[Athen] Math accessibility question - need feedback

[Joshua Hori]

You are correct J, and I agree with you wholeheartedly, which is the reason we haven’t invest in EquatiO. It’s an alt tag embedded in an image equation with no ability to navigate the equation.

We offer math in DOC or HTML format for complete accessibility and PDF for limited accessibility (only numbers are read aloud).

Mathpix has made making math easy! They export math in multiple formats quickly.

Best,

Joshua

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> on behalf of Romack, Justin <justinr at disability.tamu.edu>
Date: Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 10:01 AM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Math accessibility question - need feedback
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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