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Re: ALT text for equations

for

From: John E Brandt
Date: Aug 18, 2014 10:12AM

I attended a webinar last year that dealt with the whole issue of
accessibility instructional materials and mathematics. Basically it made my
head explode.

The whole use of images or MathML is only one part of the accessibility
issue. The bigger issue is related to the actual "reading" of the equation.
Not only is there a knack for reading the equation correctly so it makes
sense from a listening perspective, there are apparently multiple terms for
the same symbol and regional vernacular to some of these. In the webinar
they demonstrated a math symbol for a square root that was called something
different depending on where you lived in the United States! In the webinar
they also recommended working with math teachers or science teachers to make
sure you were doing this correctly.

Add to this the fact that in HTML, different browsers/OS combinations will
show the same equation using MathML differently and you are far from having
a standardized situation.

The final sense was that things were getting better, but were still not
perfect.

Here are some resources:

http://aim.cast.org/experience/acrosscurriculum/math/math_and_images#.U_Ilgf
ldXh4
http://aim.cast.org/learn/e-resources/accessibility_resources/stem#.U_Ilrfld
Xh4
http://aim.cast.org/experience/technologies/mathml_nimas#.U_IlyPldXh4


~j

John E. Brandt
jebswebs: accessible and universal web design,
development and consultation
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

@jebswebs

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Liko, Todd
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2014 8:02 AM
To: ' <EMAIL REMOVED> '
Subject: [WebAIM] ALT text for equations

Hello all.

I have researched this topic online and found older WebAIM threads. The
information I have found thus far indicates there is not a lot of support
for making equations accessible, short of writing it out in ALT text.

I am curious how others are dealing with this, not only for HTML and in PDF
documents as well.

_______
Todd Liko
Communications Advisor | Conseiller en communications Web Services |
Services Web Communications and Marketing | Communications et Marketing
427 Avenue Laurier Avenue West (AEAD), Ottawa ON K1A 0N5
427 Avenue Laurier Ouest (AEAD), Ottawa (Ontario) K1A 0N5 e-mail / courriel:
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telephone / téléphone: 613-949-9425 | fax / télécopieur: 613-949-2386
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Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada

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