Ally checks accessibility for new and existing course content in Canvas. To measure accessibility, Ally assigns content an accessibility score. Each score is composed of both a numerical value and a colored gauge that reflects the value.
Accessibility scores
Accessibility scores are determined by the severity of issues in each file. A low score indicates the file has severe or multiple accessibility issues; a high score means there are minor or no accessibility issues identified by Ally. In most instances, Ally provides suggestions for improving the accessibility of files.
What content is checked?
Ally will check the following content in Canvas:
- PDF files
- Microsoft Word files
- Microsoft PowerPoint® files
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice files
- Uploaded HTML files
- Image files (JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF)
- Rich Content Editor content
- YouTube videos embedded in the Rich Content Editor
What does the score icon mean?
Ally provides every document with an accessibility score, which is a percentage score that takes into account information such as how accessible an item is, how many people it can affect, and how severely it affects them. Scores range from Low to Perfect. The higher the score, the fewer issues Ally has identified. The thresholds and score icon are shown in Figures 1-4.
Figure 1: The Red dial indicates low and includes a range between 0-33% and means Ally has identified severe accessibility issues.
Figure 2: The orange dial indicates medium and includes a range between 34-66% and means Ally has identified moderate accessibility issues that need improvement.
Figure 3: The lighter green dial indicates high and includes a range between 67-99% and means Ally believes the file(s) is accessible overall, but some accessibility improvements are possible.
Figure 4: The darker green dial indicates Ally did not identify any accessibility issues, but the file should be manually reviewed to confirm digital accessibility.
Using the instructor feedback panel
The accessibility score indicator is dynamic, meaning that hovering over the dial will cause messaging to display (see Fig. 5), and selecting the dial will open the instructor feedback panel.
Figure 5: Message that displays when hovering over an orange Ally dial.
The feedback panel (see Fig. 6) provides the instructor with a preview of the content, a way to view "all issues" identified for the item, and feedback on how to resolve the digital accessibility issues.
Figure 6: Feedback panel that opens when the Ally accessibility score icon is selected.
Menu and tools in the feedback panel
Along the top of the feedback panel, tools are provided for navigation through the document (see Fig. 7).
Figure 7: Tool menu in the feedback panel.
The toolbar options allow the instructor to do the following:
- Move through the document preview page by page.
- See how many times a specific issue appears in the document.
- Jump between the issue highlights.
- Hide or show the highlights.
- Zoom in and out on the preview.
- Download the file.
Also, in the feedback panel, instructors will utilize the options along the right side of the menu to view the digital accessibility concerns identified by Ally. In this panel, the overall score for the entire file will be displayed along the top (see Fig. 8); as issues are resolved, the score will improve.
Figure 8: Score displayed in feedback panel.
By selecting "All Issues," an instructor is able to see every issue that Ally has identified for the file (see Fig. 9). This view shows how much the score can be improved by fixing each issue. Selecting the arrow next to any issue, the instructor can view a description and step-by-step help.
Figure 9: All Issues message displayed in the feedback panel.
After selecting an issue, users can view further information about the identified issue by selecting What this means to learn more about the issue and How to... and following the steps to improve the file's accessibility. In some instances, the original file will need to be corrected and re-uploaded (see Fig. 10); other times, the issue is able to be resolved directly in Canvas (see Fig. 11).
Figure 10: Options to learn about the identified issue, how to resolve the issue, and the upload new file box.
Figure 11: Option to learn about the identified issue, and suggestions to resolve the issue directly in Canvas.
Highlights in the feedback panel
The preview highlights, by adding a red frame, where specific accessibility issues can be found in the document. Highlights show every occurrence of one issue type at a time. For example, if your images are missing alternative descriptions, the highlights show you every place this specific issue occurs. If your document also has poor text contrast, select that issue in the feedback panel to see the occurrences of that issue highlighted.
Highlights are provided for these issues:
- Images without an appropriate alternative description
- Text with insufficient contrast
- Tables without table headers
Need more help with Ally? Contact the Academic Technology team for assistance.