How does UDOIT Student Access work?

The Student Access feature in UDOIT allows students to request and download alternate formats of certain text-based files, such as PDF and Word documents, if those files have been scanned with UDOIT. Instructors may also use UDOIT to generate alternate formats of files for students to download using Student Access.

Alternate file formats that students can request include:

  • Optimized PDF
  • HTML
  • MP3
  • EPUB
  • Text

If students have used the Student Access feature to generate or download alternate files, instructors can view reports on those files.

Student Access should be enabled in all UVACanvas courses by default. However, if the feature does not seem to be working in a course, an instructor can enable it by following the steps to view and edit Student Access Settings below. If Student Access is enabled in your course, you can skip to the information about requesting and viewing alternate format files and generating reports using the links below.

View and edit Student Access Settings.

Go to UDOIT Accessibility Report.

Screenshot of link in menu.

Select UDOIT Accessibility Report from the Course Navigation Menu.

Select Student Access Status.

Screenshot showing the Student Access Status icons described below.

Select the Student Access Status icon. This icon displays differently depending on whether or not the Student Access feature is fully enabled. If the icon is a:

  1. Red exclamation point in a circle - Either students are unable to request alternate formats for course files, or students have no access to alternate file formats.
  2. Green checkmark - Students are able to access and request alternate formats for course files.

If the Student Access is partially or completely disabled, you can enable it by following the steps below. If the feature is already enabled, skip to the step to request an alternate file.

Select Course Settings.

Screenshot of the Course Settings link in the Student Alternate File Access window.

In the Student Alternate File Access dialog, select the Course Settings link.

Allow students to generate additional file formats.

Screenshot highlighting the checkbox described below.
  1. In the Course Settings window, select the checkbox Enable students to access existing alternate formats if it is not already selected.
  2. Select the checkbox Allow students to generate additional file formats (requires an active Cidiscape Task Runner).
  3. Select the Close (X) button.

Request an alternate file.

Screenshot displaying the Alternate Formats menu for a file added to a module.
  1. The Alternate Formats (gray box with a downward triangle) drop-down menu will appear next to the names of files that can be converted into alternate formats. The menu is available in Files, Modules where links to files are included, and pages, assignments, discussions, announcements, and Classic Quizzes where course files have been linked using the Rich Content Editor.
  2. Select the Request link to request a new alternate format file, for example Request Optimized PDF. The available alternate format options are:
    • Optimized PDF
    • HTML
    • MP3
    • EPUB
    • Text
  3. Alternate file formats that have already been requested will appear in the Alternate Formats drop-down menu to download or open in a new browser tab or window. Select the Download (down arrow with a line) or Open in new tab (window with an arrow) icon to download or open a file.

Find the Alternate Files folder.

The first time an instructor or student requests an alternate format of a file, a dedicated Alternate Files folder is automatically created in the course's Files tool to house it and any additional alternate files that are created by UDOIT.

Go to Files.

Screenshot of link in menu.

Select Files from the Course Navigation Menu.

View the Alternate Files folder.

Screenshot of the Alternate Files folder in the Files area of a course.

The Alternate Files folder makes previously requested files available for everyone in the course, so they do not need to be requested and recreated each time someone wants to download them.

Note: If an instructor deletes or renames the Alternate Files folder, previously requested files will not appear in the Alternate Formats drop-down menus. If the folder has been deleted or renamed and another alternate format file is requested with UDOIT, a new Alternate Files folder will be automatically created.

Generate a report for alternate files.

Instructors can generate several different types of reports with UDOIT, including reports for Student File Downloads and Student File Generations.

Go to UDOIT Accessibility Report.

Screenshot of link in menu.

Select UDOIT Accessibility Report from the Course Navigation Menu.

Select Additional Menu Items, then Reports.

Screenshot of the Additional Menu Items drop-down menu.
  1. Select the Additional Menu Items (three vertical dots) button.
  2. Select Reports from the drop-down menu.

Choose the report type.

Screenshot of the report types described below.

Select the desired report from the Report Type drop-down menu:

  1. Student File Generations: The types of alternate files students have requested for the course.
  2. Student File Downloads: The types of alternate files students have downloaded in the course.

View the report.

Screenshot example of a Student File Downloads bar graph.

The desired report will display a bar graph of data points, as well as data summary tables that can be downloaded as CSV files. For additional details on the reports, see UDOIT Reports and Resources (opens new window).