[Athen] Math accessibility question - need feedback

[Chase, DJ]

Hi Justin,

It is my understanding that LaTeX + MathJax (which creates MathML in addition to a few other compatibility options) + HTML/EPub is the best way to present math right now, followed by Word-based math. Every conference I've been to has said that MathJax is the way to go, and every recent document I've found has said that MathJax and Word are both good solutions.

As far as image-based math goes, this might not even be technically accessible. If it's an SVG or specially-formatted text that's *marked* as an image then it might be technically accessible, but if it's a bitmap image of text then it probably fails WCAG 1.4.5 "Images of text" and 1.4.9 "Images of text (no exception)".

1.4.5: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/images-of-text.html
1.4.9: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/images-of-text-no-exception

Cheers,
--
DJ Chase
Digital Accessibility Specialist, NECC
They, Them, Theirs
+1 978 556 3794

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Subject: [Athen] Math accessibility question - need feedback

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Howdy y’all!

I’m totally blind, so I’m trying to be cautious in approaching my question here and the response I provide to others in similar discussions as to not inject my bias…

But when producing accessible STEM content (specifically materials with equations), is it widely agreed upon that equations as images with alt text are less preferrable or not acceptable as compared to the same equations provided in MathML?

I’m seeing a trend where STEM content is shared as a PDF and, while equations are properly tagged with alt text that is a textual representation of the content being displayed, I find this far less navigable than would be a document with equations in MathML.

Is it technically accessible? Debatable. Is it functionally equivalent or equitable access… My opinion is no.

Would love for you to chime in!

Thanks,
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
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