Taking a Human-Centric Approach to Making Content More Accessible

As product manager for Anthology® Ally, one of the questions I get asked most often is when I think there will be an “easy button” that can quickly and easily fix all accessibility issues in one click. Institutions around the world are struggling with this question as well, whether due to increased legal pressures (like Title II updates in the US and the European Accessibility Act in Europe) or driven by a renewed focus on content usability and quality. There is a lot of uncertainty and confusion about which path is the right one to take.

My answer (in typical product manager fashion) is that it is complicated. While I am very excited to see the progress in certain areas of accessibility in this new age of AI, I do not think we will ever see a genuine “easy button” that magically fixes everything without requiring some level of human oversight. After all, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

With today’s fast pace of technological change and new tools pushing the envelope of what was previously thought possible, the human element remains crucial to ensure content is being created and updated in the right ways. Anthology Ally’s approach has always been very consistent in this way. We believe in a more human-centric, inclusive approach to transforming behaviors. Instructors, as subject matter experts, remain crucial to the process of improving the accessibility of course content, and removing them entirely would negatively impact the student experience.

This is one of the main reasons why the Instructor Feedback component in Ally has always been focused on training instructors on how to create better content over the long run instead of chasing a one-button solution. At the same time, we also recognize that instructors are under increased pressure to fix content faster in order to meet institutional goals or deadlines.

Take file content as an example. Even with detailed guidance and instruction, one of the most time-consuming and difficult content types to remediate is the often-dreaded PDF. (If you have ever tried to update a PDF with or without Acrobat Pro you likely understand where instructors are coming from here.) Instructors are looking for faster, more efficient ways to fix these PDF files without having to juggle multiple licenses or applications.

We are excited to announce our first steps towards balancing the need for sustainable change with faster and more efficient tools in our upcoming improvements to the PDF file fixing workflows in Ally’s Instructor Feedback. Designed to usher in quicker improvements to the files while still emphasizing the importance of creating content more inclusively from the start, the new file fixing workflows are an exciting part of the continued evolution of Ally’s instructor capabilities. Our current research is focused on incorporating faster fixing capabilities within the Feedback Panel and potential improvements to how these changes are applied and previewed. This approach aims to combine some of these efficiencies with the existing Ally guidance, which encourages instructors to make continuous improvement and progress each time they create content to avoid an endless “click and forget” loop.


I don’t want to give away too much in this post, but we will preview some of these file-fixing workflows (with a focus on PDF) in March and would greatly appreciate your participation! You can use the registration link below to express your interest.
Register Today

We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with institutions to create more inclusive learning environments for all learners. After all, accessible content truly is better content.


Important Note: *This design mockup is subject to change.




Chris Aldin
Director of Product Management