A presentation about how GVSU has deployed Blackboard Ally as a solution to assist in creating an inclusive educational learning environment for students.
2. About Us
Sherry Barricklow
eLearning and Instructional
Technology Specialist
barricks@gvsu.edu
Eric Kunnen
Associate Director of eLearning
and Emerging Technologies
kunnene@gvsu.edu | @ekunnen
eLearning and Emerging
Technologies
• Team of 10 supporting faculty
with:
– Instructional Design
– Instructional Technology
– Digital Studio
– Blackboard
– Technology Showcase
• gvsu.edu/elearn | @gvsuelearn
3. About GVSU
• Established in 1960
• Allendale and downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan
• 25,000 Students and 1,600 Faculty
• 5,300 Enrollments in Online/Hybrid
• 1,600 Registered Students 123 Staff with Disabilities
4. Ally Quick Poll
• Collaborate Poll
– Are you currently using Blackboard Ally
5. Ally Chat Feedback
• Collaborate Chat
– What do you want to know from this session?
• What is Ally?
• Why Ally?
• Who benefits from Ally?
• Etc.
– Please type your answer in the chat window and
hit enter.
Click the white chevron in the
lower right corner
Type your response and
hit Enter
6. Addressing the Accessibility Needs of
Faculty and Students
• Big Picture
– GVSU’s Vision Statement
“GVSU demonstrates its commitment to providing an inclusive learning environment
where all students can explore new directions, find their niches, and develop skills for
life and productive careers.”
– Inclusiveness Value Statement
“Grand Valley State University values all identities, perspectives, and backgrounds and is
dedicated to incorporating multiple voices and experiences into every aspect of its
operations. Grand Valley is committed …removing the barriers to full participation and
providing a safe, inclusive, vibrant community for all.”
– 11% of college students with disabilities, National Center for Education
Statistics
– At GVSU: 1,600 Registered Students 123 Staff with Disabilities
7. Addressing the Accessibility Needs of
Faculty and Students
• Accessibility Across the Campus
– Division of Inclusion and Equity
– Disability Support Resources
– ADA Advisory Council
– Web Accessibility Policy (Web Team)
– Captioning Guidelines (University Academic Senate)
– eLearning and Emerging Technologies Team
8. Addressing the Accessibility Needs of
Faculty and Students
• GVSU 2021 Strategic Plan
– Objective 3.B.1: All systems and policies ensure inclusiveness and
accessibility.
– Objective 1.D.2: At least 93% of faculty members regularly use
electronic course management tools, such as Blackboard, in their
teaching.
– Objective 3.D.2: At least 30% of undergraduate courses are offered in
innovative approaches and formats, such as hybrid, online and
competency-oriented.
– Objective 3.D.3: At least 30% of graduate courses are offered in
innovative approaches and such as hybrid, online and competency-
oriented.
– Objective 4.D.1: Effective technologies are integrated into every
function and structure across the institution.
9. Addressing the Accessibility Needs of
Faculty and Students
• The Case for Ally
– Ally was adopted at GVSU to increase awareness
of the importance of accessibility and ADA
compliance, to build the capacity of faculty in
creating accessible content, and to offer greater
insight at the institutional level.
10. About Blackboard Ally
• Ally provides accessibility checking, displays
indicators, and offers on screen guidance.
Screenshot via Blackboard Ally User Group Resources - https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/resources/
12. About Blackboard Ally
• Ally provides alternative formats for students.
Screenshot via Blackboard Ally User Group Resources - https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/resources/
17. Working toward Compliance
• Implementation and Timeline of
Ally
– APRIL > Ally Kickoff Meeting
• Blackboard Technical Contact and
Project Manager
• Blackboard Building Block and Ally
Integration Configured on Test
Environment
– MAY > Pilot Rollout on Test Server
– JUNE > Email Communication
Campaign
– JUNE > Production with Spring and
Summer Courses
– JULY > Production with All Courses
18. Working toward Compliance
• Leverage Ally Usage Stats
• Reports to ATAC, ADA Advisory Council,
Budget Committee
• Fall 2018 Semester
– 3,734 courses include content with 215,926 total
content items created
– 62% is the “Overall Accessibility Score” (58% without
Ally) indicating improvements made through Ally’s
alternative formats.
– Top 3 accessibility concerns: Contrast (35,093), Missing
Headers (34,688), Alternative Descriptions (29,716) /
Most severe accessibility concern: Non-OCRed
Documents (12,960)
– 1,000 courses have 2,558 registered clicks of the Ally
indicators
– 406 files have been fixed by 107 faculty in 129 courses
– In 837 courses, students have accessed 2,862 alternative
format files (5,205 total views)
– The most popular alternative format is PDF, followed by
HTML
19. Working toward Compliance
• Survey / Results
– 107 Early Adopters
– 48% Visited Ally Website
– 72% Rated Ally as Excellent/Good/Average
– 12% Would Not Recommend Ally
– 80% Unaware of Alternative Formats
21. Next Steps with Ally
• Communication, Marketing, Promotion
– How can we create more awareness,
generate motivation, buy-in?
• Support
– How can we support increases in
remediation?
• Survey
– Continue to monitor and respond to
feedback…
• Roadmap
– Participate in usergroup.ally.uc
– Coming soon… In Browser Preview,
Course Reports, Institutional Hierarchy
22. Thank You!
• Questions, Comments, Ideas?
“How are you approaching accessibility on your campus?”
• Sherry Barricklow
eLearning and Instructional Technology Specialist
barricks@gvsu.edu
• Eric Kunnen
Associate Director of eLearning and Emerging Technologies
kunnene@gvsu.edu
• Ally @ GVSU
gvsu.edu/elearn/help/ally
• Join the Ally Community
usergroup.ally.ac
Hinweis der Redaktion
Sherry
Eric
Sherry
Sherry
Eric
Eric
https://www.gvsu.edu/policies/policy.htm?policyId=1BEF5B2E-01A1-0A6C-E2FDBE2C401DA7B2
https://www.gvsu.edu/elearn/accessibility-captioned-media-guidelines-82.htm
Eric – Value of Inclusion to Strategy
https://www.gvsu.edu/spaa/gvsu-2016-2021-strategic-plan-8.htm
Eric
Eric
Blackboard Ally integrates with an institution's existing learning management system (LMS) and automatically runs course materials through an accessibility checklist that looks for common accessibility issues. The solution generates a range of more accessible alternatives for the instructor's original content including Semantic HTML, audio, ePub, and electronic Braille. It provides educators with guidance for improving accessibility of their course materials, while also supplying reporting on the current state of content accessibility at both the course and institutional level. Over 30 institutions are already using the solution to help make content more accessible for their students.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackboard-ally-helps-make-course-content-more-accessible-for-students-300459935.html
Eric – Pursue progress not perfection.
Eric
Sherry
Sherry
Sherry
Yellow = PDF 27%
Red = Item 21%
Purple = Documents 20%
Blue = Presentations 10%
Dark Grey = Images 9%
Grey = External links 6%
Our #1 problem is scanned documents that are not OCRed
Eric
We can also get reports by Department.
Eric
Eric
http://www.lanthorn.com/article/2018/10/blackboard-ally Sherry
Digital Media Developer Hunter Bridwell said that while Ally was adopted primarily to support accessibility awareness, it serves a greater purpose for students who don’t have a documented disability. He said that options to download materials support a variety of learning styles, such as downloading an audio version of a document to go along with reading to increase retention
