Anthology Ally’s AI Alternative Text Assistant: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The AI Alt Text Assistant is the latest addition to Ally, designed to assist instructors and course designers in creating alternative descriptions for images by getting inspiration from AI generation. Instructors and course designers can access this functionality through the Instructor Feedback interface, where a new "Auto-generate description" button enables them to automatically generate alternative text for images based on AI capabilities.
This feature allows users to enhance the accessibility of digital course content and streamline the process of ensuring images are accessible to all users.

The AI Alt Text Assistant is primarily designed for instructors and course designers. However, it is intended to benefit anyone with access to Ally’s Instructor Feedback and involved in creating digital courses and materials within the learning management system (LMS). This includes instructional designers, content creators, and educators who are committed to enhancing accessibility and inclusivity in their educational materials.

By using the AI Alt Text Assistant, instructors and course designers can:

This option is included in Anthology® Blackboard and is compatible with every LMS that supports Ally, including Canvas®, D2L®, and Moodle®.

The suggested descriptions generated by the AI will be automatically translated according to the LMS language settings (for those languages currently supported by Ally).

The AI-generated alternative text suggestions can be accessed through Ally's Instructor Feedback panel. When an image has been flagged by Ally for not having alternative text, instructors can utilize this feature to receive suggestions for alternative text options and address this issue directly within Ally’s Instructor Feedback flow.

While AI can provide highly accurate descriptions for images, instructors are always in control, meaning that they are encouraged to review and edit the text output as needed to ensure accuracy. It's important to note that the AI Alt Text Assistant does not involve automated decision-making that could have legal or significant effects on learners or others.

Yes, the AI Alt Text Assistant is powered by Microsoft® generative AI models from Azure AI Vision Services. These models analyze images and provide suggestions for alternative text within Ally.

There are no additional costs, and no special licenses are required to access it. The AI Alt Text Assistant is part of Anthology’s commitment to accessibility and is aimed at assisting institutions in building more accessible learning environments.

Administrators are required to activate the AI Alt Text Assistant in the LMS Ally configuration settings, and they have the flexibility to enable or disable this functionality at any time. Designed as an opt-in feature, it is initially deactivated ("off" by default). For detailed instructions on configuring this feature, visit Configure Ally in the Help Center.

This feature was launched during Anthology Together 2024 (July 2024) and has been available since its release on 2.10.0.

Images uploaded to the AI Alt Text Assistant are processed solely by the Azure AI Vision service to generate descriptive outputs. Microsoft, under its Azure AI Vision terms with Anthology, contractually ensures that no input or output from Azure AI Vision is used for (re)training large language models. This commitment safeguards confidentiality and privacy.