[Blindmath] Math editing and conversion

Blind Collegian collegeandcareer at sbcglobal.net
Thu Feb 5 00:23:27 UTC 2009 

Hello everybody,
I greatly appreciate the various suggestions on how to make doing math 
effective and less time-consuming.
Does anyone have an idea what to do when your instructor wants you to work 
with a sighted person on the portion of the course that deals with graphs? I 
told the professor I cannot do the drawing, all I can do is answer the 
assigned problems in the textbook. But he wants me to find a way to 
represent my answers in a graph. It just doesn't seem to be possible, is it? 
Does LaTeX support graphing?
The biggest challenge is that none in the Math and Science Division seems to 
recognize LaTeX; instead, most utilize MathType only. Any suggestions? It 
does not seem like there is a more uniform and efficient solution other than 
to struggle with various approaches. Additionally, what works for some 
students does not work for others, in large part because not all 
universities/colleges have the resources.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "P. R. Stanley" <prstanley at ntlworld.com>
To: "Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics" 
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Math editing and conversion


> \Alternatively, typeset the whole thing in LaTeX using a simple text 
> editor and, using the tex package from www.miktex.org, convert the code to 
> a pro standard PDF for your sighted recipients.
> It only takes one command, "pdflatex filename.tex", to produce the PDF. 
> It's that simple! No bug-ridden wysiwyg package, no need for a super 
> computer to drive the software engine. it's light, efficient, free and 
> there for the taking.
> Cheers
> Paul
> At 22:03 02/02/2009, you wrote:
>>The new version of MathType translates Latex in MS Word to displayed 
>>visual
>>math.  You can just write a Latex equation, with $ signs around it, and
>>MathType gobbles it up and inserts an equation in its place.  Once
>>converted, you can get MathType to export Latex to the clipboard too.  Not
>>really as usable as it could be, but better than nothing.
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>>On
>>Behalf Of Alastair Irving
>>Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 10:04 AM
>>To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>>Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Math editing and conversion
>>
>>Hi
>>
>>I believe there exists at least 1 Nemeth to LaTeX translator.
>>Therefore, assuming you can save a braille file on your BrailleNote and
>>transfer it to a computer, (if it is saved as a .brf or similar then no
>>translation should occur), you could translate the nemeth to LaTeX and 
>>then
>>compile the LaTeX to PDF.
>>
>>I don't know what level of maths is involved in your class, but for fairly
>>simple algebra you could probably manage just using plain text, with ^ for
>>superscripts, / for fractions, etc.  The results obviously won't be as
>>pretty but its the most simple method provided things aren't too complex.
>>
>>
>>
>>Alternatively, you could look at Chatty Infty, or the lambda project.
>>Both of these are editors designed for use by blind people doing
>>mathematics, and I know that at least Lambda has Braille support.
>>
>>
>>
>>Personally, I work in LaTeX directly, using the LaTeX-access scripts to 
>>aid
>>in reading, so have no actual experience of the above software.  If you
>>intend to do more Mathematics classes then I strongly advise learning 
>>LaTeX,
>>it has a steeper learning curve than any of the above but the results are
>>definitely worth it, especially considering the volume of mathematical
>>documents written in LaTeX.
>>
>>Finally, I would suggest that if you're posting to the list in future 
>>about
>>a new topic then you start a new message rather than replying to an old 
>>one.
>>Even if you change the subject line, various mail headers are left which
>>refer to the initial thread, meaning that people using threaded 
>>mailreaders
>>and also probably the archive will list your message as part of the old
>>thread.
>>
>>Alastair
>>
>>Blind Collegian wrote:
>> > Hello,
>> > I registered for an Algebra class and my instructor is not familiar
>> > with LaTeX and wants to know if there are any means of doing math more
>> > efficiently using a certain computer program to create math equations
>> > and expressions.
>> > Is there a computer-based math program that does not have a lot of
>> > learning curve? I want to be able to use it in Braille and either
>> > print it or email it to the instructor.
>> > I have a BrailleNote, but at this point I do not have the ability to
>> > print Nemeth Code straight out of the device without any translation
>> > happening in the background. Any ay advice would be greatly 
>> > appreciated.
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robin Williams"
>> > <robster3 at hotmail.com>
>> > To: "'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'"
>> > <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
>> > Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 8:33 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Spss 16 nightmare
>> >
>> >
>> >> Vincent,
>> >>  Yes, R can do everything that SPSS can do (almost certainly) and
>> >> probably more if you use the various freely-distributed packages
>> >> available. It is accessible to a large degree, especially if you run
>> >> the back-end terminal
>> >> (rterm.exe) found in the /bin directory.
>> >>  I don't know for sure, but there is almost certainly a plugin to
>> >> enable you to read SPSS files. Check out the r-project website. If I
>> >> am wrong and there isn't, just export the output to some common
>> >> format and import it with R.
>> >>  HTH
>> >>
>> >> Robin Williams.
>> >> Mobile:
>> >> 07525 809495
>> >> (Note: I have been giving an incorrect mobile number for the last
>> >> several months, please update your contact details).
>> >> Personal email and MSN:
>> >> robster3 at hotmail.com
>> >> University email (please use this address):
>> >> rmw205 at exeter.ac.uk
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> >> [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> >> On
>> >> Behalf Of Jared Wright
>> >> Sent: 31 January 2009 22:20
>> >> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
>> >> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Spss 16 nightmare
>> >>
>> >> Vincent, Is your instructor not using the standard JDK distributed by
>> >> Sun for developing Java? If that's the compiler being used, and I've
>> >> no idea why it wouldn't be, you should be able to just compile from
>> >> the command line with javac. Of course, if you like the interactive
>> >> environment of Eclipse, that's another story but if it's merely
>> >> because of compilation problems, this might be preferable.
>> >>
>> >> Will be happy to help further off list, but I venture beyond the
>> >> scope of this community now.
>> >>
>> >> Best,
>> >> Jared
>> >>
>> >> vincent wrote:
>> >>> Hello:
>> >>> I am taking a quantitative research methods and Engineering
>> >>> Psychology
>> >> class
>> >>> this semester and both are requiring me to use SPSS version 16 to
>> >> calculate
>> >>> results.  I have done everything imaginable to make SPSS talk enough
>> >>> for
>> >> me
>> >>> to use, but to no avail.  I have installed the old scripts and the
>> >>> Java access bridge.  It speaks somewhat, but not enough to truly
>>function.
>> >>> The
>> >>> disability services office took my advice and is going to provide me
>> >>> a reader to read the screen for me, so I can at least complete my
>> >>> homework.
>> >>
>> >>>
>> >>> Does anyone know if the statistical package "R: can do the same
>> >>> things
>> >> that
>> >>> SPSS will do?  Also, will it read a .sav Spss file or will I have to
>> >>> try
>> >> and
>> >>> export the data from the spss file.
>> >>> Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, because I just don't
>> >>> have the time to do all the research this weekend myself.  I have to
>> >>> spend time catching up in my JAVA programming class.  Of curse the
>> >>> compiler the
>> >> school
>> >>> is using was written in JAVA and does not speak enough to use.  I
>> >>> have
>> >> moved
>> >>> on to Eclipse and am happily coding away.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs,
>> >>> you'll be
>> >> a
>> >>> Man, my son!"
>> >>>
>> >>> Rudyard Kipling
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
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>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
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>> >
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>>
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