[Athen] Aerospace engineering student with chronic wrist/hand pain

[shelleyhaven techpotential.net]

Texthelp’s Equatio can indeed do higher education math and science equations using dictation, but in my experience it’s best to use Equatio’s math dictation in combination with some keyboard and mouse use.  It also has Math Prediction which can reduce keystrokes (e.g., typing "quad" or saying "quadratic" provides the option to enter the entire quadratic formula).  Here is a rather strangely formatted table from Texthelp listing prediction items for math, formulas, chemistry, and speech input:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fSKk_gEJKPvjiK-fcYiuewcBTRZB1a1aTJWvZeAsAns/pubhtml#

Here’s a list of common Equatio speech commands (not all inclusive):
https://support.texthelp.com/help/speech-input-commands-for-equatio

Other math input methods that can help reduce typing include a math screenshot reader (capture entire equations online, OCRs them, then paste into Equatio or Google Workspace) and Equatio Mobile (capture image of equations, etc. with phone, transfer to Google Workspace or MS Word).  Equatio also include a LaTeX editor, if the student knows LaTeX.  Check out Texthelp's Equatio Academy<https://academy.texthelp.com/equatio/> for more, especially the Feature Tour<https://academy.texthelp.com/equatio/equatio-menu/>.

The other STEM issue to be addressed for your student is drawing, graphing, and sketching.  Having completed university programs in aerospace/mechanical engineering, I can tell you that engineering curricula requires a lot of diagramming complete with labeling!  A good place to start is with GeoGebra (free, open source, works on multiple platforms), which would allow the student to create fairly complex precise diagrams using imprecise mouse movement, or stylus movement on a touchscreen, then export those diagrams to another document.  Check out the free GeoGebra Calculator on this page (click the purple "Start Calculator"):
https://www.geogebra.org
…and watch this video (no audio) of someone creating a complex labeled geometry construction (gives you a sense of the capabilities):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIAunU6-hk0

At some point this student may benefit from CAD software, but GeoGebra can probably handle most of the basics in terms of diagrams and graphs.

Hope this helps,
- Shelley

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Shelley Haven  ATP, RET
Assistive Technology Consultant
www.TechPotential.net<http://www.TechPotential.net>
www.AT4LD.net



On ThursdayAug 3, at 9:50 PM, foreigntype at gmail.com<mailto:foreigntype at gmail.com> wrote:

The only math dictation software currently available is EquatIO that I’m aware of. It has achieved reliable speech recognition in some levels of math. Not sure how high it goes. I’ll check and get back to you.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 15 or 16 individual professional will do a fairly good job with voice navigation and the ability to control the mouse/cursor on a grid superimposed on the screen. May be customized with macros to perform or repeat functions, text, or mouse/cursor actions.

Perhaps there’s can contribute to the resources for your student, Justin.

Update us with more information after you meet with the student and we’ll be able to make additional suggestions.

Wink Harner

On Thu, Aug 3, 2023 at 8:35 PM Romack, Justin <justinr at disability.tamu.edu<mailto:justinr at disability.tamu.edu>> wrote:
Howdy all!

I was just referred an aerospace engineering student with severe and persistent pain in their wrists and hands, making physical activities very difficult. Their request is for speech recognition / transcription, but I’ve had limited experience with solutions that can support advanced mathematics or graphing.

I know very little about this student just yet… it’s possible they can do limited activities with their hands and we prioritize tasks to do manually that cannot easily be done with assistive tech… but I wanted to reach out to see if you wonderful folks had ideas or have worked in similar situations?

Grateful for the wisdom and collaboration on this list!

Take care,
J

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Justin Romack  | Assistant Director
Disability Resources | Texas A&M University
1224 TAMU | College Station, TX 77843-1224

ph: 979.845.1637 | justinr at disability.tamu.edu<mailto:justinr at disability.tamu.edu> | disability.tamu.edu<http://disability.tamu.edu/>
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