[Blindmath] MyMathLab and inaccessible etext

[Michael Whapples]

See my comments below. My comments are general, in the US I do not know 
what the legal situation might be on whether you could push some of the 
points.

On 15/05/2013 04:05, Andy B. wrote:
> I am taking a college algebra class at school. The entire class is done in
> MathLAB including the textbook. Unfortunately, I cannot get the textbook in
> a usable format for screen readers; I use JAWS 14 and Windows 8. I told the
> school to request MathML, but the publisher said that the only format they
> have is an unlocked pdf file. I do not trust these pdf files for math
> because JAWS reads left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Considering the
> following things, what should I do to successfully get my math credit?
You are right to question PDF, at the moment PDF and math is not accessible.
>   
>
> 1.       I was required to buy into the class and textbook before having the
> ability to evaluate the accessibility of the textbook.
One would hope that then support will be given, probably this really 
should come from the school as they put together the course but the 
publisher might be able to help when it comes to the book.

While not really what you want, if they really cannot make it accessible 
then one would hope the course fee could be refunded.
> 2.       The school cannot get the textbook in a usable format
Depending on the circurmstance then the school may have an 
responsibility (may be a legal responsibility) to make the course 
accessible, this might involve them getting the book transcribed to a 
different format. In my view it does not matter the publisher does not 
have another format available, the school should have considered this 
when choosing their course books if they did not want the task of 
getting it converted to an accessible format.

While it comes at a price, one might try putting the PDF through 
infty-reader which will do OCR on the math and may be a starting point 
for a MathML version. The school may consider buying it for you.
> 3.       The publisher claims the textbook is online, and there is no screen
> reader usable format to give.
I would almost bet money that it was not created originally in PDF. 
However it does not mean the original format would be accessible. While 
not necessarily my preferred option, but some do ask publishers and 
authors for LaTeX copies, but I know publishers can be reluctant to give 
LaTeX versions, I have heard authors tend to be a bit better.
> 4.       The school cannot change the textbook because it alters the very
> nature of the class.
This is an understandable position, however depending what effort is 
needed to support you they may in future wish to investigate 
accessibility of a book before designing a course around it.
>   
>
>   
>
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