May 20 is Global Fix Your Content Day!

The third Thursday of May marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which highlights the need for more inclusive digital content.  As part of that day, Blackboard, the maker of Ally, sponsors the Fix Your Content Day Challenge, a 24-hour global competition committed to creating accessible and more inclusive digital learning content.

The objective of the day is to mobilize instructors and staff to fix as many digital course files as possible through Ally. During the day, they track the activity of participants, share updates on social media, and at the end of the day, announce the champions. Both the total number of content "fixes" and the size of the institutions who participate are weighed in calculating the champions.

NMU is entered in the Global Competition. To make things more interesting at the local level, the Ally Adoption Team is also holding an NMU competition.This is where the fabulous prizes come in!

  • The department with the most fixes (weighted by department size) will be crowned 2021 Fix Your Content Champion and will have the honor of displaying the new traveling NMU Fix Your Content Cup in their office for the next year. Your department name will live on perpetually on the Cup. (Note: Actual Fix Your Content Cup may differ slightly in size and majesty).  Perhaps of greater interest to some, the top department will also be treated to fresh cookies from the Northern Center at a date of their choosing.  
  • The faculty member with the most fixes will be crowned Faculty Champion and receive $100 in Cat Cash.
  • All participants will be eligible to win random prizes via drawing, including $20 in Cat Cash (multiple winners) and books.

What's that?  You say you love fabulous prizes and want to participate, but Winter semester was crazy and you haven't had a chance to get familiar with Ally yet?  We've got you covered!  We will kick off the day with the "EduCat Ally - Meeting Diverse Student Needs in your Courses" workshop at 9:00 am. Register now through the CTL registration page.  You can also check out the Ally support resources we have on our Ally web page, including introductory videos and a recording of a past workshop.  

We hope you are able to participate. If you have questions, please feel free to ask the CTL.