As part of the university’s commitment to enhancing student success, the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology will add Anthology Ally to all ICON courses in early April. Ally can help make courses more accessible by providing real-time feedback and guidance on digital course content in ICON.

How will it impact teaching and learning?

For instructors:

They will notice red, orange, light green, and dark green gauges, called Ally Indicators, next to linked and embedded course files. Instructors can click on these gauges to get a score on how accessible each piece of content is, along with customized suggestions for improvements. These individual content scores are aggregated into the Ally Course Accessibility Report, found in the left-hand navigation bar of the ICON course. Ally will not change a course’s functionality or content without an instructor’s direct action. The feedback and reporting are not available or visible to students.

For students:

Ally can automatically convert course content into a variety of audio and text formats. Students can download these alternative formats on-demand in a way that suits their learning and drives better outcomes. Instructors will have control over which, if any, of these alternative formats will be available to students on content in their course.

Learn more about Ally

For more information, including guides for instructors and students, visit the Ally webpages on the OTLT website. We'll also offer virtual training sessions for Anthology Ally: An ICON Course Accessibility Tool on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2 to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 11, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, April 15, noon to 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 13, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

If you have questions about Ally, email the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology.