by Cathy Cooke, Distance Education Manager, Office of the Provost
Enrollment of students with disabilities in higher education has been steadily increasing but of those students, at least half do not report their disability to their institution’s disability office (Mata and Borrego, 2024). As a result, faculty and instructors don’t recognize that our students are struggling with learning barriers. One way to address this problem is by designing our course materials with accessibility in mind.
Recent blog posts have emphasized the importance of removing obstacles to increase accessibility of digital course content (Getting Started with Digital Accessibility). The post Resources Revisited: Digital Accessibility highlights some of the resources available. However, getting started isn’t easy! SLU’s Checklist for Accessible Online Course Materials provides a roadmap for creating accessible digital sources.
This post introduces Ally, one of the tools in our toolbox to increase accessibility. The SLU Checklist for Accessible Online Course Materials was adapted to work with Ally. Using Ally, you can make some quick fixes to increase the accessibility of your digital course materials.
What is Ally?
Ally is an accessibility issue detection and remediation tool integrated into Canvas. Ally functions for both students and instructors. With Ally, students can convert files into different formats (such as audio, HTML, and ePUB) to suit their individual needs (ITS Knowledge Base Article: How to Use Ally for Students). For instructors, Ally identifies and provides instructions on how to remediate accessibility issues of content loaded into Canvas (such as files and images) and content created directly in Canvas pages and announcements.
How to Leverage Ally for Accessibility
Ally can be used to help meet many of the standards addressed on the Checklist. For example, Ally can assist with checklist item 2a:
Images include alternative text (alt-text) that provides a concise description of the image; for images that function as links (e.g., to content, to sections of a Canvas site), the description explains where the link goes.
Alternative text ensures that learners using screen readers or devices in areas with low bandwidth have access to the content delivered as informational images.
Ally provides instructions to guide you through adding alternative text to your images in your Canvas course. SLU ITS also has several helpful Knowledge Base Articles for getting started with Ally.
- Accessing and Interpreting Your Ally Course Accessibility Report (Ally for LMS Help Center)
- Add Image Descriptions (Ally for LMS Help Center)
As you work through your images adding alternative text, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Alt-text is not necessary for decorative images. Mark them as decorative to avoid further detection by Ally.
- Alt-text should briefly describe the image and why it is meaningful.
- There is no need to add “This image” or “Image depicts” to the alt-text. Screen readers will announce that it is an image automatically.
For a proactive approach as you create your digital course materials, anytime you upload an image into Canvas or in your course materials such as PowerPoints or Word documents, include the alternative text. Here are some resources:
The Distance Education Office also has information that breaks down what tools to use to meet each checklist standard. For further information and assistance in making your digital course materials accessible, reach out to the Reinert Center or the Distance Education Office.
Reference:
Mata, R.A., & Borrego, M. (2024, July 30). Disabled Students in Postsecondary Education.
National Disability Center for Student Success. https://nationaldisabilitycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Research-Review-1-Disabled-Students-in-U.S.-Postsecondary-Education-Accessible.pdf
The Notebook 