👩🏫 Faculty Companion Guide: “What This Means for Your Blackboard Course”
🌟 1. What Accessibility Means
Accessibility means every student can access your course content effectively, including those who use assistive technologies (like screen readers). The law (Title II of the ADA) requires that digital academic content be accessible. Your LMS tools and Ally help you meet this standard.
🛠 2. Using Blackboard Ally (Step-by-Step)
A) Instructor Accessibility Feedback (File-Level)
Within your Blackboard course:
✔ Look for the Ally indicator next to files (PDF, Word, PPT, etc.)
✔ The colored gauge (red, orange, light green, dark green) shows the accessibility score
✔ Click the indicator to open detailed feedback
✔ Review the specific issues listed (e.g., missing alt text, poor heading structure, low contrast)
✔ Follow the step-by-step guidance Ally provides to fix the issue in the original file
✔ Re-upload the corrected file to automatically update the score
💡 Tip: Focus first on red and orange indicators — these represent the most serious barriers for students.
B) Using the Course Accessibility Report (Course-Level)
To view the full course report:
- Open your Blackboard course
- Select Accessibility Report from the course menu (or under Course Tools, depending on your version)
The Course Report provides:
✔ An overall accessibility score for the entire course
✔ A list of content ranked by severity (most critical issues first)
✔ Issue categories (e.g., scanned PDFs, missing alt text, untagged documents)
✔ Trends and progress as you make improvements
How to Use the Course Report to Remediate Issues
🔹 Prioritize High-Impact Fixes First
Start with content marked “Severe” or “Major.” These typically include:
- Scanned PDFs without OCR
- Untagged documents
- Images without alt text
🔹 Fix Systemic Issues in Source Documents
If multiple files have the same issue (e.g., missing headings in Word documents), update your document template first. This prevents repeated problems.
🔹 Replace Instead of Repair When Needed
If a document is outdated and inaccessible, it may be faster to recreate it using accessible templates rather than fully repair it.
🔹 Track Improvement Over Time
As you fix files and re-upload them, the course score updates automatically. This helps you measure progress.
🔹 Use It Proactively Each Term
Review the Course Report before the semester starts to identify and fix barriers early.
C) Alternative Formats for Students
Students can select “Alternative Formats” under any file — this gives accessible versions such as:
★ HTML
★ Tagged PDF
★ ePub
★ Audio
★ Braille (if needed)
Bottom line: Ally gives students more choices and helps meet accessibility standards while also guiding instructors in improving course design.
📋 3. Course Content Best Practices
Good First Steps:
✔ Use built-in headings and styles in Word/PPT — this helps screen readers.
✔ Add meaningful alt text to images.
✔ Use captioned video — auto-captions are good; edited captions are better.
✔ Avoid scanned documents; if you must use them, make sure they have OCR and tags.
Why this matters:
These content structuring practices support WCAG 2.1 accessibility
🤝 4. Working with Student Accessibility Services
If a student is registered with Disability Services and needs specific accommodations:
📍 Ask them to share their Letter of Accommodation with you.
📍 Coordinate with your accessibility office for alternative formats, testing accommodations, and assistive technology support.
📣 5. Quick Troubleshooting
If Ally flags content you’re unsure how to fix:
🔹 Use Blackboard’s Help links inside Ally.
🔹 Reach out to your instructional design or accessibility support team.
🔹 Check that files are structurally tagged and use standard formats.
👍 6. What’s Not Expected of You
You are not required to be an accessibility expert or fix every issue perfectly on your own.
However, you are expected to:
✔ Use Ally feedback
✔ Improve accessibility where reasonable
✔ Provide equivalent access to students with disabilities
Institutions support you with tooling and services — but accessibility does need active participation from instructors.