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Ally by Anthology is now available in Brightspace to assist us with ensuring all of our course content is digitally accessible. This provides students with a variety of alternative formats of course content and provides faculty with tools to evaluate the accessibility of their content and remediate issues.

Ally Overview for Faculty Ally Overview for Students Ally Help Site
View the Recorded Ally for Faculty Training Session

Slides from the Ally Training Session

File Format Guidance When Using Ally

Our Priority: Use Original Editable Files (Not PDFs)

To support accessibility and reduce remediation work, faculty should upload original, editable files whenever possible, such as:

  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Google Docs
  • Google Slides

These formats:

  • Are easier to make accessible from the start
  • Allow Ally to automatically generate an accessible alternative PDF for students who need one
  • Reduce the need for manual remediation

Faculty do not need to create PDFs themselves.
Ally will generate accessible alternatives when appropriate.

Third-Party PDFs (Articles, Book Chapters, Handouts)

We recognize that some PDFs come from external or third-party sources.

Step 1: Look for an Accessible Alternative

Before uploading a PDF, please check whether:

  • The content is available in an HTML web page
  • The library provides an accessible version
  • The publisher offers an alternative format

Accessible alternatives are almost always preferable to remediating a PDF.

Step 2: Use the PDF Only If No Alternative Exists

If no accessible alternative can be found:

  • The PDF may be uploaded
  • Ally will flag accessibility issues as needed

Step 3: Attempt Remediation & Request Support

If the PDF is required and no alternative exists:

Ally Accessibility Issues: What They Mean & What to Do

Use the following list to look up an issue that has been identified in your course to find out what it means and how to fix it.

severe Severe Issues (Urgent Fix)

These issues prevent access entirely or pose serious risk.

What it means:
Ally can’t properly read the file’s structure because the structure is broken, unreadable, or corrupted (often caused by poorly generated PDFs or scanned files). Assistive technologies may not be able to access the content at all.

How to fix:

  • Upload the original source if possible (Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint) instead of saving as PDF
  • For 3rd-party PDF files, edit in Acrobat Pro and use the OCR feature to recognize text
  • For HTML pages, open the code view, copy the contents, paste into Gemini, and ask it to fix any errors in the code. Paste the results back into the code view in Brightspace.

What it means:
The document is essentially a picture of text rather than real text. Screen readers, search tools, and text-to-speech software cannot read images of text. Students who use assistive technology cannot access the content at all.

How to fix:

  • Upload the original file if possible (Word, PowerPoint, Google Doc, etc)
  • For 3rd-party PDF files, remediate using Adobe Acrobat Pro’s Run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool

What this means:
The file has security restrictions that prevent assistive technologies from accessing the content. Screen readers and other tools are often prevented from accessing secured files.

What to do:

  • Upload the original editable file, not a secured PDF
  • If the file is third-party, seek an alternative accessible source
  • CTL may be able to help remove restrictions

What this means:
The content includes flashing or rapidly changing visuals that could trigger seizures or migraines.

What to do:

  • Replace the content with a non-flashing alternative
  • Provide a static image or text explanation
  • Avoid embedding flashing visuals in course materials

major Major Issues (Required for Title II Compliance)

These significantly limit access and should be addressed promptly.

Images lack alternative text (alt text). Students using screen readers cannot understand the purpose or meaning of the image. If there is text within an image, students with low vision or who use magnification may not be able to read the text.

What to do:

  • Add alt text in the original document
  • Use a tool like the Gemini Alt Text generator to help you write descriptive text
  • Mark decorative images as decorative
  • Replace images of text with real text
  • Provide the text content in the page or document

What this means:
Text or important details in images do not stand out clearly from the background. Students with low vision or color blindness may not be able to see the content clearly.

What to do:

  • Use strong color contrast
  • Avoid placing text over busy backgrounds

What this means:
Videos lack accurate captions. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot access spoken content. Automated captions often contain errors.

What to do:

  • Edit the captions in Kaltura if you have access. Consider using Gemini to support you.
  • Generate a transcript of 3rd-party videos or audio and add them to your course.

What this means:
Embedded content, such as videos, tables, or images, lacks descriptions. Screen readers cannot identify the object’s purpose.

What you can do:

  • Add a caption or provide equivalent content
  • Use the <caption> tag in the HTML

What this means:
The document lacks accessibility tags that define structure. Screen readers cannot navigate the document logically.

What you can do:

  • Use built-in heading styles in Word or Google Docs
  • For 3rd-party PDFs, use the auto-tagging feature in Adobe Acrobat Pro

What this means:
The document lacks structural headings, making navigation difficult. Headings help users with screen readers to understand the structure of a file.

What to do:

  • Use Heading styles in Word, PowerPoint, or Google Docs
  • Avoid manually formatting text as headings
  • Reupload the original file

What this means:
Headings are used incorrectly or inconsistently. Assistive technologies rely on logical heading order to convey structure.

What you can do:

  • Remove empty headings
  • Start with a single H1
  • Use headings in order (H2, H3, etc.)

What this means:
Tables are missing header rows or columns. Screen readers cannot associate data with its meaning.

What to do:

  • Use the Ally interface or the Brightspace accessibility checker to add a header
  • Avoid using tables purely for layout
  • Ensure heading cells are not empty

What this means:
Lists are created using formatting instead of list tools. Screen readers may not recognize the content as a list.

What you can do:

  • Use built-in bulleted or numbered list tools

What this means:
Form elements are missing descriptive labels. Screen reader users cannot tell what information is being requested.

What you can do:

  • Add clear labels to all form fields

What this means:
Text does not stand out clearly from the background. Students with low vision or color blindness may not be able to read the content.

What you can do:

  • Fix contrast in the original document
  • Use a tool like the Colour Contrast Analyzer if you need to identify the colors
  • Use built-in themes and styles
  • For HTML context, use Ally to select a similar more contrasting color

What this means:
Color alone is used to convey meaning. Students who cannot perceive color differences may miss important information.

What you can do:

  • Use text labels or symbols in addition to color

What this means:
Links are added with complete URLs in the text or say things like “click here.” Screen reader users cannot tell where the link goes. Or, multiple links use the same text which are indistinguishable when read aloud.

What you can do:

  • Use descriptive link text
  • Make each link’s text unique and descriptive