Accessibility Toolkit for Open Educational Resources (OER): Math and Science Equations

"Mathematics and science are disciplines that have historically communicated ideas visually. This is especially true of formulas and equations, where relationships between parts are understood by their spacial relationship to one another. Communicating these same ideas to people who are unable to see poses significant challenges. However, a variety of solutions exist." - DO-IT, University of Washington (UW). (CC-BY-NC-SA) Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 License

Math is a world of its own when it comes to accessibility.

• Current best practice is to author all math equations using code and editors like LaTeX or MathML.
  • LaTeX can be coded by hand
  • MathML typically is made by either an equation editor (like MathType) or through a conversion process from LaTeX (which MathType can do). 
• Never paste images of math equations, these are not accessible.
  • Many of the math equations one finds in digital environments are simply static bitmaps (digital drawings) of equation images in GIF, PNG, or JPEG formats. These images can be seen with the human eye, but they are devoid of non-visual information that can be utilized by assistive technologies. Such image formats are, by themselves, inherently inaccessible.

Desmos Studio is a Public Benefit Corporation with a goal of helping everyone learn math, love math, and grow with math. They created a free suite of math tools to help people represent their ideas mathematically, connect different representations dynamically, make conjectures, and then develop entirely new ideas. Here are some of the Accessibility Features in Their Free Tools:

• Audio Trace for Graphs
• Keyboard Navigation and Shortcuts
• Spoken and Braille Feedback
• Tactile Graphics Support
• High Contrast and Large Print Options
• Dynamic Alt Text

Accessibility is central to our design process at Desmos. Our website and math tools all meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, and we’re always striving to improve. We try to develop features that encourage our users to hear, feel, see, and interact with our tools however they need.