Ally

Ally is an external tool integrated into Canvas to support accessibility and universal design for students and instructors at Virginia Tech. Ally scans uploaded instructor content within Canvas and assigns an accessibility score to each file.  Instructors can then work at their own pace to enhance usability of the content using guided feedback. All students have access to on-demand alternative versions of course files.  

Getting Started with Ally - For Instructors

Ally provides instructor-facing accessibility reviews for Canvas course content. It then provides guidance and tips for improving accessibility, as well as automatically creating alternative formats of downloadable files for your students.  Only instructors can see the colored accessibility score dial next to each file. 

• Canvas Basics (PDF)
• Instructor Ally Quick Start
• Instructor Accessibility Scores
• Instructor File Accessibility
• Instructor Improve Content Accessibility

Getting Started with Ally - For Students

Ally provides alternative formats directly to your download folder! Ally works within Canvas to ensure that alternative formats are there when you need them. File formats include readable text for screen readers, captioned pictures, and content that is easy to navigate, using the original documents from your course. 

• Student Ally Quick Start
• Student View for Alternative Formats
• Student FAQs
• Four Learning Benefits of Alternative Formats

Documentation

• Knowledge Base - How to Use Ally
• Ally Adoption Toolkit for Instructors