[Athen] MathType Alternative?

[Brian Richwine]

soiffer at alum.mit.edu; brichwin at iu.edu

On Tue, Sep 12, 2023 at 9:44 PM Cervone, Gian Carlo (gcervone) <
gcervone at brockport.edu> wrote:


> Hello:

>

> Here is some information from the developer of MathJax:

>

> > Michael Cantino is correct, MathJax does not rely on MathType in any way

> (and never did).  MathJax will insert visually hidden MathML into the page

> where screen readers like NVDA, JAWS, Orca, and VoiceOver can find it and

> use that for voicing the mathematics, if they know how to do so.  Some of

> these tools use MathCAT to do that translation, but that is up to the

> screen reader, and is unrelated to MathJax itself.

> >

> > MathJax can also produce its own translation of the math into a speech

> string and add ARIA attributes that can be read directly by screen readers,

> even those that don't have the ability to understand MathML.  MathJax has

> an equation explorer where users can "set into" an expression and have

> smaller pieces of it read one at a time, so that a user can move around

> within the expression to read it at their own pace and level of

> granularity.  There are several voicing possible (MathSpeak, Clearspeak,

> and ChromeVox), and the speech has been localized into a dozen languages,

> plus Nemeth Braille, which can be sent to a Braille device for interactive

> reading.

> >

> > In versions 2 and 3 of MathJax, the interactive explorer and speech

> generation must be turned on by the reader using the MathJax contextual

> menu (available by right-click or command-click on any typeset expression),

> but in the upcoming version 4 (now out in beta release), the assistive

> tools will be turned on by default (and the old hidden MathML will no

> longer be inserted, though you can turn that back on via the contextual

> menu if you wish, or via the MathJax configuration that is part of the

> page).  The explorer in v4 is an improved version of the original, and

> should interact with screen readers more fluidly (the next beta version

> should include most of these improvements).

> >

> > The original question seemed to be about creating the equations.

> MathJax does not provide an editor for creating mathematical expression (it

> is only for display and voicing), but there are many such editors on line.

> MathJax can accept expressions in any of three different forms:  LaTeX,

> MathML, or AsciiMath.  Many mathematical editors can produce LaTeX or

> MathML formats (e.g., the Word expression editor can output either form, if

> I recall correctly), and you can past these into a web page and MathJax

> will be able to render them.  Nothing special needs to be done to make them

> accessible -- MathJax will take care of that for you.  LaTeX is a

> human-readable form that many mathematicians already know, so you can

> certainly use that without any special mathematical editor, as it is just

> linear text that describes the math layout that MathJax will produce (e.g.,

> $$x = \frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$$ should be easily enough entered into

> the web page by a page author) The AasciiMath format is intended for hand

> authoring as well, so doesn't need a special editor.  MathML is not meant

> for hand editing, but is used as an interchange format, so programs like

> Word, Mathematica, and so on, can generate this format, or accept

> expressions that are in this format.  There are a number of online editors

> that allow you type a document in Markdown syntax with embedded LaTeX or

> AsciiMath, and that show a live preview of what you are typing.  Google can

> help you find these.

>

>

> >> On Sep 11, 2023, at 3:06 PM, Michael Cantino <mcantino at nwresd.k12.or.us>

> wrote:

> >>

> >> Warning: Message from non-Brockport Email Server. Treat message, links,

> and attachments with extra care.

> >>

> >> Hi!

> >> I just wanted to quickly chime in about MathJax and screen reader

> compatibility.

> >>

> >> To my knowledge, MathJax does not require MathPlayer to make math

> content accessible to a screen reader, BUT NVDA does require MathPlayer or

> MathCAT. Basically, NVDA is not able to read math on its own, which is why

> you need an add-on like MathCAT (which is quite good). JAWS will read

> MathJax output without MathCAT/MathPlayer. VoiceOver will also read MathJax

> output, but not as well as JAWS or NVDA w/ MathCAT, at least in my

> experience.

> >>

> >> Michael Cantino (he/him)

> >> BVIS Technology Professional Development Specialist

> >> Northwest Regional Education Service District

> >> (503)614-1339

> >> Check out the BVIS Tech website to find helpful resources!

> >> _______________________________________________

> >> athen-list mailing list

> >> athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu

> >> http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

>

> Best,

>

> -= G =-

>

> Gian Carlo Cervone

> Web Manager

> SUNY Brockport

> gcervone at brockport.edu • 585-395-5073

>

>

>

>

> > On Sep 11, 2023, at 3:06 PM, Michael Cantino <mcantino at nwresd.k12.or.us>

> wrote:

> >

> > Warning: Message from non-Brockport Email Server. Treat message, links,

> and attachments with extra care.

> >

> > Hi!

> > I just wanted to quickly chime in about MathJax and screen reader

> compatibility.

> >

> > To my knowledge, MathJax does not require MathPlayer to make math

> content accessible to a screen reader, BUT NVDA does require MathPlayer or

> MathCAT. Basically, NVDA is not able to read math on its own, which is why

> you need an add-on like MathCAT (which is quite good). JAWS will read

> MathJax output without MathCAT/MathPlayer. VoiceOver will also read MathJax

> output, but not as well as JAWS or NVDA w/ MathCAT, at least in my

> experience.

> >

> > Michael Cantino (he/him)

> > BVIS Technology Professional Development Specialist

> > Northwest Regional Education Service District

> > (503)614-1339

> > Check out the BVIS Tech website to find helpful resources!

> > _______________________________________________

> > athen-list mailing list

> > athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu

> > http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

>

> _______________________________________________

> athen-list mailing list

> athen-list at mailman12.u.washington.edu

> http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list

>

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