Sometimes accessibility can be achieved (or improved) on Blackboard Ultra course materials in just a few easy steps, without having to download the document, make fixes, and reupload. The following guidance reflects the techniques available today to address accessibility barriers detected in running an Ally Accessibility Report for your course. For more information on first running an Accessibility Report, visit Using Ally to Check for Accessibility.
Missing Title on PDF
Titles improve the accessibility of a PDF by giving screen readers a clear, descriptive name to announce when the document opens, rather than defaulting to the file name. When a title is applied, a user navigating by screen reader hears something meaningful, like “Week 3 Reading: Intro to Cognitive Psychology,” instead of a file name such as “Scan0042_FINAL_v2.pdf.” This makes it much easier for them to confirm they’ve opened the right document without having to open it and read through the content first.
Video Demo: Adding a PDF Title in Ally
Language Not Set
Setting a language improves the accessibility of a PDF by telling assistive technology which pronunciation, intonation, and pacing rules to use when reading the text aloud. When a language is set, a user’s screen reader reads the document correctly in that language, rather than misreading words or running them together as it would with no language specified (or the wrong one).
Video Demo: Setting the PDF Language in Ally
AI Assisted Alt Text on Images
As covered on the Alt Text page, alternative text on images and figures makes the visual information conveyed through an image available to users with low or no vision. Today, Ally allows instructors to apply alt text to both image files (e.g., JPG or PNG) and native Blackboard documents. You can use the AI Assistant to auto-generate alt text for these images or just add your own.
Video Demo: Using the AI Assistant to Assist with Alt Text
More Quick Fixes Coming Soon…
Ally’s development team is hard at work in expanding quick-fixes to make the provision of accessible course materials easier for instructors. The following reflects forthcoming techniques, and this page will be updated as each becomes available.
- Auto-tag PDF
- Add alt text to PDF images or mark as decorative
- Table headers for PDF tables (ability to add row and column headers)
- Edit tag structure on auto-tagged PDFs
Questions?
Contact the Digital Accessibility Services team directly at accessibleIT@syr.edu or visit our virtual Digital Accessibility Office Hours.