Ally Overview

Authored by Julie Gregg

What is Anthology Ally?

Anthology Ally is built into UNMC's Canvas instance 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 UNMC 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 ADA Title II Guidelines 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.

Ally Webinar - Recorded

Strategies to Address the Impact of ADA Title II Updates (sign-up required)

Join us for an insightful on-demand webinar as we explore the current accessibility challenges facing institutions and the strategies being implemented to overcome them. The discussion will focus on how Anthology®️ Ally is helping institutions navigate these challenges, and panelists will offer practical advice for other institutions to address similar Title II concerns and improve overall accessibility.

How is Ally used at UNMC?

UNMC has implemented the Anthology Ally in all Canvas courses, to assess and improve accessibility for Canvas course content. All courses in Canvas are scanned on a regular basis with Ally and an accessibility report is generated. Faculty can access the accessibility report for their course and update it as they work to make their course more accessible.

Canvas Admins and Instructional Designers can run an institution-wide report or a Canvas sub-account report to determine a score for all of UNMC or a specific college. The report will run several times a semester to check the status of each program or departments progress on making courses accessible. The goal is to meet the ADA Title II requirements by April 2026.

Training & Support

The Information Technology Academic Technologies team supports the integration of technology into instruction and curriculum to improve educational outcomes. Academic Technologies can help by reviewing courses for content that might not be fully accessible, explaining the process of making different document types accessible, and thinking about ways to implement Universal Design for Learning.

Beyond providing one-to-one and group training of aspects of Instructional Design, the team is comprised of experts in the utilization of Ally within Canvas. Check the Instructional Designer Staff Directory to find someone in your college to support you.

If your college or program does not have a dedicated Instructional Designer to help you with Ally, open a ServiceNow ticket to have an Academic Technologies Instructional Design to meet with your for a consultation or group training session.

Drop-in sessions are available in the Faculty Commons from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT Tuesdays and Thursdays or via Zoom.

The Faculty Commons is in the McGoogan Health Sciences Library on the sixth level of Wittson Hall (take a left after you get off the elevators). Your badge is required for entry.

Important Resources

Accessing the Ally Accessibility Chart in your Canvas course

Getting Started for Instructors and Students

Frequently Asked Questions

Select Next below to continue ⬇︎