Designing Accessible Courses in Blackboard Ultra
SIUE is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment in-person and online. Blackboard Ultra, the University's primary learning management system, is built to meet international web accessibility standards (WCAG version 2.1, Level AA) in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.* This ensures all students can participate regardless of ability or use of assistive devices.
While Blackboard offers tools to assess and remediate core structural accessibility of course content, instructors are responsible for making course materials and media accessible.
Visit Blackboard's website for accessibility compliance, page structure, keyboard navigation, screen readers, quick links, content editor math formulas, and interactive tools.
Faculty and course builders should review ACCESS accessibility resources for best practices in accessible course design.
Content Authoring Quick-Checklist
-
Images & Visuals
-
Add Meaningful Alternative Text (Alt Text): When uploading an image, Blackboard will prompt you for an image description. Provide concise, descriptive text that conveys the same meaning as the visual.
-
Decorative Images: Mark purely decorative elements (such as borders or stock background art) as decorative so screen readers bypass them.
-
Editing Existing Images: Right-click the image in the content editor, select Image Properties, and update the Alt Text field.
-
-
Video & Audio Content
-
Auto-Captioning with YuJa: YuJa automatically generates captions for uploaded media. However, instructors must review and edit captions for technical terms, names, and punctuation to ensure accuracy.
-
Third-Party Videos: Ensure YouTube or other external clips have accurate closed captions (review auto-captions for accuracy).
-
Captioning Support: Digital captioning services are available through
Online Services and Educational Outreach. Videos must be hosted in YuJa, the University's video recording and streaming service.
-
-
PDFs, Word, & Other Text-based Documents
-
Prefer Original Documents over Scans: Avoid uploading scanned PDFs. Scanners tend to treat text as flat images rendering them unreadable by screen readers. Use Adobe Acrobat to review scanned documents for accessibility.
-
Use Formatted Headings: Structure Word documents with real Heading styles (H1, H2, H3) and lists (bulleted or numbered) rather than manually bolding or creating lists.
-
Built-in Checkers: Run the application's accessibility checkers before exporting or uploading content.
-
Accessibility Tools Built into Blackboard
-
Anthology Ally
-
Integrated into every course: Ally is integrated directly into every Blackboard course. Ally provides real-time accessibility feedback often with remediation recommendations and guidance.
-
Instructor Feedback: View color-coded indicator dials next to uploaded files to identify accessibility scores and suggested methods for improving the accessibility of the file.
-
Alternative formats for Students: Ally automatically generates alternative versions of uploaded files (e.g., Tagged PDFs, OCR versions, HTML, ePub, Electronic Braille, and Audio MP3s).
-
-
Test Accommodations & Exceptions
- Instructor customization: Grant extended time, alternative due dates, or multiple attempts based on student accommodations.
Student Progress Tracking
Instructors can track student progress by enabling Progress Tracking in the course settings. For items that require student participation, they are marked complete when a student has made a submission or contributed to a discussion. For items that do not require student participation, they can manually mark them as complete to indicate they have viewed them. Helpful circles. (not viewed/completed), half-circles (viewed), and checkboxes (viewed/completed) appear to the left of items.
Flexible Communication Options
Faculty have several options for communicating with students in their courses. Traditional email via MS Outlook, Blackboard messages, and Blackboard announcements are available.
Additional Resources and Support
If you're ever uncertain if your course or instructional content meets accessibility standards, SIUE's Digital Readiness, Evaluation, and Mitigation Team (DREAM Team) can provide guidance and connect you to the appropriate resources.
For more information on Blackboard accessibility features for students, visit the student resource page on Blackboard's website. For more information on Blackboard accessibility features for instructors, visit the instructor resource page on Blackboard's website.
* From Blackboard's commitment to accessibility and inclusion: "Blackboard’s approach to accessibility is designed to empower all users by creating inclusive, effective, and supportive learning experiences. Through community involvement, a shared responsibility model that incorporates accessibility through the product development lifecycle, a team of accessibility experts to guide and consult, and external third parties to advise as needed, we’re working to ensure that everyone can engage fully with our products and achieve their learning goals."
