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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">You are exactly correct. It may be reading math out loud, but it is not allowing the user to navigate within an equation the way they would need to in order to solve the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Just turning everything into audio is not a solution. If it were, we wouldn’t be creating so much MathML, Latex, etc. The instructor needs to understand that the output needs to fit the student, and in my opinion,
this would not work at all for student using a screen reader.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Susan Kelmer
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Alternate Format Production Program Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Disability Services<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#CFB87C"><a href="http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices"><span style="color:#CFB87C">www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices</span></a>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1F497D">Due to the nature of electronic communication, the security of this message cannot be guaranteed. If you’ve received this email in error please notify the
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> athen-list <athen-list-bounces@mailman12.u.washington.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Morgan Severeid<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 10, 2022 4:50 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> athen-list@u.washington.edu<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Athen] Is anyone familiar with this method for creating accessible math in PDF?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hello!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D;background:white">I am an Alternative Text Services Coordinator at a University who is advising a faculty member on making his environmental science course content
more accessible for blind students who do not know Braille or read LaTeX. Most of the course content currently exists in a large, untagged PDF which was generated from a LaTeX file. It contains charts, graphs, plain text, math equations, and chemical equations.
Our campus accessibility departments have recommended converting the course content into either a Canvas course (with MathML for equations) or Word Documents with MathML to make the content more accessible for screen reader use.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D"><br>
<span style="background:white">The instructor countered these recommendations with a solution described here in a TeX forum: </span></span><a href="https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/454944/is-there-screen-reader-software-or-a-built-in-method-that-supports-latex-equat" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white">Making
LaTeX Math Audibly Legible</span></a><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D;background:white">. Is anyone here familiar with this specific method of making math accessible in a PDF? From what I understand about this method,
this tokcycle package allows you to attach tokens to visible PDF content (like math symbols). This token is where you would type in the spelled-out alternative to each symbol. The token isn't visible in the PDF, but it will be voiced by TTS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D;background:white">If my understanding is correct, this solution would not allow a screen reader user to interact with the math in the same way that they can with
MathML. So I’m hesitant to approve it over our recommended formats.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1D1C1D"><br>
<span style="background:white">Does anyone know whether this method works? If anyone here has tried producing or reading math with this method, your feedback is very appreciated!</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Morgan<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-add-space:auto">
<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">Morgan Severeid | Document Conversion Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-add-space:auto">
<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">(She, Her, Hers)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">Student Disability Services</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#860018">The University of Chicago | Campus & Student Life</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:#1F497D">5501 South Ellis Avenue | Chicago, Illinois 60637<br>
Phone: 773.702.6000 | <a href="mailto:msevereid@uchicago.edu">msevereid@uchicago.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<u><span style="color:blue"><a href="https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/SDSMSevereid@uchicagoedu.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/">Schedule a meeting with me</a><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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