Topics Map > Services > Teaching, Learning and Classrooms > Assistive Technology
Blackboard Ally Basics
Blackboard Ally automatically checks the accessibility of most course content in Blackboard and provides instructors guidance and tips for making lasting accessibility improvements. All Blackboard users can download content in an automatically generated alternative format that best fits their current needs.
What does Ally do?
- Generates multiple alternative formats students can use to access the content.
- Provides accessibility scores to instructors.
- Gives instructors feedback on how they can improve the accessibility scores of their content.
- Generates a Course Accessibility Report which provides an overview of all accessibility issues in one place.
Alternative Formats


Instructor Feedback and Accessibility Scores

Note: Some guidance documentation is still in development in Ally. If an item is marked with the message "Guidance coming soon":
- Search for additional information within the Instructor Feedback panel
- Conduct a web search for more information
- Contact the NDSU IT Help Desk
The Course Accessibility Report
The Course Accessibility Report displays "the big picture" and specific details about the accessibility of all course content from one place.
The Overview tab groups content by type and by "easiest issues to fix" and "fix low scoring content" to help instructors decide which items to focus on first! The Content tab lists all of the content items with accessibility issues individually, the number of issues each content item has, and the 'gear' icon showing the accessibility score. Instructors can click each 'gear' icon to open the Instructor Feedback panel from the Accessibility Report.
To open the Course Accessibility Report, open a course in Blackboard > click Course Tools (below the Control Panel on the left) > Accessibility Report.
What do the accessibility scores mean?
Improve the content to raise the score
The Ally Community
Join the Ally User Group (usergroup.ally.ac)