Accessible content is content every student can read, hear, and use, including students who use a screen reader, who need captions, or who read on a phone. Building accessibility into your materials as you create them supports all of your students and reduces the changes you have to make later.

Blackboard is built with accessibility standards in mind, and WSU uses Ally to help you check and improve your own content. The practices and tools below work together.

These practices make your documents, pages, and media easier for everyone to use.

• Use real headings. Structure a document with headings, starting at the highest level and moving down in order, so students can navigate it.
• Describe your images. Add alternative text that says what an image shows. Mark an image as decorative when it carries no information.
• Write meaningful links. Use link text that describes where it goes, rather than a raw web address or "click here."
• Name files clearly. Give attachments readable names and note the type, such as adding "(PDF)" so students know what they are opening.
• Use list buttons for lists. Build lists with the list tools rather than typing dashes or numbers.
• Use tables for data. Reserve tables for data, and set a header row or header column so the table reads correctly.
• Caption and transcribe media. Add captions and a transcript to audio and video.
• Check color contrast. Use dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background so text is easy to read.

Ally reviews the files and content in your course and shows a colored dial next to each item. The dial combines a score with a color so you can see at a glance what needs attention. Ally checks PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, uploaded HTML, images, content you type in the editor, and embedded YouTube videos.

• Low, 0 to 33 percent. There are severe issues that need help.
• Medium, 34 to 66 percent. Somewhat accessible, and it needs improvement.
• High, 67 to 99 percent. Accessible, with more improvements possible.
• Perfect, 100 percent. No issues found, though you can still refine.

Students do not see these instructor scores. They are there to guide your work.

Select the dial next to an item to open="" the instructor feedback panel. Ally explains the issue, tells you what it means, and walks you through the fix.

Common fixes include adding a description to an image, adding headings to a document, adding headers to a data table, improving text contrast, and tagging a PDF so it reads correctly. After you correct a file, you can upload the new version through Ally to replace the original, and the score updates.

Ally also creates alternative formats of your content that students can download for themselves. Students select the alternative formats icon next to a file and choose the version that works for them.

The formats include a tagged PDF, HTML, ePub, audio, electronic braille, an immersive reader view, a translated version, and BeeLine Reader. These help students who use a screen reader, who want to listen instead of read, or who read on a phone. The more accessible your original file is, the better these formats work.

Ally gives you a course-level report so you can see the whole course at once. It shows an overall accessibility score, groups your content by type, and lists the items with issues. You can start with the easiest issues to fix or with the lowest-scoring content, and fix items right from the report.

Open it from Books & Tools in your course, then the accessibility report. For step-by-step instructions on reading the report, see the Data and Analytics for Instructors page.