Dubai (ARE), September 2020 - Blackboard Inc. has announced the availability of the Blackboard Ally accessibility solution in Arabic to serve educators, institutions, and learners. Blackboard Ally helps institutions build a more inclusive learning environment and improve the student experience by helping them take control of course content with usability, accessibility, and quality in mind.
Blackboard Ally is revolutionary, award-winning solution that integrates seamlessly into all leading learning management systems (LMS) and focuses on making digital course content more accessible for all learners. It automatically checks digital course content for accessibility issues and generates alternative formats using advanced machine learning algorithms.
The solution user interface (UI) and alternative file formats, which include mobile-friendly HTML, audio, ePub, electronic Braille, and a language translation version, are now all available for the Arabic-speaking learner population. Blackboard Ally also provides instructor feedback to guide instructors on how to improve the accessibility of their course content and institution-wide reporting on course content accessibility to drive further improvements at the institution.
"We're really excited about the global momentum we're seeing around accessibility and universal design for learning, and we’re proud to make our Blackboard Ally solution available for more students and institutions," said Nicolaas Matthijs, Product Manager for Ally at Blackboard. "With Blackboard Ally, we are helping institutions build more inclusive learning environments and improve the overall student experience."
Blackboard Ally has helped clients in the region deliver a high-quality experience for their students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blackboard Ally has supported us in delivering a higher quality of online education during the pandemic," said Dr. Tendai Charles, Director of Center for Research in Digital Education at The British University in Dubai. "This added flexibility and usability has enabled a more personalized approach and has contributed to the success of our online instruction during this time of flux. Ally has provided an indispensable, powerful tool, and we believe it will continue to do so even beyond this period."
In addition, the company is proud to announce that Blackboard Ally is now available for students in Saudi Arabia through its partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education.
