audio does not suffice if I cannot hear it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Jones" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Making math equations accessible
The question needs some clarification. Do you have specific users that
need
to have access? Are you looking for a conversion process for math to
Braille or audio? Or are you looking for a web based method of
presenting
math to anyone who clicks on the URL?
If it is the later, there are no complete answers. MathML and LaTex
offers
several possible solutions. Duxbury will convert some LaTex files. BUT
there is no standard for writing MathML or LaTex to create an accessible
files.
A completed conversion process is dependent on money, not ideas.
The short answer is that there is not an automatic way to do it. The
most
usable (quick and dirty) method of presenting symbolic information on
the
web is to use the same approach that is used with pdf files. Have the
symbolic document in whatever, editor or graphic file you want and then
include a second accessible format. An audio file of the symbolic
information would work. It would be nice if you also had the information
in
Nemeth Code, but unless you are expecting the users to compute the
information, audio would suffice.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Rebman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 5:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Making math equations accessible
Alan,
MathML implementation as far as browsers and accessibility are
concerned,
is still in its infancy, and my guess is that it will be quite a while
(years?) before
this will be a viable solution to the math access problem.
In the mean time, the most accessible way I have encountered for dealing
with math on the web is the format used by the Drexel University Math
Forum
site:
http://www.mathforum.com/
It is basically done with normal ASCII text, and while this can be
tedious
to unscramble at times, it is better than nothing. There is a page on
that
site that
describes the typographical conventions and gives examples of preferred
notation.
To make your graphics-based equations accessible I would probably
consider
either something like the WGBH "D" descriptive link to an alternate,
text-only
page, or maybe a longdesc tag. I would also provide a link to a page
describing the typographical conventions, and even possibly, in the case
of
complex
or unusual equations, some descriptive information right on the target
page
itself.
Just in case you want to see what is going on with MathML, you can try
the
W3C MathML pages:
http://www.w3.org/Math/implementations.html
Hope this helps,
Jim
------------
Jim Rebman
Center for Life-Long Learning and Design
Department of Computer Science
University of Colorado, Boulder
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more
violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the
opposite direction."
- E. F. Schumacher
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