[Blindmath] NFB NABS: STEPP/CourseSmart Mainstream Accessible eTextBooks Presentation

[Birkir R. Gunnarsson]

I've worked with them (a few months ago). They had some accessibility
issues but were open to suggestions and improvements, and seemed
genuinely interested.
MathML is a subset, both of HTML5 and EPUB3, so MathML is the key here.
They (CourseSmart) have not used MathML to write out their formulas
and equations (they confirmed this when I asked them back in the late
fall).
That's all they have to do, make equations and formulas available in
MathML, leavfe the rest to Assistive Technology.
I can't see it being overly complicated to do this, though it may be
costly to get that procedure established I suppose, depends how they
get their formulas and what publishing platform they use to create the
eBooks.
I have some hope that CourseSmart will get this done, and wish them
all the best, but they have, as-yet, not put sufficient commitment and
work into MathML and the STEM content of their books, though, as Kevin
said, that may still change.
I will follow this platform with interest.
-Birkir


On 6/4/11, Kevin Chao <kevinchao89 at gmail.com> wrote:
> CourseSmart hasn't always been accessible, but work started before I
> found out about them, and incredible improvements have been made in
> the past 8 months. The accessibility is as  a result of feedback and
> commitment from multiple parties.
>
> STEM is a difficult area, especially when it comes to accessible
> textbooks, material, and tools. Fortunately, part of STEPP grant, has
> goal of accessible STEM eTextBooks. I'm very much pushing, advocating,
> and pressuring for this to succeed.
>
> Challenge is implementation, best user interface, and user experience.
>
> It would be great to know your thoughts on how STEPP could best
> present STEM eTextBooks.
>
> There are a variety of possibilities, such as HTML5, ePub 3.0, MathML,
> and LaTeX.
>
> However, it would be great to have input on what you would like.
>
> Ideally, it would work multi-OS, multi-browser, and multi-screen reader.
>
> Kevin
>
> On 6/4/11, Sarah Jevnikar <sarah.jevnikar at utoronto.ca> wrote:
>> This is truly a great resource. It gives instant access to books at a
>> reduced price, and they seem committed to accessibility, largely I believe
>> due to the work of Kevin Chao.
>>
>> Unfortunately it doesn't work with STEM books. I tried it with an advanced
>> statistics book and was disappointed. I printed several pages as pdf files
>> using PDFill PDF Editor (another great program, discovered by Roopakshi),
>> converted them to LaTeX with InftyReader, then opened them in Duxbury 10.4
>> and saved them as brf files. The LaTeX output was garbled, causing
>> garbling
>> of the Braille too.
>>
>> Course Smart provides 14-day free trials of books, so if anyone wants to
>> experiment with them it will cost nothing. Can anyone think of workarounds
>> for this? Am I missing a step somewhere? Can you imagine how amazing it'd
>> be
>> if we could have instant access to all books, not just non-STEM material?
>>
>> Sarah
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Kevin Chao
>> Sent: June 4, 2011 3:16 PM
>> To: kevinchao89
>> Subject: [Blindmath] NFB NABS: STEPP/CourseSmart Mainstream Accessible
>> eTextBooks Presentation
>>
>> Please join STEPP for 20 minutes on July 4, 6:15 - 10:00 pm-NATIONAL
>> ASSOCIATION OF BLIND STUDENTS (NABS)
>> At Panzacola G-1 Ballroom, Level 1
>>
>> STEPP - STudent E-rent Pilot Project Wiki has goals, docs, advisory
>> panel, meeting, agenda, and panel member's info.
>> http://stepp.gatech.edu/index.php?title=Main_Page
>>
>> STEPP will present, demonstrate (Windows Firefox NVDA and iOS Safari
>> VoiceOver), and discuss http://www.CourseSmart.com eTextBook reader,
>> which is intended for higher education (college/university)
>> professors, students, disabled student services, and anyone in
>> post-secondary education.
>>
>> CourseSmart is very unique, innovative, and now/future. It is world's
>> largest eTextBooks portal, mainstream, accessible, 60% off textbooks,
>> instant, anywhere, multi-platform, and multi-screen reader support.
>>
>> STEPP look forwards to having the great opportunity, privilege, and
>> honor in presenting, demonstrating, and discussing CourseSmart.com
>> Reader with you.
>>
>> CourseSmart.com has been around since 2007 and accessible since August
>> 2010.
>>
>> STEPP
>>
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