{"id":1298,"date":"2020-06-24T21:20:26","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T21:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/?page_id=1298"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:09:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T10:09:45","slug":"blackboard-ally-staff","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/blackboard-ally-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackboard Ally (Staff)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1298\" class=\"elementor elementor-1298\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c6e3ee3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c6e3ee3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0304af7\" data-id=\"0304af7\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bc4090f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bc4090f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Overview of Blackboard Ally<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-504fd48 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"504fd48\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ff4e75b\" data-id=\"ff4e75b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a77cd0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2a77cd0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Blackboard Ultra does provide a service within it called <strong>Ally<\/strong>. This service works in the background and will \u2018convert\u2019 files uploaded to Blackboard into multiple alternative formats. This means that students can choose formats that work best for them (e.g. HTML for improved reading on mobile phones, electronic braille for the visually impaired, and audio for learning on the go or for those who find reading difficult).<\/p><p>It is good inclusive practice for documents and other files to be<strong> designed and produced with some basic accessibility principles in mind.<\/strong> In addition, however, for Ally to undertake its work effectively, it is vital that the files uploaded originally are designed with basic accessibility principles applied. For example, if you upload a Word document with some images in, but the images have no \u2018alt\u2019 descriptions, then Ally will not be able to produce an audio version of that document that can provide a spoken description of that image at the point that the image appears.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b436ae8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b436ae8\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-04e595f\" data-id=\"04e595f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d6fcb9 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"7d6fcb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-cc4b4ce elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"cc4b4ce\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-092c5af\" data-id=\"092c5af\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-906684a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"906684a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Using Ally to help correct accessibility faults\u200b<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-13e793f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"13e793f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ab8bbbc\" data-id=\"ab8bbbc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bbb9ba0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bbb9ba0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Whilst it is best to upload accessible files to Blackboard for Ally to work on to produce alternative file formats, it is also possible to use Ally in a quite different way to help the individual uploading content. Any files uploaded to Blackboard will be \u2018scored\u2019 by the Ally system for the overall accessibility of the file. This score is underpinned by a report that will list all of the accessibility problems and provide instructions on how to correct any accessibility faults in the file.<\/p><p>Below are links to learning objects and guides that will help you to produce common file types in an accessible manner. There is also information on how you can use Ally to help correct the accessibility issues with content that has already been uploaded to Blackboard.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2c8336c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2c8336c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8c88a0d\" data-id=\"8c88a0d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d22819 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"6d22819\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-13fdedc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"13fdedc\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c188106\" data-id=\"c188106\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1513598 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1513598\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to fix problems reported on Blackboard Ally<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-71d5a80 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"71d5a80\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8e91b47\" data-id=\"8e91b47\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd79646 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fd79646\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/fix-a-problem-reported-on-blackboard-ally\/#micro\">How to fix problems\u00a0reported in Ally &#8211; Microsoft Word<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/fix-a-problem-reported-on-blackboard-ally\/#power\">How to fix problems reported in Ally &#8211; Microsoft PowerPoint<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/acrobat\/using\/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html#fix_accessibility_issues\">How to fix problems on existing &#8211; PDF Files<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/acrobat\/using\/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html#make_PDFs_accessible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to make PDF Files Accessible<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=ap95WKEGlAQ&amp;t=7s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Video Guide\u00a0 &#8211; Fixing Word Issues Part 1<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=h8jabBwPK8s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Video Guide\u00a0 &#8211; Fixing Word Issues Part 2<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0dd3cc6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0dd3cc6\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8fae9b7\" data-id=\"8fae9b7\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc4c44b elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"dc4c44b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7cc8055 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7cc8055\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5cfec86\" data-id=\"5cfec86\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b21c8f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b21c8f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Improve the Accessibility of your content at the point of creating the document.\u200b<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-298004b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"298004b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1fff990\" data-id=\"1fff990\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-522bd0c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"522bd0c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong><span style=\"color: #333399\">Detailed Guide<\/span><\/strong><\/p><ul><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/accessibility-complete-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to improve Accessibility &#8211; Complete Guide.<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/help.blackboard.com\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/2018-08\/AccessibilityChecklist_BestPractices.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accessibility Checklist<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><strong><span style=\"color: #333399\">Quick Guides<\/span><\/strong><\/p><ul><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/?page_id=3573&amp;preview=true\/#aword\">How To Author Accessible Word Documents<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/?page_id=3573&amp;preview=true\/#pppacc\">How To Create Accessible PowerPoint Presentations<\/a><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/?page_id=3573&amp;preview=true\/#ppvacc\">How To Create Accessible Videos For PowerPoint Presentations<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of Blackboard Ally Blackboard Ultra does provide a service within it called Ally. This service works in the background and will \u2018convert\u2019 files uploaded to Blackboard into multiple alternative formats. This means that students can choose formats that work&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1298","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1298"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10977,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1298\/revisions\/10977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/blackboardhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}