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Messaging Templates for Administrators

The templates below are designed for administrators to share with their instructors as emails. They cover key topics such as reintroducing Ally, leveraging Ally for content remediation, best practices for accessibility, and quick tips for improving content accessibility.

Messaging Template #1: Reintroducing Ally

You are likely already a bit familiar with Anthology Ally, but we want you to know more. Ally’s technology is designed to help institutions gain greater insight into the accessibility of their digital course content, to provide guidance to faculty about how to improve the quality of their content for everyone, and to provide learners of all abilities with immediate and equitable access to content in formats that may be more suited to their specific needs or preferences.

One of the broader goals of Ally is to think about the bigger picture as it relates to digital accessibility. We want all learners to access the great content that institutions have created, in a manner most conducive to their learning. Ally does this via the three key instructor features

Alternative Formats

Ally automatically generates alternative formats of digital course content (specific files or content created directly in your LMS) based on the original. Once an instructor uploads an item into their course (e.g. Microsoft Word document or a PPT file) or creates a content item, such as a page, Ally automatically generates alternative formats of the original version (without altering the original version). Alternative formats are available to any student, regardless of disability status or official accommodations. They are also available to instructors. Some examples of available alternative formats include audio file, HTML file, Braille Ready File Format, Tagged PDF, translated versions, and more.

Instructor Feedback

Ally evaluates the accessibility of an individual content item, such as a Word document or a page built directly in Blackboard. Ally will identify all accessibility issues found within the document and provide a corresponding accessibility score, ranging from 0-100%. Within the instructor feedback panel, faculty will find a list of all identified accessibility issues, a definition of the issue (the what), the significance of the issue and whom it will impact if it is not fixed (the why), and step by step instructions on how to fix them (the how).

Course Accessibility Report

The course accessibility report provides an accessibility summary and overview of an entire course and includes the following components:

  • Overall accessibility score for the entire course (0-100%)

  • Content Breakdown by type (e.g. PDFs, Word documents, pages, etc.)

  • Three guided remediation approaches:

    • Approach #1 is tackling the easiest issues to fix

    • Approach #2 is addressing the content with the lowest scores, and the third approach provides different ways to view the remaining issues, such as by which issue impacted the highest number of content items, or by individual issues such as missing alternative text.

    • Approach #3, the guided remediation approach, allows faculty to select an approach that suits their accessibility skill set and knowledge base, as well as the time they have to devote.

Ally will detect accessibility issues and provide guidance and context on how and why they should be fixed, but will need you, the subject matter experts, to do the actual remediating.  The intention behind this is twofold: to emphasize the subject matter expertise and context that instructors possess in terms of their courses while also ensuring that the actual remediating is done by a human. Human involvement in accessibility fixing is essential for several reasons, most importantly, it ensures accessibility fixes are thoughtful, user-centered, and comprehensive, leading to a genuinely inclusive experience.

Messaging Template #2: Using Ally to Guide your Remediation Efforts

Knowing where to begin is often the most difficult step when it comes to remediating course content to make it more accessible for all learners. This is where having a tool like Ally will be an immense help and support in not only your overall remediation efforts but helping you to pinpoint where to start.

Ally’s two features for instructors that support content remediation efforts are Instructor Feedback and the Course Accessibility Report. Instructor feedback evaluates the accessibility of an individual content item, such as an uploaded Word document or a page built directly in <insert LMS> provides a list of all detected accessibility issues, and the context and guidance on how and why they should be addressed. The Course Accessibility Report provides an accessibility summary and overview of an entire course, including an overall accessibility score, content breakdown, and 3 guided remediation approaches. Each of these features can be used to support your remediation efforts, but in different ways.

To begin addressing accessibility issues in individual content items, consider the following suggested workflow:

  1. Upload or create content in <insert LMS>.

  2. Open the Instructor Feedback panel for an individual content item and examine the issues detected and guidance on how to fix them.

  3. Open up your file in its originating software/tool or enter into edit mode in your WYSIWYG content and begin remediating.

To begin addressing the accessibility of your course content using your Course Accessibility Report, consider the following suggested workflow:

  1. Open up your Course Accessibility Report.

  2. Determine which guided remediation approach to use based on time, skillset, and knowledge of accessibility.

  3. Access Instructor Feedback for original content items directly from your Course Accessibility Report.

  4. Open up your file in its originating software/tool or enter into edit mode in your WYSIWYG content and begin remediating based on the approach selected.

Messaging Template #3: Accessibility Best Practices

Ally is just one of many tools available to support your digital accessibility efforts, particularly in guiding content remediation. However, creating an accessible learning environment also involves designing with accessibility and inclusion in mind from the start. Instructors invest significant time in course design—from selecting materials to planning assessments and everything in between. By incorporating accessibility best practices during the design phase, you can proactively create a more inclusive experience for all learners.

With that in mind, consider the following key accessibility best practices as you design your courses:

  • Use Clear, Consistent Formatting: Structure your documents with headings and subheadings to help students navigate content easily. Use a readable font (Sans serif) size and color contrast. Dark text on a light background is usually best.

  • Provide Alt Text for Images: When using images, charts, or graphs, provide descriptive alt text. This helps students who use screen readers understand visual content.

  • Ensure Videos Have Captions and Transcripts: Captions and transcripts make video content accessible to students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

  • Offer Materials in Multiple Formats: This is where Ally’s alternative formats come in. There is nothing additional you need to do to enable this feature, just be sure to communicate with your students that it is available.

  • Use Accessible PDF and Document Best Practices: Avoid scanned PDFs, as they can be difficult for screen readers to interpret. Instead, use text-based PDFs or documents with accessible tags.

  • Built-in Accessibility Checkers: Tools like Microsoft have built-in accessibility checkers that are fantastic resources in your course design phase. It is important to note that Ally and Microsoft Word, for example, do not have the same list of accessibility issues they check for. We suggest using the accessibility built-in checkers when creating documents and still using Ally after posting your content items to ensure optimal access for all students.

For additional information on accessibility best practices, please visit Ally's Support Page on Content Accessibility Tips.

Messaging Template #4: Content Remediation Quick Tips

To make your course more accessible for all students, here are some quick and easy ways to improve the accessibility of your digital materials. These small adjustments can have a big impact on student success.

Quick tips for accessibility:

  • Add Alt Text to Images: Alternative text is a brief textual description of an image or graphic. Adding a text description to an image, icon. Screen readers and other types of assistive technology will read aloud alternative text, providing equitable access to all students.

  • Use Descriptive Headings: Organize content with clear, descriptive headings (e.g., "Module 1 Overview," "Learning Objectives"). This helps students using screen readers navigate your content more efficiently.

  • Check Color Contrast: Use a high-contrast color scheme, such as dark text on a light background. Avoid red and green together, as it can be difficult for those with color blindness.

  • Ensure PDFs Are Accessible: When uploading PDFs, use text-based files rather than scanned images. Most document editors allow you to save as an accessible PDF by selecting “Save as PDF” rather than printing or scanning.

  • Add Captions to Videos: Captions are essential for videos. You can easily add them through platforms like YouTube. Captions help all students engage with your video content.

Anthology is here to support you in creating accessible content. Please visit Ally's Support Page on Content Accessibility Tips for more guidance.

Thank you for helping make our learning environment inclusive and accessible.