Universal Design is an approach that emphasizes creating environments intended to be accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability or any other factors. In the context of education, this means designing learning environments to proactively address barriers to learning, so that all learners are able to engage with the content and achieve their learning goals. The goal for educators is to increase accessibility while ensuring meaningful participation and challenging opportunities for learning.
Ally is an external tool integrated into Canvas that scans files added to the course and checks them for accessibility. This is similar to the Spell Check tool in Microsoft Word, which highlights grammatical and spelling errors in the document, prompting you to revisit and change that text. In much the same way, Ally provides an “accessibility score” and identifies exactly where an accessibility barrier may lie, providing guidance on what changes are needed to make the item more accessible. Ally provides you with the targeted feedback you need to improve the accessibility of your course content as part of your course design and building process.
To learn more, watch the video created by TLT about using Ally in Canvas, and check out the Frequently Asked Questions page on Ally in Canvas. For more detailed guidance on ensuring your course is accessible, consider enrolling in the Creating Accessible Course Content course in our self-paced, fully asynchronous Online Teaching Essentials Series.
Editor: Amina Khan, Instructional Designer