[Blindmath] A query about accessibility through a screen reader of mathematical content

Wed Apr 13 01:34:36 UTC 2016

Sabra, I don't think I know a single congenitally blind person who
understands 3D drawings.

On 4/12/16, Pranav Lal via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Sabra,
>
> I have the same problem. The reason for this is that many blind people are
> not
> used to sighted graphics conventions.
>
> Pranav
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sabra
> Ewing
> via Blindmath
> Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 8:54 PM
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sabra Ewing <sabra1023 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] A query about accessibility through a screen reader
> of
> mathematical content
>
> They have that in America to, but for some reason, I can't read them unless
> the
> pictures were very simple like a very simple graph. For complicated images,
> I
> can only understand three-dimensional things. For example, if you gave me a
> tactile picture of a dog, I would have no idea what it was, but if you gave
> me a
> plastic model of a dog, I would know what it was. Other blind people seem to
> be
> fine with the tactile pictures though, but I don't know why.
>
> Sabra Ewing
>
>> On Apr 12, 2016, at 1:21 AM, Niels Luithardt via Blindmath
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Sabra,
>>
>> i have a question:
>>
>> what about Fuser .  tactile Modells with special paper. In Germany we
>> often use it.
>>
>> Niels
>>
>> 2016-04-12 5:10 GMT+02:00, Sabra Ewing via Blindmath
>> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>:
>>> I think most blind people just read it before they compiled. After
>>> they compiled, it is for a sighted person so they don't care if they can
>>> read
> it.
>>> As for a screen reader that would read math the best, I would suggest
>>> NVDA.
>>> It is free. Also, there is the Pearson equation editor, which is
>>> designed for braille users. It is much more natural to use and you
>>> don't have to deal with constant errors from trying to compile, but
>>> fullscreen reduce port isn't here for that yet. I believe that
>>> braille support is the most important, especially for higher-level
>>> math, so I am glad they started with that. If you are fine with
>>> reading in braille and using a screen reader doesn't matter as much,
>>> you could try that. Sighted people like their math so different then
>>> the way we like ours that it is really hard to have something where
>>> you can read and write in the same format. To get in the way sighted
>>> people like it, the program has to convert it to a different format
>>> or you have to do that by compiling something. If you just want to
>>> read equations for your own use, you can just write them The normal
>>> way that they always are. Well, I suppose for us it is the normal way
>>> and for sighted people is the abnormal way. Computers like our way
>>> better anyways, so it really makes more sense just to leave them if
>>> you are writing them for yourself. Maybe there is a way for a program
>>> to convert what you wrote into an object and then put alternative
>>> text in the object so that you can read what you have written and
>>> sighted people think it is the way they like it, But now, we have
>>> just reached the stage where you no longer have to write in computer
>>> braille. You can do your math in the way that you learned to read it,
>>> andyou can make it look good for sighted colleagues and professors,
>>> but yet at the stage where it translates back and forth so seamlessly
>>> that you feel like you can read it all the time and sighted people
>>> feel like it looks good all the time. Now you can at least produce
>>> correctly formatted equations without having to know a programming
>>> language though. I don't know what has happened because we haven't
>>> had any math or science technology apart from a tactile drawing board
>>> for blind people for like 50 years and now all the sudden, things are
>>> taking off, so what you want will probably exist in the near future.
>>> So you can wait for that while I wait for more seamless 3-D printing
>>> technology. I had to specifically avoid a biology class that involved
>>> identifying plant cells and other things with a microscope. I had
>>> thought we could simply order some three dimensional models and I can
>>> just use those, but they don't exist and they have so many details
>>> that they are too hard to make by hand. What you want is probably
>>> coming before my pocket sized, Affordable 3-D printer with accessible
>>> image capturing technology though. Then, I could just bring it to
>>> class, take a picture of the plant cell, and a little drawer with the
> three-dimensional image inside would pop up in a few seconds later. Sorry,
> I'm
> getting way off topic. That is all I have though. There could be something
> else
> I don't know about.
>>>
>>> Sabra Ewing
>>>
>>>> On Apr 11, 2016, at 9:35 AM, Saaqib Mahmuud via Blindmath
>>>> <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello to everyone at the BlindMath mailing list.
>>>>
>>>> I have the following query.
>>>>
>>>> These days, I'm using WinEdit 9.1 and MikeTex 2.9.5845 for
>>>> typesetting mathematical documents.
>>>>
>>>> After typing in my content, I press Alt + A to go to the Accessories
>>>> menu, followed by ENTER to activate the Compile menu item. I've just
>>>> learnt that the desired keystroke is F9.
>>>>
>>>> The above procedure produces a PDF file with the mathematical
>>>> content with the formatting I'd done using the LATEX commands.
>>>>
>>>> Now my question is, is the mathematical content of this PDF file
>>>> going to be accessible (and, if so, to what extent?) to a blind user
>>>> through a screen reading program such as JAWS, NVDA, or WinEyes?
>>>>
>>>> Would this PDF file emboss correctly into braille if I emboss it
>>>> directly using a braille embosser such as the Index Braille's
>>>> Everest-D V4 braille embosser?
>>>>
>>>> Which screen reader does the best job of making the mathematical
>>>> content thus created accessible to a blind person?
>>>> Please be sure to reply to the above questions in a thorough enough
>>>> manner as your input will help make maths accessible for the blind
>>>> of an under-developed region!
>>>>
>>>> Regards.
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> Saaqib Mahmood,
>>>> Lecturer in Mathematics,
>>>> Govt. Postgrad. College (GPGC) No. 1, Abbottabad, PAKISTAN Kund
>>>> Malyaar, Muhallah Musa Zai, Nawan Shehr, Abbottabad, PAKISTAN
>>>> Phone: +92-346-952-7638 (mobile), +92-334-541-7958 (mobile +
>>>> WhatsApp +
>>>> Viber)
>>>> Skype: saaqib.mahmood
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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