Reading and Writing of Math with a Screen Reader

Date & Time

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - 1:20 PM PDT  

Location

Grand AB  

Description

MathCAT: Math Capable Assistive Technology is revolutionizing education for the blind. Since Neil Soiffer introduced it as a free and open-source ¬add-on for NVDA, blind users have been discovering what true access to mathematics means. Now, not only NVDA, but other screen readers and AT are turning to MathCAT to deliver Math and chemistry. This presentation will cover both reading and writing of math using screen readers. We will demonstrate reading using TTS and refreshable braille of MathML in HTML and EPUB documents. We will show how blind users can drill down to explore complex expressions and navigate by individual elements. We will show personalization options featured in MathCAT and integrated into NVDA (and perhaps JAWS by CSUN time). That enhances the reading of math encoded in MathML. We will then turn to the writing of mathematics using the built-in functions of Microsoft Word. We will demonstrate with a screen reader how easy it is to start a math expression and how to create and edit complex expressions. The demonstrations will emphasize the details of how MathCAT speaks mathematics precisely and unambiguously, and how braille is presented in Nemeth and UEB. Finally, we will show how to read math expressions and chemical formulae in an EPUB math textbooks and copy a MathML expression into a Word document to solve the equation. Best of all, we will show our work!  

Audience

• Higher Education
• Information & Communications Technology
• Disability Specific
• K-12 Education
• Research & Development

Audience Level

Intermediate  

Session Summary (Abstract)

To be successful in STEM, students must be able to read and write math. This is one of the most difficult subjects to master, until now! With the introduction of MathCAT coupled with advancements in Microsoft Word, students can read and write math.  

Primary Topic

Blind/Low Vision  

Secondary Topics

• Digital Accessibility
• Education
• Emerging Technologies
• Information & Communications Technology (ICT)

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenters

• George Kerscher
  DAISY Consortium
• Richard Orme
  DAISY Consortium

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