Update: This feature is postponed by the vendor to allow UMBC to review and verify functionality. Additional information about availability will be provided to the campus as soon as possible.

In late August 2024, Poll Everywhere will launch a new course management feature to simplify how instructors use polling and to improve the process to synchronize grade data back to the Blackboard gradebook.

Using a dedicated icon within the Poll Everywhere interface, this feature allows faculty to create and manage polling activities for their courses. Specific Course Management functions include:

• Accessing Courses
• Creating Assignments
• Grade Synchronization
• Managing Multiple Assignments and Activities
• Viewing Grades

Image 1: Example of new Poll Everywhere Course Management page

The feature will be turned off initially and will require each instructor to activate it to turn it on for their accounts. You must set up your Blackboard course with Poll Everywhere before you can use this feature. Once the Blackboard course is synchronized with Poll Everywhere, the Course Management icon will appear.

Poll Everywhere Resources

For Attendance Management resources, please see our FAQ articles:

• How do I manage Attendance with Poll Everywhere? (instructors)
• How do I check in for Attendance with Poll Everywhere? (students)

For additional Poll Everywhere information, please see our Poll Everywhere FAQ collections:

• Poll Everywhere for Students and Participants
• Poll Everywhere for Instructors and Presenters

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 
• What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff
• PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

Recent updates to federal guidelines for digital accessibility underscore the critical need for educators to ensure that all course materials are accessible to every student.

One of the most prevalent accessibility issues in digital course materials is the lack of proper descriptions for images. According to Anthology, nearly one-third of all images flagged by Ally are simply marked as decorative without any descriptive text, which creates a barrier for students who rely on descriptions for their studies.

Properly tagging images not only meets federal guidelines, but also plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive learning environment. Alternative descriptions serve as vital information for students who use screen readers, providing them with textual explanations for images that otherwise visually conveyed. This practice not only supports students with visual impairments, but also benefits those with cognitive disabilities who might struggle to understand the context of images with additional context. 

Ally will flag images that lack a description in a Blackboard course. Instructors can enter a description themselves, mark the image as decorative, or leverage AI tools, powered by Microsoft Azure AI Vision, to scan the image and generate a suggested description. Instructors retain full control over the image and can edit the content to make corrections or clarify the information before saving it.

Image 1: Example of Ally's AI generated image description.

Note: Alternative descriptions are not applied automatically. Each suggestion requires the instructor’s review and approval to ensure that the final output aligns with the instructor’s original purpose for that image.

If the alt text does not meet the instructor’s needs, such as a complex image or diagram, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot provide excellent tools to create detailed alternative text and long descriptions.

For example, this prompt was shared by the International Ally Users Group. It can be customized for the uploaded image according to context, function and prospective audience (e.g., students). 

When we integrate comprehensive and accurate alt text for all images, we adhere to accessibility standards and legal requirements. We also foster an inclusive and supporting learning environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed.