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LaTeX
Bridge to Accessible Mathematical Presentation
Presentation by Ameena Ghoston
Our Needs
- Accessible, general mechanism to communicate mathematical work in print
- A tool allowing users to focus on content and not presentation
- A tool that works with screen readers, Braille output devices and notetakers
- Low or zero cost
- Platform independent
How does LaTeX Help the Blind?
- Content not presentation
- What you type is what you get
- Does the formatting for you
- Doesn't need a fancy tool
- No accessibility concerns
- It's free!
Being Fair : Drawbacks of LaTeX
- Needs to be processed
- Learning curve
- Still needs some sighted review
Examples: Basic Math
$$\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$$
Examples : Words with Math
Let $\mathbf{u}$,$\mathbf{v}$ and $\mathbf{w}$ be three vectors in ${\mathbf R}^3$. The volume~$V$ of the parallelepiped with corners at the points $\mathbf{0}$, $\mathbf{u}$, $\mathbf{v}$, $\mathbf{w}$, $\mathbf{u}+\mathbf{v}$, $\mathbf{u}+\mathbf{w}$, $\mathbf{v}+\mathbf{w}$ and $\mathbf{u}+\mathbf{v}+\mathbf{w}$ is given by the formula \[ V = (\mathbf{u} \times \mathbf{v}) \cdot \mathbf{w}.\]
Examples : Higher Math
$$ \left(\sum a_i^2\right)^{1/2} $$
\[
\Theta(s) = \int_0^\infty \theta(t)e^{-st}\,dt
= \mathcal{L} \{\theta(t)\}
\]
Considerations: When To LaTeX
- What hardware is available?
- What accessibility tools are available?
- Ability and Readiness of the user.