Post - Discussion - Ally User Group

Lorna Olsen

Discussion · Aug 22, 2023 ·

I have a question: An instructor sent me a 236 page scanned PDF file. I used Adobe Acrobat Pro to OCR the file, then ran it through the Accessibility Checker and fixed all of the issues identified. When I uploaded the OCR’d/remediated PDF file to a Blackboard Learn course, the Ally Accessibility Score shows 67% with no other issues identified in the file. The instructor feedback panel says “This PDF has been OCRed - Guidance not available yet” Since there are no other issues identified in either Ally or Adobe Acrobat Pro, is there anything we can do to bring this PDF file up to 100% accessible in Ally? Can we consider this 67% accessibility score good enough and leave it as is? Thanks for any input you can provide! Lorna Olsen\ Instructional Technology Specialist\ North Dakota State University

- Permalink

Ivan Herrera · Aug 23, 2023 · Last updated Aug 24, 2023 - 1:24 PM

Dear [Lorna Olsen](mention:b85f66c8-5a4f-4850-b5d0-eba746f4f5dd "/u/lolsen/") Ally is built in such a way that we are always looking to generate awareness to create the most accessible content possible. Let me give you some examples (I hope my answer is not too long:smiley: ). For PDFs there are multiple flags Ally does, so instructors can go from the worst PDF version to the best one, from the accessibility perspective. That is why we have the following flags in less to more accessible: 1\. Scanned PDF: Content is just an image and, therefore is the less accessible version of a PDF. In this case, Ally provides an OCRed Alternative Format if after going through the document it finds 10 pages where half of them are images. 2\. Scanned PDF but OCRed: This is your case. Not always an OCRed PDF is 100% accessible because the searchable text could be seen blurred, for example, if they zoom the font a lot. Another example of why this is not accessible is because, there could be cases where, if you copy-paste the text from the OCR PDF, is not always pasted correctly in a text editor. You can see more information in the [following post about OCR PDF](https://usergroup.ally.ac/comment/perma?id=4173). 3\. Text PDF but untagged: The main issue is that is not tagged, which could affect significantly the way learners access to the information. 4\. Text-based and tagged: This is the most accessible PDF possible. The following image describes this “flow” of how you can go from the worst to the most accessible PDF:\ \ ![](file-guid:5461a970-5da4-4e6f-b1d5-3218098c731e "image.png" =800x) Therefore, you should look at the Ally score as a way to see that your PDF as not the most accessible PDF possible. The score is given to create awareness on “how” accessible the document is. If you are not able to get the text based and tagged PDF, you should be aware that an OCR PDF could have accessibility issues, therefore it cannot be scored as 100%.\ \ \ I hope this explanation makes sense, but please let us know if you have any further questions.\ \ Best regards,\ Ivan

Blackboard Ally User Group Terms of Use · Blackboard Privacy · Powered by HumHub

Choose language:

Hidden Gallery

‹ › ×

How We Use Cookies We use cookies and similar technologies on our websites, as almost all websites do. We also use cookies when you access some of our products and services. Cookies allow us, among other things, to store your preferences and settings, authenticate and log you in, provide you with a personalized experience, keep our websites secure, and analyze how our websites and online services are performing. The following table provides information on the types of cookies we use for our websites and products and services. Type of Cookies Description Sign-in and authentication These cookies help us authenticate you, keep you signed in, and personalize the services where you use websites and services with sign-in, such as Behind the Blackboard and Blackboard Learn. Preferences and settings These cookies help us remember your settings and preferences and deliver a personalized experience even if you are not logged in. For example, we can store which language you prefer. We also use such cookies to help you fill out forms and surveys more easily. We use third-party cookies such as Eloqua, Acquia Lift, and GetSiteControl for these purposes. Security Security cookies support our security features and help us detect malicious activities. Analytics We use Blackboard and third-party cookies such as Google Analytics and Siteimprove to gather information about user activities and performance. This helps us analyze and improve the performance of our websites. It also lets us understand, improve, and research how our products and services are used and what type of devices you use to access them. The information we receive from these third-party providers is de-identified, meaning we cannot track it back to you. For Google Analytics we have enabled IP Anonymization to anonymize your IP address. Learn more about IP anonymization in Google Analytics. Social Sharing On some of our websites we use buttons and cookies from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media services that allow you to share content via their services if you are a member and signed in. These social media companies may recognize you and collect information about your visit to our websites, and they may set a cookie or employee other tracking technologies. Your interactions with those features are governed by the privacy policies of the social media companies. Please read their privacy statements and cookie policies to understand how they use your information. Marketing and advertising We use cookies from third parties like Eloqua to recognize you when you return to our websites and to understand which pages you visit. If you submit your information on our pages (such as in a web form), we will link this information to the information stored on the cookie. We use this information to personalize your experience on our websites and to make sure we are communicating with you in the most relevant way possible. We also use third-party cookies from services such as Google AdWords, Facebook Business, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and Twitter Ads. This allows those services to show you relevant ads and campaigns from us in their environment when you previously visited one of our websites. We also receive information from some of these services about which of our ads or campaigns you have interacted with. Learn more about Google Analytics and Advertising in the "Client Engagement & Marketing" section in our Privacy Statement. How to Control Cookies & Opt-Out You have a variety of tools to control and opt out of cookies and similar technologies. For example, you can use browser controls to block and delete cookies. You can also use controls made available by some third-party analytics service providers to opt out of data collection through web beacons and similar technologies. In some browsers you can set your cookie preferences for each site, which means you can disable cookies in general but allow them for websites that you trust. Please remember that many of our services may not function properly if you disable cookies for our websites or services.