Blackboard Ally for Faculty

What is Blackboard Ally?

Missouri State is pleased to announce the addition of a new accessibility tool in Blackboard. Blackboard Ally supports diversity, equity, and inclusive learning in a way that equally benefits both faculty and students. Blackboard Ally is available for all faculty and students starting with the 2019 Spring semester. Training sessions will be posted shortly.

Benefits for Faculty

Blackboard Ally will automatically run your course materials through an accessibility checker eliminating the need to use multiple checkers and tools.
Blackboard Ally will generate accessible alternatives to your original document including audio, ePub, electronic braille, tagged PDF, and HTML for viewing on mobile devices.
Alternative formats generated by Ally supports the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and allows students to choose the type of file that best suits their needs.
Blackboard Ally will also provide feedback on the accessibility of your course and guidance on how to fix any identified accessibility issues.
Blackboard Ally allows you to respond to student needs for accessible versions of content without additional development time for creating that content.

Introduction Blackboard Ally Training Sessions

In this session you will learn how to use the new Ally tool and the alternate versions of materials provided by Ally. You will also learn strategies for creating more accessible course materials and how to address the common issues identified by the Ally tool. All training sessions will be held in Meyer Library 120.

Date	Time
January 25th	10:00 - 10:50 am
February 1st	10:00 - 10:50 am
February 8th	10:00 - 10:50 am
February 15th	10:00 - 10:50 am
February 22nd	10:00 - 10:50 am
March 1st	10:00 - 10:50 am
March 8th	10:00 - 10:50 am

Intermediate Blackboard Ally Training Sessions

In this session you will learn how to incorporate the feedback that Ally provides to increase the accessibility of your course. This session is intended for faculty who are already familiar with creating accessible documents but want to learn how Ally feedback can benefit the accessibility of Blackboard courses. All training sessions will be held in Meyer Library 120.

Date	Time
January 25th	3:00 - 3:50 pm
February 1st	3:00 - 3:50 pm
February 8th	3:00 - 3:50 pm
February 15th	3:00 - 3:50 pm
February 22nd	3:00 - 3:50 pm
March 1st	3:00 - 3:50 pm
March 8th	3:00 - 3:50 pm

Ally Ambassadors

During the pilot, the following faculty received advanced training on using Blackboard Ally. These faculty have agreed to serve as Ally Ambassadors and answer questions from other faculty about this new tool and also direct you to available resources on campus. If you have questions about Ally please contact your Ally Ambassador below.

College	Faculty	Department
AG	Will Boyer Marilyn Odneal	Agriculture Agriculture-Mt. Grove
CHHS	Holly Metcalf David Caravella	Communication Sciences and Disorders Kinesiology (per-course)
CHPA	Eric Nelson	History
CNAS	Kimberly Van Ornum Katy Frederick-Hudson	Math Biology
COAL	Lanette Cadle Margaret Weaver Nora Cox Taleyna Morris Robyn Rowe Paula Patterson	English English Communications Communications Communications Music
COB	Carly Pierson	Marketing
COE	Annice McLean Ching-Wen Chang Sharie Scott Tamara Arthaud Melissa Schotthofer Kimberly Roam	Reading Foundations & Technology Reading Foundations & Technology Counseling Leadership & Special Education Counseling Leadership & Special Education Childhood Ed & Family Studies Childhood Ed & Family Studies
LIB	Jessica Bennett Kelly Wood Lacey Geiger	Meyer Library Academic Success Access & Outreach