canvas Accessibility - on a blue and white background

Ally: Canvas Accessibility Checker

Ally is an accessibility checker integrated into Canvas. This tool provides instructors with feedback on the accessibility of uploaded files and guidance to make those documents more accessible. This is gauged utilizing an accessibility score. Ally also automatically provides alternative formats for files uploaded, such as HTML, electronic Braille, and audio, which are available to both students and instructors. Ally will be used to identify a baseline for the accessibility of courses and will allow UNF to continue providing a more inclusive learning environment for all students.

For more information, view the video below:

Accessibility is proactive, accommodation is reactive. Creating accessible course content will save time in the long run. Accessible content improves the learning experience for all students, not just individuals with disabilities, as it meets the needs of a variety of learning preferences. As accessibility exists on a spectrum, there is always room to improve.

CIRT offers online training for Ally. This self-paced online course provides an overview of Ally and how to best utilize the tool. It will provide information on accessibility scores, how to improve them, and how to convert uploaded content to accessible formats. Self-enroll into the Ally course on Canvas for more information.

To improve document accessibility:

View CIRT’s Accessible Documents page.

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Accessibility Score

Files uploaded into canvas will receive accessibility scores after they are run through automated checklists. They are generated in less than a minute but may take longer if a large amount of content is uploaded at the same time or is complex. Scores go from 0% (least accessible) to 100% (most accessible), as seen below.

Low (0-33%): Needs help! There are severe accessibility issues.
Medium (34-66%): A little better. The file is somewhat accessible and needs improvement.
High (67-99%): Almost there. The file is accessible but more improvements are possible.
Perfect (100%): Perfect! Ally didn't identify any accessibility issues but further improvements may still be possible.

Content creators should aim for green (67%) and up when using Ally.

Students will not be able to see the accessibility scores. These scores will only be available to the instructor in the "Files" tab and will be located in their own column.

Scores will also appear on content pages next to embedded files and images as seen in the screenshot below:

Ally is not an automatic fix, but does provide excellent guidance on improving a files Accessibility Score. To access this, click on the accessibility score next to a file. A window will open with a preview of the document, noting the accessibility errors and where to find them.

Instructors have the ability to click “fix” on each error to gain an understanding of what the issue means and how to fix it. Instructions will be available to print if needed.

For more information on how to improve Accessibility Scores, self-enroll into the Ally course on Canvas.
Alternative Formats
Ally can automatically generate alternative formats for the following file types in Canvas:
- PDF
- Word
- Powerpoint
- OpenOffice
- LibreOffice
- HTML
Instructors can create alternative formats for their course files by going into the file section, hovering over the file of choice until three dots appear at the end of the row indicating a drop-down menu. Click on that menu and select "Alternative formats" as seen in the image below:

This will open the Download Alternative Formats window. HTML, ePub, electronic Braille, audio, and translated versions will be available for use. Conversion time varies based on the size of the file and how accessible it is. Original files with high Accessibility Scores will make for more accurate alternative formats.

See the selection window below:

Scanned and untagged PDFs with low Accessibility Scores can have errors when downloaded into an alternative format. Ally will use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to determine the text, which can result in mistakes. The better structured the original document, the better the alternative formats will be.