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Ally provides an accessibility report that contains data across all courses within a Canvas subaccount. While instructors can see Ally reports within their own course, administrators can request permission to access the Ally report for their academic unit by submitting an elevated permission in Canvas access request.
Overview tab
The reporting interface defaults to the Overview tab (fig. 1). Users can view the overall accessibility score, total number of courses and content items created, and any accessibility issues Ally identified.
The line graph shows the average accessibility score for all course content over the following time periods: Month, Term, and Academic year.
Note: Deleted courses appear in the month and academic year reports only and are marked as deleted. Deleted courses don't appear in the term report or contribute to the term's accessibility score.
Figure 1: Image of the reporting interface when Ally Institutional Report is open, showing the line graph and four tab options.
To view the scores, point or mouse over a period on the line graph. Note, when a data point is selected on the line graph, the charts and tables will be updated to reflect the period selected. The higher the score, the more accessible the courses are in general.
- WYSIWYG: The average score for Rich Content Editor content created in Canvas.
- Files: The average score for file uploads in Canvas, e.g., PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and images.
- Overall: The combined accessibility score is a weighted average of scores from files and WYSIWYG content scores.
Total courses, Content created, and Overall accessibility score
Based on the period selected, the total courses report (fig. 2) will show the number of courses with new and updated content. The total content created report (fig. 2) will display the total number for new and updated items, each represented by a different color. To see the total number created and an accessibility score for that type, hover over the respective color.
Figure 2: Image of the total courses, content created and overall accessibility score report show in the Ally Institution Report.
The overall accessibility score (fig. 2) will show the score for the selected period and display whether the score has increased or decreased compared to the previous period.
Accessibility issues
For the period selected, a list of digital accessibility issues (fig. 3) Ally has identified will be listed. Issues are listed in order of priority from severe to minor. Ally looks at the number of students impacted, how often the issue occurs, and the accessibility score to determine the priority. Ally defines each category as follows:
- Severe: These issues are the greatest risk to accessibility and require the most attention.
- Major: These issues impact accessibility, and, while not severe, require attention.
- Minor: These issues should be considered for a better accessibility score.
Figure 3: Image of the list of accessibility issues flagged by Ally displayed in the Ally Institution Report.
In the list, select an Ally issue descriptor to see a full description and a list of the courses impacted. By selecting a course, the list of items with this issue within the course will be displayed.
Courses tab
This table displays all courses within a user's subaccount with accessibility issues. A search box at the top of the page can be used to locate a specific course, or a term can be selected by using the dropdown menu. Note: deleted courses are not included.
To see additional information about a specific course, select a course from the list. The individual course report will show total content created, the overall accessibility score, and accessibility issues in the course.
Note: Issues flagged by Ally cannot be remediated in this report, but a link is available to go to the course live in Canvas, where a user with course access would be able to remediate any digital accessibility issues.
Directory tab
The directory will list the sub-accounts a user has access to – Ally refers to these as “departments”. For each department, a user will see the total number of new and updated courses, the total number of new and updated content items, and the accessibility score for the department. If a department has more than one level, a Sub-levels button is available to narrow the view to a specific level in the department.
Usage tab
The Usage reports show details about how students and instructors are using Ally. By downloading the report, a user is able to determine how often students utilize the alternative format option or how often the accessibility issues flagged by Ally are being resolved. Usage data is de-identified – it shows trends in courses but not for specific users in those courses.
Need more help with Ally? Contact the Academic Technology team for assistance.