Fix Your Content Day: How a 24-Hour Challenge Sparked a Global Accessibility Movement

# Accessibility

# Ally

# Faculty

# Higher Ed

Katie Grennell

Every year, a quiet revolution unfolds across institutions around the world. It doesn’t involve protests or policy debates, but it does challenge our collective commitment to accessibility. It’s called Fix Your Content Day (FYCD), and it has been quietly changing the way we think about digital accessibility in education since its inception.

The Birth of a Movement

The roots of Fix Your Content Day trace back to 2017, when Blackboard (now Anthology) celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) with a “Follow the Sun” webinar series featuring global accessibility experts. The event was a powerful celebration, filled with excitement and engagement from the global Ally community. Following its initial success, similar events ran in 2018 and 2019, but attendance declined. After gathering customer feedback, the team decided to plan something different. But as brainstorming began, COVID-19 hit—forcing a rapid global shift to online learning and making accessible content an immediate priority.

It was unilaterally agreed upon by the Ally team to create an event that would spotlight faculty efforts and advance a global mission for accessibility: leveraging Ally to fix more content and foster inclusive learning for all. From that shared vision, the idea for FYCD was born. The goal was simple yet powerful: empower the Ally community to unite and make a tangible difference by fixing as many accessibility issues as possible in a single day. It was a celebration of action, showing real progress and building a movement educators could proudly champion.

With just weeks to prepare, the team built a real-time leaderboard to track global fixes and spark friendly competition. Marketing quickly mobilized, developing promotional materials, crafting resources to guide participants, and launching campaigns to spread the word. On event day, fueled by excitement and caffeine, the team hosted a live, global experience that quite literally followed the sun, starting in Kiribati and ending in American Samoa. Someone was always online, updating dashboards, troubleshooting technical issues, and celebrating milestones. By the end of the event, the team was sleep-deprived yet elated.

The impact of the inaugural Fix Your Content Day speaks for itself. Here is what the global community accomplished:

25+ institutions registered at least one file improved globally

59 institutions represented on the leaderboard

Five Continents, six countries, and 18 US states participated

57,252 total files improved

The success of the first year was astounding, so much so that it raised a compelling question: could we possibly top it? But the answer came from the community itself. Messages poured in from institutions sharing how FYCD had energized their instructors, built new champions, and reminded them why accessibility mattered. The event wasn’t just about numbers—it was about connection, pride, and purpose. And with the answer determined, the rest, as they say, was history.

This year marks Ally’s sixth FYCD, and like digital accessibility itself, the event has evolved to meet the needs of its community. After hearing feedback that GAAD’s timing often overlapped with exam periods, we adapted by shifting FYCD to November while keeping the same mission of driving accessibility forward. Just as accessibility requires flexibility and responsiveness, FYCD reflects that same spirit, making it easier for more people to participate without compromising its purpose.

Why it Matters

Digital accessibility isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. Behind every accessible document is an educator making intentional choices to remove barriers for learners. Students who rely on screen readers, alternative formats, or other forms of assistive technologies often face challenges that others never notice. Fix Your Content Day puts humans at the center of the solution, empowering faculty to take meaningful action and create learning experiences where every student can equitably participate.

In 2023 alone, over 89,000 files were improved during FYCD. That’s 89,000 moments where someone chose inclusion over convenience. And that impact ripples outward by raising awareness, shifting mindsets, and building a culture of accessibility that lasts beyond the event.

How it Works

Participating institutions register for the event and use Anthology® Ally to identify accessibility issues in their LMS course files, such as missing alternative text, scanned PDFs without OCR, or documents lacking proper headings. Faculty and staff then work to fix those issues, with every improvement tracked in real time on a global leaderboard. At the end of the event, the Ally teams tabulate the scores and announce regional winners with the most fixes, while also celebrating first-time participants who joined the challenge.

To register for this year’s event, visit the FYCD Registration Page. To further support your institution in participating, we have prepared a FYCD Communication Pack, containing messaging templates, graphics, and strategies to help you drive participation across your campus.

Beyond the Day

While FYCD is a one-day sprint, its real value lies in the momentum it creates. Institutions often use the event to kick off broader accessibility initiatives, offer training, engage faculty in ongoing conversations about inclusive design, or even host their own “mini-FYCDs.” And just like Ally’s approach to accessibility is human-centered, so is our reasoning for hosting this annual event: because at the heart of Fix Your Content Day are the instructors and staff who make accessibility a reality. Every improvement starts with a person choosing to take action: adding alt text, converting a PDF, or reformatting a document so it works for every learner. These moments of effort reflect the essence of FYCD: a global community of educators committed to equity, proving that accessibility isn’t just a technical goal, but a human-driven mission.

Join the Movement

Whether you’re an instructor, instructional designer, administrator, or student advocate, FYCD is your chance to make a difference. It’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. And every fix counts.

2025’s Fix Your Content Day will be held on Tuesday, November 18^th. Mark your calendars, spread the word, and rally your teams, because this is your chance to make a measurable impact on accessibility at your institution.

We hope to see you on the leaderboard!

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