Instructors often use multiple resources to reference educational content, helping learners succeed in their learning experiences. One essential method is incorporating links within WYSIWYG content to direct students to other pages. However, broken links can disrupt the learning process. Ally assists instructors in identifying and fixing these broken links.

Broken links

Links usually have two main components:

  • URL: Web address where the link sends visitors when they select it.
  • Display text or image: Visible text or image that tells visitors what to expect to find if they select the link.

A link is considered broken when the target page cannot be found. This can happen if the page no longer exists or if the URL is incorrect. Ally flags a link as broken if the URL returns a 404 HTML error (page not found).

How Ally helps

Ally helps instructors identify broken links by:

  • Flagging Broken Links: Ally automatically detects and flags links that return a 404 error.
  • Instructor Feedback: Instructors can use Ally's feedback to quickly locate and address broken links within their WYSIWYG documents.
  • Course Accessibility Report: Ally provides a comprehensive report on course accessibility, highlighting any broken links that need attention.

By using Ally, instructors can ensure their course content remains accessible and free from disruptive broken links, enhancing the overall learning experience for students.

Supported Documents and LMS

Ally identifies broken links on WYSIWYG content on the following LMS:

  • Blackboard
  • Canvas

We will continue working to support more LMS and content types as part of the Ally roadmap.  

Find All the Documents with Broken Links

To identify and resolve accessibility issues in your course, open the Course Accessibility Report and look at the list of issues in the Accessibility Issues table on the Overview tab. Select The HTML content contains broken links.

Ally flagging broken links in Instructor Feedback panel

Next, find the score indicator next to an item with the issue and select it. This will open the Instructor Feedback, where you can see detailed information and fix the issue.

Ally course accessibility feedback with broken links feedback highlighted

Use the Instructor Feedback to Fix Broken Links

When you access the Ally Instructor Feedback, select All Issues and then select This item contains broken links.

Ally instructor feedback that is flagging "This item contains broken links"

The preview highlights specific accessibility issues within the document. Each highlight represents an instance of one issue type. For example, selecting the broken links issue will highlight every occurrence of broken links in the document. In the top ribbon options instructors can:

  • Navigate Pages: Move through the preview page by page.
  • Issue Count: View the number of times a specific issue appears.
  • Jump Between Highlights: Quickly move between highlighted issues.
  • Toggle Highlights: Hide or show the issue highlights.
  • Zoom: Adjust the zoom level of the preview content.

For each broken link, Ally provides guidance and a quick fix option alongside the preview.

Ally providing guidance and a quick fix option alongside the preview
  • Learn More: Select “What this means” to understand the issue and why it's important to fix it. 
Learn more screen in instructor feedback giving more information on broken links
  • Update URL: Enter the correct URL in the Ally side panel and click the “Update” button to verify if the new URL works.
  • Remove Link: If needed, you can remove the link while retaining the text by choosing the remove link option.
Remove link option on instructor feedback screen