Ally Overview

Shanay Murdock

Jan 29, 2026

15429

What is Ally?

Anthology Ally is a tool that works within Canvas to help instructors ensure course content is accessible to all users. It scans pages, documents, images, and more, assigning each item an accessibility score and offering remediation options if necessary.

Why do I need to make my course content accessible?

Accessibility ensures that all your students can access your course materials and use them as needed. Legally, FSU is required to have both internal and external departmental materials be fully accessible so that everyone is able to access and use these materials as required to fulfill their employment responsibilities and/or pursue their academic studies, regardless of any visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological disabilities (About the new Accessibility Standards).

The Office of Digital Learning can provide guidance in designing accessible online courses, but accessibility is ultimately the responsibility of the course instructor. We strongly recommend adopting the principles of universal design, which means proactively creating materials that are accessible to everyone. We believe this method is far better than the reactive "provide accommodation when needed" approach.

To learn more about accessibility and accessible course design, check out our Accessibility & Usability Overview.

Why use Ally?

Ally is an immensely helpful tool for ensuring your content is accessible for many reasons:

Seamless integration with Canvas:
Once Ally is enabled, you'll be able to hit the ground running. You'll be able to see your accessibility check meters throughout the course content and course files, and can make changes right in Canvas to optimize the accessibility of your course.
Clean, intuitive interface:
- Content scanning and automated corrections where possible
- Clickable accessibility meters for course content
- Easy-to-follow instructions for how to make course content ADA-compliant
- Multiple alternative accessible formats available for students
- Real-time updates when new content is added

How do I get Ally enabled in my courses?

Ally was enabled automatically for all courses beginning Spring 2021 and will be enabled automatically for all courses each term going forward.

Keep in mind:

Students can only view the alternative formats created for content. They will never see the accessibility scores for items or courses.
Ally does not process student content or student submissions.
Password-protected content will receive a 0% accessibility score because Ally is not able to access that content. ZIP archives and XML files will not receive an accessibility score at all and will not be factored into the course's accessibility score.

The Office of Digital Learning can assist you along the way with training materials and workshops, and our ODL Technical Support team is glad to answer your questions about Ally!