Students are able to access and download a range of alternative and accessible formats for files uploaded to the Blackboard sites that they are enrolled on. These alternative formats are automatically generated by Blackboard Ally. Alternative formats are for personal use only and users must not copy, post or share the alternative format with others.
Students do not see the accessibility indicator or score for course content in your Blackboard site or the feedback Ally provides in the Instructor Feedback Panel.
For further information, and a resource that you might share with students, watch Ally for Students in Blackboard Learn (0:45).
For the following file types:
- PDF files
- Microsoft Word files
- Microsoft PowerPoint files
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice files
- Uploaded HTML files
Students can choose to download these alternative formats:
- OCR’d (Optical Character Recognition) version – automatically extracted text from scanned documents for improving reading and searching.
- Tagged PDF (currently for Word, PowerPoint and OpenOffice/LibreOffice files) – structured PDF for improved use with assistive technology.
- Mobile-friendly HTML.
- ePub – for reading as an e-book on an iPad or other e-book reader.
- Electronic Braille – BRF version for electronic braille displays.
- MP3 Audio version for listening.
- BeeLine Reader – enhanced version that uses an ‘eye-guiding colour gradient’ for easier and faster on-screen reading. For further information, watch the BeeLine overview video (0:32, no audio).