Overview
Ally is a tool integrated into Bruin Learn that automatically checks and helps improve the accessibility of your course content. Ally is available in all Bruin Learn course sites, including collaboration, development, and sandbox sites.
Primary Benefits
For Instructors and TAs
Ally supports instructors in creating more inclusive learning environments by offering:
- Accessibility scores that provide immediate feedback on uploaded files and course content
- Step-by-step guidance to help instructors fix identified accessibility issues
- Built-in tools to remediate content directly in the Rich Content Editor (RCE) or through the Ally Course Accessibility Report
For Students
Ally ensures all students can access course materials in ways that work best for them. Students can choose to download an alternative format of course files, such as audio, electronic braille, or HTML formats, to suit their individual needs.
New Features for Instructors: Enhanced Accessibility Tools
Ally now includes enhanced tools to help instructors create more accessible content in Bruin Learn. These features provide improved visibility, real-time feedback, and streamlined workflows for fixing accessibility issues.
The Ally Course Accessibility Report
The Ally Course Accessibility Report provides an overview of accessibility across your entire course. Ally scans your course documents, images, HTML content, and more, assigning an overall accessibility score. Instructors can view this score and get detailed feedback on specific items that need improvement. The report also provides step-by-step guidance and resources to help instructors fix common accessibility issues.
Key features include:
- The overall accessibility score for the course
- A dashboard showing the distribution of content types with accessibility issues (e.g., PDF documents, presentations, images, HTML content, etc.)
- Issues categorized by severity or by type
- Detailed feedback and remediation steps for each flagged item
Resource: Ally Course Accessibility Report
Ally Instructor Feedback for WYSIWYG Content
The Ally Instructor Feedback for WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Content helps instructors improve accessibility directly within the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE), including content in Canvas pages, assignments, announcements, quizzes, and discussions. As instructors create or edit content, Ally provides a live accessibility score and real-time feedback to help address common accessibility issues.
Key features include:
- A live accessibility score is available in the RCE
- Inline suggestions for improving common issues such as missing alt text, low color contrast, incorrect heading structure, and other HTML accessibility issues
- A Select to Improve feature for quick, targeted fixes
- An All Issues panel to review and address multiple accessibility concerns on the page
- Automatic score updates as changes are made to remediate course content
Resources: Instructor Feedback Panel
Pricing
Ally is paid for by the University. It is available to instructors and students at no cost.
Information for Students
Ally creates alternative formats of files and other course content that instructors upload or create in their Bruin Learn course sites. Students can download the alternative formats anywhere that files are used in Bruin Learn. Examples of alternative formats include:
- OCRed PDF – Extracted text for improved readability and searchability
- HTML – Optimized for viewing in a web browser or on mobile devices
- Electronic Braille (BRF) – Compatible with electronic braille displays
- Audio (MP3) – Allows learners to listen to course materials on the go
- ePub - For reading on an iPad or eBook readers
The alternative formats available to download will vary depending on the original file type. If you do not see an option to download alternative formats, the file may not be an Ally-supported content type.
Visit the Ally Quick Start for Students guide to help students download alternative accessible formats of their course content.
