Tools for Online Learning

Ally

Ally enables you to download alternative formats of your course content. This means you can access the information you need in the way that you need it. Ally is a tool that is integrated into Canvas.

While some formats meet specific accessibility needs, such as electronic braille, others may be useful in particular situations. For example, if you're on the go or have a lot of course materials to read, you might prefer the audio version. If you like to read using a mobile device, the HTML or ePub version for use with eBook readers might be more suitable for you.

Find out more about the alternative formats available, including a useful table to help you decide which format to download.

You can also find further instructions on how to download Canvas course files on our learning and teaching pages.

Immersive Reader

If your lecturer has created content using pages in Canvas, you can view them with the Microsoft Immersive Reader. This is a really useful tool to enhance your reading experience. It does this by improving accessibility and your reading comprehension.

You can also access the Immersive Reader in the Microsoft applications you might use, including:

• Teams
• Office 365 (Word and Outlook)
• OneNote
• Microsoft Edge

Find out more about the Immersive Reader on the Microsoft website.

Make it accessible with SensusAccess

You can make documents that sit outside of Canvas accessible with SensusAccess. Convert PDFs, JPEGs and other files into an eBook, text file, audio or braille. You can combine more than one JPEG into a single file. Find out more on the Academic Skills Kit website.