Teaching for Inclusion

 

 

Accessibility is the degree to which digital content and technologies can be equally accessed and used by as many people as possible, including individuals with disabilities. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and subsequent updates in 2008, disability rights are protected as civil rights in the United States.

As educators, we strive to ensure that all learners have equal access to and participation in our courses. Ensuring that we follow and utilize best practices when developing content and using technologies furthers Rice's mission and values of responsibility, integrity, community, and excellence.

Support available

Rice's Digital Accessiblity and Teaching & Learning Technology teams will provide guidance and resources to make the process of creating accessible and inclusive courses straightforward:

  • Enroll in the Teaching for Inclusion Canvas course to learn how to create accessible courses and materials, principles of universal design, and more.

  • Sign up for one-on-one consultations with Digital Accessibility Support (DAS) students to help you improve the accessibility of your courses using Ally.

Canvas

The Canvas learning management system (LMS) features numerous essential accessibility options. Creating and sharing accessible content is one of the most crucial steps we can take to ensure our courses are usable for all students.

Ally Tool

The Ally Course Accessibility Report (Ally) scans your Canvas course content, generates a list of accessibility issues, provides guidance on how to correct them, and includes a feature called Alternative Formats that allows students to generate alternative file formats.

We recommend that, before publishing your course, you review Ally's Course Accessibility Report tab and address all identified issues. You may decide to create a workflow that works for you, such as running Ally after each new module is completed to identify and fix errors. Once you start to learn the accessibility basics and best practices, you'll know how to design for accessibility in mind without having to rely on Ally as much.

Watch the three-minute overview video below to see Ally's features.

What Ally Looks For

The Ally Course Accessibility Report (Ally) will scan your Canvas course content, generate a list of accessibility issues, provide guidance on how to correct them, and include a feature called Student Access that allows students to generate alternative file formats. Common issues include things like missing alternative text for images, avoiding using color for emphasis, or missing heading levels. Ally will report them as either errors that need to be fixed or suggestions to improve the usability of the content.

Scanning Files

Ally will automatically scan existing or new files, pages, and modules when they are added to the course. This scan will automatically generate any issues with pages and modules, but may take a couple of hours to fully generate a report of any issues with the files and alternative formats.

  1. Select the “Ally Course Accessibility Report” link in the course navigation menu to view the current scan of
  2. Review all issues categorized as either Major or Minor in the "Overview" tab.
  3. Select a category or use the “Content” tab on the right side of the "Overview" tab to look at individual errors.
  4. Review files for any accessibility issues.

Fix Issues

Read on for general steps to address errors and suggestions. For more information, check out the Ally Course Accessibility Report page from the Ally User Guide.

  1. After selecting an error or suggestion, you will be redirected to a preview of the error and any available guidance.
  2. In the new tab, you will find the following:
    • a gauge meter of how accessible the content is.
    • a brief explanation of the issue and how to fix it.
    • a preview window of the issue.
    • in many cases, tools for fixing the issue.
  3. After applying the appropriate fix, you will see your gauge meter increase in score.
  4. A selection on the right-hand side will show you any other issues that the page/image has.
  5. Once you are finished, you can click the "X" in the upper right-hand corner, and you will be redirected back to the Ally Course Accessibility Report page.
  6. Repeat these steps until all issues are fixed or marked as reviewed.

Take Note: Some issues require manual correction by editing the Canvas page directly. After applying the manual fix and saving the changes, you may have to wait for Ally to scan the course.

Alternative Formats

Ally has a built-in feature for generating alternative formats of the files that are uploaded. This feature enables students to select a format that best suits their learning preferences, thereby contributing to a more inclusive learning environment overall.

  1. Whenever a new file is added, Ally starts processing the file internally.
  2. After a few hours, clicking the download button next to the file should give a drop-down list with the options to "Preview," "Download," and "Alternative Formats."
  3. Clicking "Alternative Formats" will show a pop-up with various formats to choose from, including HTML, ePub, electronic braille, and audio files.
  4. Once you have selected your preferred format, scroll down and click "Download." It may take a couple of minutes to generate.

Take Note: Students' ability to create alternative formats does not affect the visibility of the Ally link on the Course Menu. It will remain hidden from students.

FAQs on Ally for Faculty & Instructors

Q: What is Ally?

A: Ally is a tool in Canvas that helps make digital course content more accessible. It provides

alternative file formats for students and guidance for instructors.

Q: Will Ally change or block my course content?

A: No. Your content remains exactly as you uploaded it. Ally only adds indicators and suggestions.

Q: Who sees the accessibility scores?

A: Individuals with Canvas role of Teacher, TA, Grader and Non-grading TA will see the accessibility scores. Students see alternative download options but not scores.

Q: Do I need to fix everything right away?

A: No. Ally is meant to coach and guide improvements over time, not enforce immediate remediation.

Q: How does this help students?

A: Students can choose the format that best supports their learning, such as audio, ePub, or tagged PDFs.

Q: Where can I get help?

A: Guides and workshops will be available this spring, and our accessibility support team is here to assist. See options above.

More Information