Inside Blackboard
May 19, 2026
From Using Blackboard Ally to Shaping It: Three Journeys That Came Full Circle
# Accessibility
# Diversity and Inclusion
# LMS
# Teaching and Learning
# Digital Learning
Three Blackboard team members reflect on their journey with Blackboard Ally, from using it in their previous roles to helping shape it today, and how their perspective changed along the way.
Introduction
The Blackboard Ally team is bound by a passion for accessible learning. For many, this started on campus, in roles spanning LMS administration, instructional design, and teaching. We caught up with three of our awesome Ally team membersâEddie Randall, Dr Katie Grennell, and Victoria Sikoraâto learn about their journey with accessibility, and how their experiences working at institutions shapes how they approach developing Ally today.
Eddie Randall: From LMS Administrator to Solutions Engineer
ďťż
Before joining Blackboard as a senior solutions engineer, Eddie Randall managed Blackboard LMS at Columbia Southern University, supporting faculty, and keeping systems running smoothly. Through yearly Blackboard conferences, Columbia Southern was introduced to Blackboard Ally, becoming early adopters of both Ally for LMS and Ally for Web.
At the time, there was no easy way to get insight into what was happening across courses day to day. Reports in Ally helped bring that visibility, allowing Eddie to see where accessibility was working, where it wasnât, and where effort would have the greatest impact.
At Columbia Southern, Eddie reports that progress mattered more than perfection. That mindset continues to shape how he talks about accessibility today, particularly as institutions work toward ADA Title II requirements. Every fix is a step in the right direction.
âIf we were at 68% score and then we got to 70%, that was success. It wasnât about chasing 100%. It was about getting better,â
From there, his focus shifted to alternative formats. Without any promotion, students were finding and using formats that worked better for them. âWe were able to give students options and improve their learning experience, so they didnât need specific software like Microsoft on their devices. Thatâs when we started seeing downloads everywhere.â
Today, having worked directly with faculty in his time on campus, Eddie recognizes the importance of improving the instructor experience, particularly with new features like Quick Fixes within the LMS. âItâs not cheap to have a full license for Acrobat Pro,â he says, âand those tools arenât always the easiest to use. The more we can help people fix things directly where they are, the less effort it takes to keep moving forward.â
Dr Katie Grennell: From Instructor to Product Engagement Manager
ďťż
Dr Katie Grennell is a product engagement manager at Blackboard, working closely with institutions to support accessibility in teaching and learning. But her journey with Ally started when she was working as an adjunct professor of history at Buffalo State College.
Katie noticed early on the guidance that Ally provides to instructors. I kept improving things as I went, and seeing the accessibility score change was motivating. Ally helped me think about accessibility as I build, not afterwards.â If she had her time over again, Katie would have leveraged the course accessibility report earlier in her process to prioritize the most important tasks.
âIt didnât just point out the problem, It told me why it mattered.â
Over time, she also began to see more value in alternative formats for both student and herself: âI had about an hour commute. So Iâd download readings as audio and listen on the way. It helped me process the material and come into class with better ideas and questions.â
Today, working at Blackboard, Katieâs view on what matters most remains the same as when she was an instructor. âThereâs nothing better than seeing a student have an âahaâ moment,â she shared. âThatâs why I went into teaching. If students canât access the content, that moment doesnât happen.â
Victoria Sikora: From Course Design to Designing at Scale
ďťż
Victoria Sikora is a senior instructional designer at Blackboard, working with institutions to design and build courses. Previously, at Eastern Kentucky University, she focused on building courses within Blackboard LMS, and she now applies this expertise to help institutions develop their programs across all the LMS platforms that integrate with Ally.
âAt Eastern Kentucky, I knew what to look for,â Victoria said. âBut reviewing a course manually: opening files, checking images, going through PDFs, takes a lot of time. "
âFrom day one with Ally, I thought, this is the most amazing tool Iâve ever used. I could see what needed fixing straight away.â
She used the Ally dashboard to review all the institutionâs courses, prioritize what mattered, and repeat that process each term as content was updated. âIt just made everything so much faster,â she said. That consistency became even more important as teaching moved online during Covid-19.
Looking back, Victoria would have made greater use of institutional reporting: âMany accessibility challenges arenât isolated, theyâre patterns. With reporting across the institution, you can spot those patterns. Fix something once, and you can fix it across hundreds of courses.â
That insight influences how she approaches accessibility today. It takes the focus away from fixing things one by one and from expecting every instructor to be an expert. âIf you give people the right tools, they can make meaningful improvements.â
And when itâs done well, the impact goes beyond any specific group. âItâs not just for a few students,â she said. âItâs for everyone.â
Conclusion
Eddie, Katie, and Victoriaâs examples provide a snapshot of accessibility processes happening at thousands of institutions every day. Whether youâre an administrator, an instructor, or an instructional designer, the outcome of proactive remediation is the same: it opens the door for every student to engage, learn, and have that âahaâ moment that Katie speaks about, the one every educator is working towards.
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