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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#002060">Sean, thank you so much for all this information – very helpful!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#002060"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:#1E4D2B">Allison Swanson<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> athen-list <athen-list-bounces@mailman12.u.washington.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Sean J Keegan<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 22, 2021 4:00 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> athen-list@u.washington.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Athen] Math Accessibility for Canvas<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;background:#FEEC97">** Caution: EXTERNAL Sender **</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Hi Allison,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Responding to your questions below -<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">> What is the status of screen reader compatibility with LaTex, MathML, MathJax, etc?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">This is a rather broad question. In terms of LaTeX compatibility, LaTeX is presented as text in a LaTeX editor/interface and can be read with a screen-reader, if the editor interface is accessible.
Some LaTeX editors are more accessible than others, but the actual LaTeX is just text. If the person is knowledgeable in the syntax, then it can be rather easy to read and understand with a screen-reader.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">I recall TeXnicCenter is a somewhat accessible LaTeX editor for Windows. Another possible editor that I heard of is the SZS Editor (but I have not tested it) - <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fservices.szs.kit.edu%2Fszslatex%2F%3Fpage%3Ddownload&data=04%7C01%7Callison.r.swanson%40colostate.edu%7C28f660d52ba343b79a0208d995a792a3%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637705369233035102%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=62dLIZHIpa4hrke827uy%2FCgAQu6PIbX2eAneglnjQ9U%3D&reserved=0">https://services.szs.kit.edu/szslatex/?page=download</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">In terms of screen-reader compatibility with MathJax - Most browsers do not support MathML natively, which means you need something that will help with the rendering of that content in a browser.
Without going into all the gory details, MathJax helps with the rendering of that math information (e.g., LaTeX code, MathML, or ASCII math) across different browsers. Screen-readers, such as JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver, can parse the generated markup content
behind the visual rendering so the math looks good and is functional with assistive technology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">> Should we be recommending browser / screen reader combinations that work better for math?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">For math expressions presented using MathJax on a static web page, we found the following screen-reader+browser combinations that work include:<br>
- JAWS+Chrome (and Edge)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">- JAWS and NVDA with Firefox<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">- VoiceOver+Safari<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Note - we did not test all potential screen-reader and browsers combinations or all potential math symbols. Your mileage may vary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Second Note - we have also found good support for KaTeX (see
<a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkatex.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Callison.r.swanson%40colostate.edu%7C28f660d52ba343b79a0208d995a792a3%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637705369233035102%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=u4DXSAPUKx2498S4uU%2BP3GVm9ApJ3jQgqjkcDvv0U54%3D&reserved=0">
https://katex.org/</a>) as it also has MathML behind the scenes for screen-readers. At least one vendor we have engaged with is using KaTeX instead of MathJax and the screen-reader experience was similar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Regarding Canvas quizzes - one of our accessibility engineers, Clare O'Keeffe, did testing and found that NVDA+Firefox was the optimal combination in Canvas quizzes. Because there is an interactive
component with the math and form input field, the screen-reader+browser combination is more specific.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">For example, for radio buttons:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">In browse mode, arrowing down, the radio button announces as "clickable radio button not checked" - no label text. You can then arrow down and hit the adjacent math, which announces as expected
with "clickable" and the correct equation. You can hit enter on the math and step through it without inadvertently checking the radio button.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">When tabbing to the radio button you hear "radio button not checked 1 of 4" and arrowing through them works as expected to select one - auto focus mode works as expected. Each radio button announces
with no label text. If you exit focus mode when on a radio button you can then arrow to the adjacent math, hit enter on it, and step through it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">And for checkboxes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">In browse mode, arrowing down, the checkbox announces as "clickable checkbox not checked" - no label text. You can then arrow down and hit the combined text of the non-math string and the math,
which announces as expected with "clickable" and the correct equation. You can't down-arrow directly to the math, but can navigate by word (CTRL + right arrow) until you get to the math and then you can hit enter on the math and step through it without inadvertently
checking the checkbox.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><br>
When tabbing to the checkboxes, you hear a label from the combined non-math string and the hidden LaTeX string, so for the second checkbox you hear "clickable it can be represented as latex: ax 2 plus b x plus c equals zero checkbox not checked". You can tab
to the math separately, hear it correctly announced, hit enter on it, and interact with it. Or you can browse by word to it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">> Also, regarding the PDFs, will MathML generated by MathType <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">> still be accessible once converted to PDF?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Short answer is no. I realize that math support for PDFs is coming at some point, but I have not seen that support available today and do not expect it anytime soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">If the instructor is writing everything in LaTeX, then I would suggest the better direction is to provide options - rather than trying to make the PDF with math accessible, which will be difficult,
then consider offering a PDF and HTML version of the file.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">The HTML version could be produced from LaTeX using something like Pandoc (<a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40hjhuney%2Fhow-to-convert-latex-into-html-a4334ffda3f4&data=04%7C01%7Callison.r.swanson%40colostate.edu%7C28f660d52ba343b79a0208d995a792a3%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637705369233045101%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=x5WMvgdhliHWukn6aZUmKzXJg6pIPUndureMEb8fD8I%3D&reserved=0">https://medium.com/@hjhuney/how-to-convert-latex-into-html-a4334ffda3f4</a>)
or TeX4ht (<a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftug.org%2Ftex4ht%2F&data=04%7C01%7Callison.r.swanson%40colostate.edu%7C28f660d52ba343b79a0208d995a792a3%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637705369233045101%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=jmdd7P3HGF8PjLb%2Boc8d8Xj1EIKFM9L0XIl3wm99bvM%3D&reserved=0">https://tug.org/tex4ht/</a>).
ePub might be another option to consider. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Also, if you are working in Canvas, then the instructor could copy/paste the LaTeX equation into the Canvas rich content editor to result in an accessible math equation in the Canvas page. Unless
something has changed, that is how I created several math problems using LaTeX as the input along with the math editor in the Canvas rich content editor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">Take care,<br>
Sean<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p style="min-height:12px"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black">Sean Keegan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black">Director, Office of Digital Accessibility<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:#6E0002">Stanford</span><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black"> | </span><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:#6E0002">University
IT<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black">530-564–2385<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="min-height:12px"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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