D2L tips for accessibility, from Linkedin Learning™
Enabling user accessibility from Learning Brightspace by D2L by Alan Ackmann
In the Innovation Center:
Guide to Digital Accessibility: Policies, Practices, and Professional Development
Design your course for all learners
Ally is a tool available within Brightspace D2L that improves the quality and usability of digital content every day for all students. It allows students to automatically access alternative file formats for existing instructional content, rather than faculty or Disability Services needing to initiate that process. Ally also provides feedback for faculty on the accessibility of course content with contextual guidance and support on how to correct issues.
A survey of Kishwaukee College faculty in 2019 indicated that support and guidance on making content accessible was a functionality greatly desired and missing from technology tools then available. Faculty desired to work towards making content accessible BEFORE they were notified of an impacted student in their courses by Disability Services, but did not know where to start. Ally meets this expressed faculty need and funding through the Title III grant has made the implementation possible.
Disability Services will continue to work in partnership with faculty to ensure the College meets its legal requirement to provide accessible course content to students. Ally will automatically create alternate accessible formats for students and support faculty in making small improvements that can have a big impact on accessibility. Disability Services will continue to support students and faculty.
With Ally, your files and pages in Brightspace are automatically more accessible because students can now access alternative formats of content.
These alternative formats can be generated:
OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This format converts scanned images of text into machine-readable text. This allows screen readers and other assistive technologies to read the text aloud, making the content accessible to visually impaired users.
Tagged PDFs. This format includes metadata that defines the structure and reading order of the document. This helps screen readers navigate the document more effectively, ensuring that users with visual impairments can understand the content in the correct sequence.
Immersive Reader. This format enhances reading comprehension of the LMS structure by providing features like adjustable text size, font, and background color, as well as highlighting parts of speech. This is particularly helpful for users with dyslexia, ADHD, or other reading difficulties.
Mobile-friendly HTML. This format ensures that web content is easily readable and navigable on mobile devices. This includes responsive design elements that adjust the layout based on the screen size, making it accessible for users who rely on mobile devices for internet access, including those with disabilities.
Audio file. This format supports individuals with vision impairments, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and mobility impairments or any student who finds audio content to be easier to process.
ePub (Electronic Publication). This format supports reflowable content, meaning the text can adjust to fit different screen sizes and orientations. This is particularly beneficial for users with visual impairments as it allows them to customize the text size, font, and background color to suit their needs.
Electronic Braille. This format can be read using Braille devices that translate digital text into Braille characters using small, movable pins. This allows users who are blind or have severe visual impairments to read digital content through touch.
Translations. Translated version of content are available in over 70 languages.
No. Alternative formats are available to students by default without any action by the instructor.
Ally does not alter any of your files or Brightspace content. The original file stays in your LMS. Ally does not store a copy of the original documents and files or alter or delete them. It creates and provides alternate versions for students. It offers faulty some guided feedback on how to manually improve accessibility of their files and documents.
Ally will not create alternate formats or score the accessibility of third-party content, such as Person or Cengage linked assignments, YouTube links, or any links out to another source.
Once Ally is available in your Brightspace D2L course, a color-coded indicator will appear at the right of each content item or document file to indicate how accessible that piece of content is.
These color-coded indicators provide you with a starting point to make your content more accessible. Clicking on the color-coded Ally icon will provide instructions on how to address an accessibility issue. Many accessibility issues can be corrected within a minute or two, but some may require more effort or support from Disability Services. Simple fixes may include adding alternative text descriptions for images, or rescanning documents that were created by scanners that treat text as images. A red hazard indicator will appear for any instances of media that might trigger a seizure along with an option to remove the item.
No. Accessibility scores on files and pages in Brightspace are only visible to instructors within their own courses.
There is no institutional course accessibility score requirement. However, new federal law requires public schools, community colleges, and public universities to make their digital content accessible by April 2026. Ally will support Kishwaukee College in accomplishing this goal through the combined efforts of faculty, Instruction staff, and Disability Services.
Most video streaming platforms will automatically generate closed captions. Common streaming platforms used at Kishwaukee include Echo360, YouTube, and Brightspace. All of these options will generate automatic closed captions when a video is uploaded and the setting is enabled. See the tutorials at the links below for instructions on enabling the automatic generation of closed captions.
Enabling Closed Captions in Echo 360
Learn how to make your course accessible to all! When you register for the site, don't worry if you're asked about payment; this resource is free to Kishwaukee College users.
Set up your MyQM account to use the Accessibility and Usability Resource Site. Choose "No, I am new here," and sign up with your Kish email.
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