Paths to Creating Accessible Math Darrin Evans Director Virtual Learning Community Professional Development Center

Learning Outcomes Participants will learn how to use MathType to create accessible math. Participants will understand the capabilities of the Central Access Reader. Participants will come away with workflows and strategies to create accessible math. Participants will understand how to convert LaTeX to MathML using MathType

Disclaimer #1 Not covered in this presentation is the process of retrofitting math content that has previously been created. The math we will discuss will be typed in MathType, saved, and Proof-listened in CENTRAL ACCESS READER.

Disclaimer #2 Creating Accessible Math is simple. It, however, is not quick, easy, or painless and there is a learning curve. It is worth every second of your time to learn MathType. The result will be the ability to create math content One Time in word that is accessible to any student.

Thank You Krista Greer-University of Washington John Hardee-Davidson Community College Deidre Wood-Coastal Carolina Community College Dr. Volker Sorge-Progressive Accessibility Solutions Tammy Sullivan-A-B Tech Dr. Ken Jewell-Wake Tech Amy Brown-Guilford Tech Karen McPhaul-Durham Tech

Seven things You need to Know

Accessibility “Accessible means that individuals with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same timeframe as individuals without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use.” University of Montana Office of Civil Rights settlement agreement, 2012

Accommodation Vs Accessibility Note taker Extra time on a test Sign language interpreter Braille textbooks Assistive technology (such as a screen magnifier) Accessibility Properly structured Text alternatives for images and multimedia Proper color contrast Proper hyperlinks

Text-to-Speech Text to speech, abbreviated as TTS, is a form of speech synthesis that converts text into spoken voice output. Text to speech systems were first developed to aid the visually impaired by offering a computer-generated spoken voice that would "read" text to the user. Webopedia definition

Screen Reader A screen reader is a software application that enables people with severe visual impairments to use a computer. Screen readers work closely with the computer's Operating System (OS) to provide information about icons, menus, dialogue boxes, files and folders. Humanising Technology Blog

Daisy DAISY stands for Digital Accessible Information SYstem and is a standard for producing accessible and navigable multimedia documents. This includes Digital Talking Books, digital text books, and synchronized audio/text books. DAISY is a globally recognized standard for accessible content and is part of NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard).

lATEx LaTeX, which is pronounced «Lah-tech» or «Lay-tech» is a document preparation system for high-quality typesetting. It includes features designed for the production of technical and scientific documentation. LaTeX is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents. LaTex Project.org

MathML MathML is an accessible markup language and can be rendered in a number of ways, offering a variety of accessibility options. MathML can be rendered visually, aurally, or via braille. MathML is the best option for creating accessible math content.

Displaying mathml MathML can be displayed in these browsers without add-ins or plug-ins: Firefox Safari Opera There is currently no native support for displaying MathML in Chrome. MathML can be displayed in Chrome using the MathJax extension which adds a layer of complexity. Firefox and Safari give the most seamless experience when viewing MathML.

Creating MathML To display a-b in MathML you would need to write the following code: <mrow> <apply> <minus/> <ci>a</ci> </apply> </mrow>

MathType Publisher: Design Science, http://www.dessci.com/ $97 ($57 Academic) Full-featured Equation Editor Integration with common authoring environments Content can be converted to accessible formats

Using MathType an Overview Working with MathType in MS Word Configuring MathType Preferences Output Options for Publishing Questions & Demo

Inserting Equations in MS Word Using the MathType Toolbar, choose either “Inline Equation”, “Display Equation”, or “Right- numbered” from the “Insert Equations” section.

The Equation Editor

Working in MathType Working in MathType involves a variety of mouse- driven actions and keyboard commands. Navigate within expressions by using the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys.

Getting Back to Word You can use multiple ways to leave the MathType Equation Editor: CTRL + S Saves the equation and updates your document You can also choose the File Command and Update Document

MathType Keyboard Commands To configure the keyboard commands for MathType, go to: Preferences\Customize Keyboard

The Color of Math To change the color of currently selected content: Format\Color To define the default color for all FUTURE expressions: Format\Color\Edit Color Menu

MathType to MathML Select “Publish to MathPage” Select The Following Option: XHTML + MathML – (Firefox & NVDA)

MathPage Options

Things to Do and Not Do with Mathtype Avoid empty MathType entries at all costs. If you accidently create an empty entry use the backspace key to locate and delete it. Use only one line of text within each MathType entry. NEVER use spaces in MathType Memorize the keyboard shortcuts

Table Talk

LaTex and MathType [1 of 2] LaTeX is a plain text document language that many math instructors use, but unfortunately is not currently supported by screenreader technology. It is, however, fairly simple to convert LaTex into MathML: 1. In MathType in the main equation editor copy a piece of LaTeX code such as: m &= \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}} or x = \frac{ { - b \pm \sqrt {b^2 - 4ac} } } { {2a} } 2. The equation should appear fully formatted you should only have to make a few minor adjustments as needed.

LaTex and MathType [2 of 2] You can also type TeX/LaTeX directly into Word and format your equations as MathType equations with a simple step. You can toggle between TeX/LaTeX and MathType equations [you just can’t do that on a mac] this is a huge shortcut if you know LaTeX. An example is we can type in: $\sqrt9$ Then we simply toggle to TeX/LaTeX to display the square root of 9.

What is central Access reader Central Access Reader is a free screen reader developed at Central Washington University that is particularly good at reading math.

Using The Central Access Reader

Load Your Document into car You can load your document into CAR by pressing the white plus sign or by using the keyboard shortcut of ctrl + O for Windows or command + O for Mac.

Open Speech settings Open “Speech Settings.”

Select math discipline Select the math discipline of your document.

Proof-Listen to your document Click on the white play button under the + sign to proof-listen to your document. You can make corrections based on the accuracy of the math that you hear.

Output to Mp3 Click on the MP3 icon to save the document as an audio file.

Final Mp3 Output Select “Save All” to save the document in MP3 format.

Saving the MP3 You can now save the MP3 file on your computer in any location you choose.

Jaws and Mathml The JAWS screen reader is the industry standard; however JAWS does a poor job of interpreting MathML. It is recommended that students use the NVDA screen reader for MathML.

Final Accessible Output You can not use NVDA without the free MathPlayer Plug-In

Mathplayer MathPlayer is a free download from Design Science To download MathPlayer visit the Design Science website[opens in a new window] Design Science MathPlayer works with NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) screen reader to speak and Braille math content in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Firefox, and Opera. For this to work, you also need to download NVDA. Note: Apple’s Voiceover handles MathML natively on the Mac OS Platform.

Mathplayer Open the MathPlayer Tab on the Word Ribbon and then choose settings.

Configuring mathplayer Go to MathPlayer Tab on MS Word ribbon Go to Settings On Speech Tab, select the Blindness Radio Button Then configure the settings this way: Language: English Speech Amount: Full Speech Style: Clear Speak Subject Area: General Speech for Chemical Formulas: Spell it Out

MathPlayer configuration

NVDA Tutorial Visit the American Foundation for the Blind [AFB] to view this NVDA tutorial[opens in a new window] Direct Link:http://www.afb.org

Parting Thought “The best course content is not made accessible, it is born accessible.”

References and resources To learn more about Daisy visit the Daisy Consortium[new window] Direct Link: www.daisy.org Visit CWU to download the free Central Access Reader[new window] Direct Link: https://www.cwu.edu/central-access/reader Visit the diagram center to learn more about accessible math[new window] Direct Link: http://diagramcenter.org/ To learn more about the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards visit AEM[new window] Direct Link: http://aem.cast.org/creating/national-instructional- materials-accessibility-standard-nimas.html#.WNPPYme1scU

Questions and Demo