Anthology Ally is built into ICON as a way to help make courses more accessible. Instructors receive feedback and guidance on course content accessibility and making sure their materials accommodate their students. Students can choose alternative formats for course content based on their preferences and needs.

Ally scans the materials in all ICON courses and gives pointers on how to improve accessibility for all users. It assists with university goals of improving course accessibility and ensuring our compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more information on campus-wide accessibility efforts, please consult the Accessibility at Iowa page.

Ally has three primary features that improve access and engagement in course sites:

• Alternative formats for students: Ally converts course materials into alternative formats that students can choose to use to enhance their learning.
• Instructor feedback: Ally provides scores (only visible to instructors) to assess the accessibility of course content and gives guidance on how to improve access.
• Reporting: Ally presents institutional data to help identify common challenges and guide support efforts. A dashboard has been developed in order to effectively gauge department and institution accessibility. If you are a Collegiate Admin in ICON, you can request access to your unit's dashboard by following these instructions:
  • Follow this link to the dashboard, sign in with your HawkID, and click Request Access.
  • The request will be sent via Workflow to your supervisor for approval.
  • OTLT will verify the information, clarifying with your supervisor if necessary, and comment that information on the Workflow form.
  • OTLT will add access in ICON, confirming action via a comment in workflow.
  • Once the previous steps are complete, OTLT will give the final approval. This process will take 24-48 hours, so you won't be able to access the data until that time.