The University of Glasgow is committed to making teaching materials inclusive and accessible to all. This isn’t just good practice, it's also a legal obligation. 

Ally  
As part of our commitment to accessible content, we added Anthology Ally (formerly known as Blackboard Ally) to Moodle in 2020. The Ally feedback tool helps you to assess and improve the digital accessibility of your content and provides alternative formats for a wide range of content. 

Overall score 

Last year the Anthology Ally overall accessibility score for the University was 66%, which is 5% down on the previous year. This coincides with a decline in the use of the Ally feedback tool. 

To access the feedback tool: 

  • Log into Moodle 
  • In the course you want to improve, select Reports from under the course title then Accessibility report 

This will give you the course accessibility score and assistance on improving any content that might need it. 

Content that THRIVES 

We know that accessible content is better content. While Ally is useful for making improvements, it’s easier to create content that is accessible by design.  

The THRIVE acronym helps us remember the key principles of accessible content: 

  • Tables- provide descriptions and add column and row headers 
  • Hyperlinks - use descriptive links informing where the link goes 
  • Recordings- provide a transcript for audio and video and add closed captions on video 
  • Inclusive fonts - use accessible sans serif font optimised for digital 
  • Visuals - add alt text to images, for more detailed visuals provide a description 
  • Examine - use built-in accessibility checkers 
  • Structure - use heading styles and left justified text 

For more details please visit the Digital Accessibility web pages 

Alternative Formats Service 

The newly formed Alternative Formats Service provides accessible copies of library resources to print-disabled students and staff. They also offer training and support to help make all teaching materials accessible by design.  

Please visit the Alternative Formats Service webpage to find out more. 

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First published: 18 September 2024

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