For greater detail Blackboard Ally’s quick overview of ways to fix content accessibility is helpful, especially for step-by-step instructions.

Table of Contents

• Content Accessibility Tips
• Instructor Feedback Panel
• Best Practices in Content Remediation
• Tag a PDF
• Add Image Descriptions
• Remove Potentially Harmful Content
• Scanned PDFs
• Add a Library Reference
• Add Headings to a Document
• Add Headers to Document Tables
• Fix Text Contrast
• Set the Correct Document Language
• Fix Broken Links

Content Accessibility Tips

• Use a font size of at least 12px.
• Have sufficient contrast between text and background.
• Use proper heading styles.
• Use a logical heading structure.
• Add alternative descriptions to images that convey the full meaning of the image.
• Use tables for tabular data only.
• Ensure that all tables have column headers.
• Use built-in list functionality for all lists.
• Ensure that all links have text that describes the target.
• Use built-in PowerPoint slide templates.
• Don’t use scanned PDFs.
• Ensure that all PDFs are tagged.

Ally Accessibility Checklist

Ally’s accessibility checklist is based on WCAG 2.2 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This is an international accessibility standard, and most of the new legislation and legal requirements worldwide aligns with this standard.

Additionally, Ally also adds a number of additional checks on top of this that start to target the usability and quality of the content a bit more.

Blackboard Ally’s accessibility checklist has a comprehensive guide on what type of content Ally reviews.

Instructor Feedback Panel

The feedback panel will be the primary tool for learning about content accessibility and providing guidance on remediation. Ally shows a preview of the document, gives detailed feedback, and supports instructors in fixing accessibility issues.

The preview highlights where specific accessibility issues can be found in the document. Highlights show every occurrence of one issue type at a time. For example, if your images are missing alternative descriptions, the highlights show you every place this specific issue occurs. If your document also has poor text contrast, select that issue in the feedback panel to see the occurrences of that issue highlighted.

Highlights are provided for these issues:

• Images without an appropriate alternative description.
• Text fragments with insufficient contrast.
• Tables without table headers.

Ally will inform instructors what was done correctly in an perfect file. For files with Low to High scores, Ally shows the issues and gives a step-by-step guide on how to fix them.

4 Key Takeaways

1. Accessibility score: See the overall score for the entire file.
2. All issues: Select All issues to see every issue in the file. This view shows how much the score can improve by fixing each issue. Find the issue you want to start fixing and select Fix.
3. Description of issue and step-by-step help: See the description for an issue with the file. Ally organizes this feedback in a decision tree, so all instructors need to do is read the directions and respond to the prompts. Learn what the issue is, why it matters, and how to correct it appropriately.
4. Upload: Upload updated files to replace the existing one.

Best Practices in Content Remediation

There are a few ways instructors can begin ensuring content is accessible for students. The steps guide instructors on how to strategically approach accessibility and remediation.

Step 1: Assess Your Knowledge

Figure out your current knowledge on digital accessibility and content remediation. Ask yourself the following questions to assess your knowledge:

• How would you rate your level of knowledge in digital accessibility (or Ally) on a scale of 1-10?  
• What is your feeling towards digital accessibility?  
• Are you confident in your knowledge and skill levels?  
• What are your weaknesses? Strengths?  

Step 2: Identify Your Goals

Once you find out how much you actually know about accessibility, you can begin setting specific goals for yourself. Some examples include:

• Increasing knowledge of digital accessibility.
  • Learn more about a specific area through articles.
  • Attend a webinar related to an area of your choice.
• Understand how Ally works with accessibility.
  • Take advantage of the Ally help website.
  • Watch videos about how to use Ally for accessibility.
• Improve a course’s overall accessibility score.
  • Run your Course Accessibility Report (CAR) for each of your courses.
  • Begin fixing issues using 1 of the 3 guided approaches in the CAR.
• Practice remediation using a specific file type.
  • Assess a Word document’s accessibility.
  • Learn how to use Microsoft 365’s Accessibility tools.

Step 3: Prioritize Goals  

The next step is to prioritize which goals to tackle first and for what course.

Goals related to course accessibility will need to be evaluated circumstantially.

• Is the course the lowest scoring?
• Does the course contain the most content?
• Will the course be taught soon again?
• What is the enrollment number for the course?
• Are there students with accommodation needs?
• When was the course’s accessibility last checked?

Be realistic about the impact an accessibility issue’s remediation improves student learning. How long will it take? What skills are required?

Additional Considerations

When setting goals, consider more than just impact and effort. Some factors may be useful now, while others are good to keep in mind for the future.

• Ask a colleague known for their passion and/or expertise in digital accessibility for help.
• Factor in additional time for addressing accessibility issues identified in Instructor Feedback during course setup for next semester.
• Document your progress to include in Teaching Portfolio, Tenure & Promotion File, or Annual Review. Use the Ally Score Progress excel template.
• Run content items through built-in accessibility checkers in your originating software prior to uploading to your course.
• Join the Ally user group (https://usergroup.ally.ac) to talk with other Ally users about content remediation best practices and tips.

Above all, remember that learning how to remediate content and build with accessibility in mind is a journey, not a destination. Each action you take will have a direct impact not only on your learners but your own digital accessibility awareness and skillset. 

Tag a PDF

Most instructors prefer exporting files as a PDF document. It’s important to be aware the PDF may not be tagged properly during the file conversion, so instructors need to check the file’s accessibility using a built-in or third-party checker and ensure document tagging is turned on in the export setting before downloading the PDF for easy navigation.

Ally will give an untagged PDF a low accessibility score. Instructors must fix this issue in the original source file.

Fixing Untagged PDF Files

There are two methods to resolve an untagged PDF. The first option is to update the export settings from the source file. Once the source file has been updated, upload it to the course again.

• Microsoft Word: Select File and Save As. Select PDF from the File Format menu. Select Best for electronic distribution and accessibility and select Export.
• PowerPoint: You can’t save PowerPoint files as tagged PDFs. Upload the PowerPoint file instead.
• LibreOffice Writer and Impress: Select File and Export as PDF. Select Tagged PDF (add document structure) and Export bookmarks in PDF Options. Select Export.

The second way to fix this issue is by uploading the original source file. No PDF tagging issues will be detected with this method.

Add Image Descriptions

Image descriptions, or alternative text, are essential to students with visual impairments. These students primarily rely on screen readers to tell them what is in an image and why it has been included. This also loads onto a screen when a device is experiencing internet connectivity issues, aiding students in understanding the image’s context.

Through the Instructor Feedback panel, Ally will check for image descriptions in both image files and files including images. The feedback panel for images highlights these issues:

• Images without an appropriate alternative description.
• Text fragments with insufficient contrast.
• Tables without table headers.

Descriptions & Decorative Images

Add image descriptions through the Instructor Feedback panel and describes more than the file’s title; otherwise, Ally will report an accessibility error. Be sure to explain the image and its significance without repeating information near it. Text within an image needs to be written verbatim.

If an image in a file is missing an alternative text, then this needs to be added in the source file and uploaded to the course. In both Ally and in source files, AI can generate alternative text. However, instructors must always review and edit to ensure accuracy.

Images that lack relevant information and are used for visual appeal should be marked as decorative.

Importance of Image Descriptions

Alternative image descriptions are important for numerous reasons, including:

• Part of the WCAG 2.2 guidelines.
• Images can be searched by students.
• Improve image perception for students with visual impairments.
• Enhance image perception for students with poor network connection
• Allow screen readers to describe images for users.
• Descriptions may improve a student’s ability to learn.
• Text scales better than most images when the screen or page is enlarged.

Remove Potentially Harmful Content

Some media elements instructors include in their course can boost student engagement. However, not all media receives a warm welcome. GIFs, rapid movements, flickering media, and even busy still images can trigger seizures or other harmful responses in students.

Due to this possibility, Ally gives the file a 0% accessibility score. Unless the file or its content is necessary for the course, instructors should replace it with something similar with less complexity.

Keeping the Content

When instructors opt to keep potentially harmful content, Ally flags it and alerts students prior to accessing it. This way students who may be susceptible to seizures or other harmful responses will be warned ahead of time.

Scanned PDFs

Although many scanned PDFs come from books to be easily accessed by students, these documents are very inaccessible and cause challenges in studying. Ideally the PDF can be replaced with a proper digital text document.

If this poses a challenge, then adding a library reference is the best option. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) alternative format is another way to try making the document accessible but is still insufficient.

Add a Library Reference

Adding bibliographic information is generally the last resort when nothing else works. Contacting the library for another document format or accessibility services to accommodate students is a good idea.

By including references, students can try to find solutions for the inaccessible content so it may help to include links related to the content.

In Ally, these are the steps to add a reference:

1. Select No when asked if you can get hold of a text-based version.
2. Select Yes when asked if the document or presentation can be found in the library.
   • Selecting No to this as well will generate alternative formats but won’t improve the score if the PDF is untagged.
3. Fill out as much information in the Ally feedback form as you can and select Add reference.

For students, the Library reference is located in Alternative formats next to the file name.

Add Headings to a Document

Headings provide both structural and semantic meaning for easy navigation. They break up large chunks of text while ensuring screen readers can help users process information.

Improper heading structure will be scored at medium by Ally and can be fixed by adding them in the file’s word processor. Upload the updated file once the issue has been resolved.

Add Headers to Document Tables

Tables provide a way for organizing complex information. Some are more accessible than others. Instructors can ensure their tables remain effective and accessible by adding headers.

Ally will give a file with missing headers in its data table a low accessibility score. This can be remediated through the file’s original word processor and uploaded to the course again.

Table Header Best Practices

Follow these best practices to create good column headers for tables:

• Use the tools in the chosen software to identify headers.
• Write clear and concise headers.
• Ensure each header and their associated cells make sense when read together.
• Keep the table layout simple for screen reader compatibility.
• Avoid merging cells, splitting cells, or nesting tables in tables.
• Don’t leave rows or columns completely blank.

Importance of Table Headers

• Table headers are in the WCAG 2.2 guidelines.
• Sighted users can scan the table and understand the meaning of the information.
• Screen readers read one cell at a time and reference the associate header.
  • Users don’t lose context as they navigate through the table.

Fix Text Contrast

Color contrast is extremely important for students to be able to read text properly against the background. Poor contrast means increased difficulty reading for everyone, including students with visual impairments like color blindness.

Ally uses the contrast requirements specified as part of the WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines. Fixing text contrast needs to be done in the source file and uploaded to Ally. Use contrast checkers to ensure sufficient contrast. Content created using the editor will update the score as it is revised.

Text Contrast Best Practices

Many low-effort adjustments can be made to improve text readability, including:

• Choosing fonts with wide character strokes.
• Using at least 12pt text size for regular fonts.
• Opting for at least 14pt with “thin” fonts.
• Only using “thin” fonts on dark backgrounds.
• Choosing light text on dark backgrounds.
• Choosing dark text on light backgrounds.
• Avoiding these color combinations:
  • Green and red.
  • Green and brown.
  • Blue and purple.
  • Green and blue
  • Light green and yellow.
  • Blue and grey.
  • Green and grey.
  • Green and black.

Importance of Text Contrast

Many situations require content to be readable regardless of circumstance, such as:

• When projected in class.
• For students with color blindness.
• On a mobile with a bright light or glare on the screen.
• On low-quality monitors.

Low contrast can cause eye strain, makes content hard to discover and scan, and causes frustration. Ensuring sufficient contrast results in higher quality reading experience for everyone.

Set the Correct Document Language

While document language may not be significant for most students, it makes a huge difference for students with visual impairments who may learn better in another language or accent. Setting the correct language can also improve general reading comprehension in allowing software to identify language mistakes.

Potential Language Issues

Files may have either the wrong language set or none at all. For wrong languages, screen readers could struggle to identify the language to read or is negatively impacted by grammar and spelling mistakes. No languages means screen readers cannot check the content against a recognizable language. These need to be fixed in the original source fil and uploaded again.

Fix Broken Links

Instructors often incorporate links within the course content to give students more resources to improve their learning. Unfortunately, some links may be broken due to incorrect website addresses or unavailable content. Broken links will cause 404 “Page Not Found” HTML errors.

Ally’s Role

Ally helps instructors identify broken links by:

• Flagging broken links within files.
• Providing instructor feedback for remediation.
• Highlighting broken links across a course.

In all these cases, instructors have two options in remediating broken links. First is viewing all broken links in the Accessibility Issues table of the “Overview” tab and selecting an item to fix using the Instructor Feedback panel.

The second option is to focus on one file with the Instructor Feedback panel by selecting All Issues and This item contains broken links to see all occurrences of this issue.

Ally will guide instructors on how to fix each broken link. Instructors can choose to Learn More about the issue and either Update URL to the correct address or Remove Link to discard it.