This information applies only to the Ultra Course View.

This information applies only to the Ultra experience.

Introducing Ultra Accessibility Checker (Powered by Ally)

Accessible content ensures inclusivity and meaningful engagement for diverse learners. To create accessible content in your Ultra Documents, you can use the Ultra Accessibility Checker (Powered by Ally). 

The Ultra Accessibility Checker scans content in the rich content editor for Ultra Documents to identify accessibility issues. It offers explanations about these issues and offers solutions to make your content more accessible.

Ally is a licensable product that is integrated into a Learning Management System to enhance accessibility for you and your students. The Ultra Accessibility Checker capability is built into Learn Ultra. Your institution does not need a license for Ally to use the Ultra Accessibility Checker. 

Instructor view - Ultra Document content editor with Score Gauge indicator

Understanding how it works

The Score Gauge indicator displays on the top right corner of an Ultra Documents page when you are active in the rich content editor. Select the Score Gauge to view the Instructor Feedback panel. This panel provides suggestions to fix accessibility issues at scale. 

For example, after creating instructional content in an Ultra Document for your course, select the Score Gauge. You receive a score out of 100 with a range from low to perfect. You also receive details on accessibility issues, why they matter, and quick fix guidance to address the issues.

You can also view the content editor in a preview. The Score Gauge provides a live score and flags accessibility issues during content creation and editing.

The Score Gauge displays only while an instructor is actively creating or editing content in the content editor for the Ultra Document. The Ultra Accessibility Checker does not provide any additional checking or guidance for files, reporting, or alternative formats.

Instructor View - Score Gauge and suggestions for fixing accessibility issues

Applying instructor feedback

Once the Ultra Accessibility Checker has scanned your content and given a score, you can address the issues it has flagged. Issues that will be scanned for include:

  • Text with insufficient contrast
  • Heading order
  • Image without a description
  • Image with redundant descriptions
  • Tables without headers
  • Tables with empty headers

The functionality guides you through one global issue at a time. For example, it will flag all instances of text with insufficient contrast in your document – focusing your attention to correct the issue.

The issue flagged is listed below the accessibility score in the Instructor Feedback panel. Select the What this means button for a brief explanation of the issue and why it is significant. Say, for example, the issue listed is “This item contains text with insufficient contrast.” Selecting What this means will give you a short explanation of what color contrast is and why using sufficient contrast is important.

More importantly, the Ultra Accessibility Checker offers quick fixes to the issues highlighted. In this case, the feedback panel offers several color choices that would correct the contrast issue. Select a corrected color for each instance that needs correcting. As you correct issues, the Score Gauge’s live score adjusts. 

The Ultra Accessibility Checker guides you through your Ultra Document to make your instructional content accessible for all your students.

For administrators: If your institution does not have an Ally license, the Ultra Accessibility Checker Powered by Ally will be on by default.
If your institution has an active Ally license, note that the Ultra Accessibility Checker Powered by Ally is a new configuration and is off by default. You don't need to turn this setting on. If you turn on this new setting, your Ally Service Availability will turn off. To avoid issues, we recommend not turning on Ultra Accessibility Checker Powered by Ally.