Accessibility in Blackboard
Blackboard is fully committed to delivering product experiences that conform to the highest levels of global accessibility standards. Towson University鈥檚 Blackboard support team knows that accessibility is imperative, not an afterthought.
All Blackboard products are designed and developed with international and domestic standards. Anthology Blackboard, Inc. is and underscores .
TU Blackboard environment has current list of optional . If you have questions, please contact TU Blackboard Support.
Do your Blackboard courses meet accessibility standards? Here鈥檚 how to check.
Check a course's accessibility using If it鈥檚 in the green (100% accessible), you鈥檙e good to go, and no actions are needed. If it鈥檚 not, you鈥檒l need to make it accessible, and the Blackboard team is here to help with two options:
- Attend a scheduled session. TU Blackboard Administrators are holding hour-long, in-person sessions offering support. These sessions will start with an overview, then dive into how to use Ally. Bring your laptop (not required) and your questions. .
- Request an Ally roadshow session for your department. Email us at blackboard AT_TOWSON and we'll set it up!
Recommendation: use the when creating courses and they'll be accessible by default.
Blackboard Accessibility Tool
Ally is an accessibility checker integrated within Blackboard. This tool gauges the accessibility of uploaded documents/files, provides feedback on how to improve issues and identifies alternative content formats for students. Using an accessibility checker supports diverse student needs at TU through inclusive design and learner preferences.
Resources for Instructors
on Blackboard accessibility, and for course accessibility. Learn how to support diverse student needs through inclusive design and learner preferences in the
Using the Blackboard Accessibility Tool (Ally)
Tips for Making Your Course Accessible
- Use descriptive headings and apply heading formatting.
- Avoid using font styles, color, bold, italics, underline or strikethrough to emphasize content.
- Use purposeful images and include alternative text to those images.
- Make descriptive links when linking outside your course.
- Use lists instead of tables whenever possible.
- Properly list content using bullet points or numbered lists.
- All videos should be captioned
- Format your files and documents to be accessible.
- Provide students with clear expectations, instructions and directions for all assignments and tests.