Online learning accessibility statement

My Dundee 

My Dundee is run by the University of Dundee and built on Blackboard Learn with the Ultra experience. It also links to various other tools and platforms to support your learning, present teaching content and link to other online learning resources. We want as many students as possible to be able to use the online learning environment and the content hosted and linked to it. For example, that means you should be able to  

• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen 
• where possible use your keyboard to navigate around   
• listen to the website using a screen reader

Blackboard Ally 

All uploaded Content should have alternative format created. Ally is a tool that automatically generates alternative versions of content to suit different needs. 

• Student Guide for Ally

Module and Organisation Content

While Ally enhances the accessibility of uploaded content, this relies on content being created correctly in the first place. The content is created by a variety of different staff, and the accessibility of any content may vary accordingly. In addition, content may be embedded from external sources, such as YouTube, and external sites linked to.

All content uploaded to or linked from,  Blackboard Modules and Organisations is the responsibility of the module team. 

What to do if you problems with the accessibility of your learning resources 

If you have difficulty using either the uploaded content or access issues with your learning resources, such as: 

• a document has missing alt tags (alternative text) for images 
• if you have colour issues with some presentations due to insufficient contrast 
• if you need information or content in a different format 
• or any other problems 

In the first instance please contact the Module Accessibility Contact , usually the Module lead. All modules contain a link to a form to complete if you feel you have not had your needs met after 2 weeks of raising them. 

Form: Accessibility issues not resolved within 2 weeks

Enforcement procedure 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to any issues you report to us, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). 

Audio captions disclaimer 

We have video and audio delivery tools (such as Yuja and teams) that can generate closed captions by automatic speech recognition (ASR). The ASR process is based on machine learning algorithms which automatically transcribe voice to text. This process is 75-90% accurate and consequently, video and audio closed captions may include some transcription errors. It is therefore important to recognise that the “source of truth” for all video and audio recordings is the original audio recording and not the captions. 

If you require accurate captions for disability-related reasons, it is recommended that you contact the University’s Disability Service to discuss your support requirements in confidence, at disability@dundee.ac.uk

 If the Disability Service has already confirmed that you require accurate captions to be made available as a reasonable adjustment, please contact the person named in the accessibility statement. Accurate captions or alternative accessible learning materials will be made available to ensure the same learning outcomes can be achieved. 

Specialist help 

If you require help with assistive technology, sign language interpretation or other specialist help, please contact Disability Services. 

Accessibility of Core Tools

Blackboard Learn with the Ultra experience 

Screen readers 

For the best experience with your screen reader, use ChromeTM and Jaws on a Windows® system, and use Safari® and VoiceOver on a Mac®. 

Keyboard navigation 

Industry-standard keyboard interactions are used throughout Blackboard Learn with the Ultra experience to move between menus, open menus, and select items within a menu. Keyboard navigation patterns differ between browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Edge. The interactions within any particular browser are common and consistent. 

Global keyboard shortcuts 

Global keyboard shortcuts have been established for common actions within Blackboard Learn. 

• Tab: Navigate links, fields and options on the page
• Shift + Tab: Navigate to previous links, fields, and options
• Enter: Select link, function, activate option, and expand collapsed section
• Space: Select or switch options
• Up and down arrows: Open drop-down lists that have an Apply or Go function to activate an option. Navigate the choices with the up and down arrows
• Open drop-down lists that do NOT have an Apply or Go function: Tab to the drop-down list and press Enter to open it. Use Alt/Option + the up and down arrows to select an option

Content editor 

The content editor in Blackboard Learn is based on third-party technology from TinyMCE. It provides accessible controls, as well as keyboard shortcuts for formatting content created within it. The content editor appears throughout your courses, such as when you participate in a discussion. 

To use your keyboard to jump to the content editor toolbar, press ALT + F10. On a Mac, press Fn + ALT + F10. Use the arrow keys to select an option, such as a bulleted list. 

For further information on the accessibility features of Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience please refer to the notes on Accessibility in Blackboard Learn published by Blackboard. 

For further information on the accessibility features of Blackboard Collaborate please check the Blackboard Help website. 

Turnitin 

For information about the accessibility of Turnitin, please check Turnitin’s Accessibility Compliance Reports. For the integration with My Dundee, you only need those documents listed under Feedback studio. 

Yuja media player 

Please check these notes from Yuja on the Accessibility features of the Yuja media player. 

Office 365 tools 

Office 365 has a suite of products that you may be using in your learning. There is a significant amount of information on the range of support you can find in their tools on their website: 

An inclusive, accessible Microsoft 365 

Other tools you may be using 

• Questionmark: Accessibility and Questionmark | Questionmark 
• Mobiius: Accessibility (digitaled.com) 
• Padlet: Accessibility and Padlet 
• Mentimeter: Mentimeter Accessibility Statement – Mentimeter