documents you upload.  Ally then provides you with feedback and suggested alternative formats for making your documents more accessible to all students.

The Center for Faculty Excellence has prepared on-demand videos and PDF documents to assist you with understanding and utilizing Ally.

Ally IconWhy Ally?      ally green circle

Accessibility is for all students, not just those with accommodations. Ally is a valuable resource for assisting Southeastern in its commitment to providing an inclusive learning environment for all students.

Ally iconHow Does Ally Work?score

  • Automatically scans uploaded documents to your Moodle course and provides an accessibility score in the form of a colored gauge to help you identify any accessibility issues.
  • Provides a detailed feedback panel with suggestions for improving the accessibility issues that Ally has discovered.
  • Provides all students with the opportunity to download material in alternative formats that are better suited to their individual learning needs.

FORMATS ALLY CAN CHECK

  • PDF
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Image Files (JPG, JPEG, GIFF, PNG, TIFF)
  • Open Office/LibreOffice
  • Uploaded HTML 

 

iconALTERNATIVE FORMATS

All students should have the opportunity to experience course content in a way that best meets their needs and leaning styles.  For example, some students experience eye strain and can benefit from an audio format, while others are constricted to learning on a mobile device and need the ePub or HTML formats.  Ally generates alternative formats that students can easily select and download within their Moodle courses.  These are the alternate formats made available by Ally:

alt formats descriptions & icons

iconACCESSIBILITY SCORES

When you upload a document to your Moodle course, Ally conducts an automatic check and provides you with an accessibility "score" that is reported by a colorful gauge next to the document, which can only be seen by you.....not by students.  When you click on that guage, Ally provides you with a complete report, along with suggestions for improving your accessibility score.  

ally low   Low (Needs help!)

 Ally Medium   Medium (A little better)

 Ally High   High (Almost there)

 Ally Perfect   Perfect!

iconCFE RESOURCES FOR ALLY

The Center for Faculty Excellence has prepared on-demand videos and PDF documents to assist you with understanding and utilizing Ally.

  • Introducing Ally - A Complete Overview
  • Using Ally to Improve Course Accessibility
  • Understanding Accessibility Score Icons
  • Locating and Updating the Accessibility Report
  • Using Ally's Alternate Format Icon

ALLY FAQS

What kind of feedback does Ally provide?

Ally provides a simple, easy to follow panel to assist you in improving your accessibility score.  Here is an example.

Will Ally help me locate where the accessibility issue appears in my file?

The answer is yes.  With just a couple of clicks, Ally directs you to the accessibility issue that needs your attention.  Preview here what this looks like.

Is there an accessibility checklist to inform me of some things to consider before I upload documents to my Moodle course?

Yes!  Ally has provided an Accessibility Checklist to help you tackle your accessibility issues file by file.

I have many gauges of all colors throughout my course.  How do I know where to start?

Ally provides you with a Course Accessibility Report

Are scanned PDFs accessible?

No.  Scanning pages from textbooks and other course documents are inaccessible.  Ally offers suggestions for you to convert these files and make them more accessible.

How can I be sure that my Word document will remain accessible after I convert it to a PDF?

When exporting a Word document as a PDF, Ally offers these suggestions to preserve the accessibility of the document.

Are the images in my PowerPoint presentation required to have descriptions?

Yes.  To meet accessibility requirements, images must include alt text.  This is all explained in Ally's easy-to-read guidelines

Where can I go to learn more about Ally and Accessibility?

Go to Ally's website for instructors for a complete guide to all that Ally offers to assist you in your goal of providing an inclusive learning environment for all students!