[BlindMath] Typing Math and Science Quickly and Understandably

Thu May 3 22:24:07 UTC 2018

Hello Jonathan,
Do you have something that explains the least cumbersome syntax for
Markdown / LaTeX?
Thanks,

Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>

On Thu, May 3, 2018 at 2:11 PM, Godfrey, Jonathan via BlindMath <
blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> You are correct that use of LaTeX within a markdown document leads to the
> same outcome as the workflow you have used in MS Word with MathType. I
> don't think you should suddenly change workflow for improved access to the
> mathematical content. There are other reasons why you should get use of
> pandoc into your toolbox though.
>
> I do think Brandon's example is more cumbersome than it needed to be. I
> use markdown almost daily, and I only ever put a \ to get mathematical
> content. Forever listening to backslash from any screen reader is annoying,
> slows me down, and often presents a distraction. This was a leading reason
> for reducing my use of full-blown LaTeX.
>
> I would urge you to make use of the LEAN editor mentioned in this thread
> to enhance your workflow. The feature of LEAN I use most is the addition of
> tags to the math content so that you do not need to go backwards and
> forwards into LaTeX mode to read the content, and you don't have to use the
> specific combination of tools (screen reader + math player). LEAN offers an
> alternative and I am not suggesting it as a replacement. Having options is
> power, because it puts you in control.
>
> I do think you need to enhance what you do a little to get the best of
> what you have now before you embark on all manner of options. I would also
> suggest to you that the accuracy aspect of your criticism of LaTeX (while
> true) is also true for practically every tool you will use, and is also
> true for the scientific content you will be working with. I think your
> initial message to this thread said you were considering a computer science
> major; the programming languages you use will have limited flexibility to
> deal with the human inaccuracies that even the best among us is prone to
> create. For me, it is the ability to find and correct these inaccuracies
> that tells me how truly accessible a solution is for me. Markdown is the
> solution that works best for me today; it is not the only solution I use.
>
> My final point is about use of a personal system. I know plenty of blind
> people who have little shorthand things we write. The problem is that they
> are individual and can't be shared. The most likely person you will want to
> share your work with is your future-self. Will you recall the shorthand you
> use today in ten years' time?
>
> Cheers,
> Jonathan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Bhavya shah
> via BlindMath
> Sent: Friday, 4 May 2018 8:05 a.m.
> To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <
> blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Bhavya shah <bhavya.shah125 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [BlindMath] Typing Math and Science Quickly and Understandably
>
> Hi Brandon,
>
> In essence, this method is very similar to how I used to use LaTeX of
> MathType to generate Math ML content that was visually readible and screen
> reader firnedly with the help of NVDA and Math Player. However, my only two
> concerns are that using LaTeX or any other standardized Math code to type
> would almost invariably mean (1) slightly longer and stricter syntax that
> would need to be mandatorily followed, and (2) there are several reasons,
> some of which include lack of customization in pronunciation and excessive
> pausing, why I found reading Math ML with the help of Math Player and NVDA
> somewhat cumbersome in my past experiences. If I come to think of it, it is
> quite certain that at some point in time, either for typing my own
> Math&Science or for reading my transcribed course material, I will need to
> deal with Math ML using Math Player and NVDA, so in a day at most, I will
> be retrying Math ML and sharing some of the more significant concerns and
> issues I have with interacting with Math ML.
>
> Kindly let me know if my present understanding of the method you described
> that this is just Pandoc instead of MathType and commandline instead of
> Word for using LaTeX to generate Math ML content is fundamentally incorrect.
>
> Thanks.
>
> On 5/3/18, Brandon Keith Biggs via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > Hello,
> > Markdown with LaTeX is perfect for you. Here is an example that Lukasz
> > (from this list wrote):
> >
> > ## Parametric Forms
> >
> > *transcriber: system of two equations, each one has an extra
> > information after comma* \ $x = t^2 -2t$, $dx = 2t-2$ \ $y= t+1$,
> > minimum at $t=1$ \
> > *transcriber: end of the system*
> >
> > For window:
> > \
> > $t$ from $[-2,4]$, $t$ step $= 0.1$
> > \
> > $x$ from $[-1,10]$
> > \
> > $y$ from $[-1,5]$
> >
> > # something easier
> >
> > $3x + y = 10$
> > \
> > $9 * 5 = 45$
> > \
> > Fractions
> > \
> > $\frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{2} = 1$
> >
> >
> > This converts perfectly to MathML using pandoc:
> > https://pandoc.org/
> >
> > You install pandoc, open a command line where you have the math
> > content and
> > type:
> >
> > pandoc my_math_file.md --mathml -s -o my_html_output_file.html
> >
> > You can give your professor the html file and they can read it in
> > print just fine. If you have a Braille display, the MathML shows up
> > just fine and it is also read by the screen reader. NVDA requires Math
> > player (see the user guide under reading math content for more info).
> > Thanks,
> >
> >
> > Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>
> >
> > On Wed, May 2, 2018 at 11:00 AM, Sean Tikkun via BlindMath <
> > blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Bhavya Shah,
> >>
> >>    I am assembling a team to generate 3D models to assist in
> >> learning. The team leaders are a former math teacher fluent in
> >> Braille (me) and a Fabrication lab director that teaches Biological
> >> and Chemical Sciences at the University level. If you have access to
> >> 3D printing I would love to know what you may need. Files are easy to
> >> send. If not, perhaps there is a fabrication lab at a university in
> >> Mumbai that would be interested in some collaboration?
> >>    Feel free to reach out. stikkun at nccu.edu.
> >>
> >>
> >> Sean Tikkun
> >> Apple Distinguished Educator
> >> class of 2007
> >>
> >> On May 01, 2018, at 08:51 PM, Sabra Ewing via BlindMath <
> >> blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> I typed most of my math using the first method. You might be able to
> >> type more quickly if you had a braille keyboard. Also note that you
> >> can use parentheses and brackets. The Pearce in equation editor can
> >> produce math in a visual format. It is free. The braille note touch
> >> can do this as well although it is very expensive. I would definitely
> >> say to use a keyboard.
> >> Do
> >> not type on your phone as I am doing now because it is much slower.
> >> Another
> >> thing you can do is use copy and paste. You do not have to type
> >> everything from scratch. You can copy previous steps to your
> >> clipboard, paste them, and then modify them to create your future
> >> steps. Like for example, you might write a chemical equation that is
> >> not balanced. Paste this equation underneath it so you have two
> >> copies of the same equation. Then, take the first step toward
> >> balancing that equation and make those changes to your second copy.
> >> Now you have your equation and underneath it, you have the modified
> >> version with step one completed, so copied the version with step one
> >> completed to your clipboard and paste it underneath. Now you have the
> >> original equation, and you have two copies of step one. Modified the
> >> second copy of step one based on what you plan to do in step two.
> >> Continue this method until you have finished the problem. With a
> >> braille keyboard, you should be able to type as fast as someone can
> >> speak and even faster. If you cannot or a braille keyboard is not an
> >> option, you can record what is being said with a phone or other
> >> recording device and you can then go back over it. Another thing you
> >> can do is request things in electronic format. Mini American
> >> professors do not know how to create accessible math when it is
> >> really very easy as you described. You do not have to know any markup
> >> languages. You can create accessible math just by using your computer
> >> keyboard, and in many cases, if you are a computer science student,
> >> your math is in the perfect format to just paste right over into your
> ide.
> >> Maybe
> >> Indian professors would be better at creating accessible. If not, you
> >> might be able to find someone who can do it. This will be especially
> >> easy if you can find some funding. I was not lucky in this regard
> >> because other than professors, I never found a dedicated person who
> >> knew how to produce accessible math. I finally got to a position
> >> where I could no longer receive accessible math because I moved on to
> >> a four-year university where the professors did not know how to
> >> produce it. It is very ironic that when I started out at a two year
> >> university, the professors did know how to produce it. I approach
> >> programmers, professors, deans, and department head.
> >> No one actually knew how including the programmers who produce
> >> accessible math every day. I finally had to end up listening to my
> >> math on recordings and writing everything down. It was very
> >> difficult. If you want to get math in braille, there is software that
> >> can do it called Duxberry. Ironically, my university actually had
> >> this software, but no one knew how to use it including the people who
> >> worked at disability services. Getting it for yourself will not be
> >> helpful. If you get this software, you will need someone who can
> >> modify the equations for you. If your professor has files that were
> >> generated from a markup language, you could try asking for those
> >> source files. Even if you do not know the markup language, math is
> >> written very similarly when you are programming computers, so you
> >> could probably pick up how to read it. Unfortunately, my professors
> >> used PDFs that they got from other sources or pictures of hand
> >> written documents so I could not do this. People will try to tell you
> >> that Matt cannot be produced excessively on the computer. This simply
> >> is not true. Every mathematical formula, function, and number known
> >> to humankind can be programmed into a computer using a text based
> >> programming language. Also, many of these functions and formulas can
> >> be put into XL. If you can put these formulas into XL, then you can
> >> produce them accessibly in a word document. If someone is trying to
> >> tell you that they can't, then just tell them to put it in a
> >> spreadsheet, press F2 on the cells, and read the formulas that way.
> >> XL is very good because you can use it to organize data, you can use
> >> it as a calculator, and you can use it to create tables and graphs.
> >> You can put these documents in your dropbox and you can get the
> >> pictures of the graphs.
> >> You can then import these pictures into the voice app on your phone
> >> and you can listen to them. If you are going to listen to pie charts,
> >> to make it easier on yourself to read, use the 3-D exploding pie
> >> charts. This may sound counterintuitive, but when you listen to them,
> >> there is a bit more separation between each piece. I don't know how
> >> you would get training to listen to grass. I just automatically was
> >> born knowing how to do it. No one ever taught me. I could always
> >> listen to graphs very easily and I could never read tactile graphics.
> >> There is also a program called math tracks where you can create audio
> >> graphs by entering in equations.However, it is really best to have
> >> both the equation and the data because what if you created a graph
> >> using any equation, and you need to make some changes to the data?
> >> Well, you don't have the data, so what are you going to do? You could
> >> probably generate the data from the equation in some cases, but that
> >> will take forever. I like to listen to a graph and have the
> >> spreadsheet in front of me at the same time. There is also a blind
> chemist named Dr.
> >> sapalo. I'm not sure how to spell his name. I have his card somewhere
> >> but I just have to find it. I really wish people would start using
> >> those barcode Cards where I can scan the contact information into my
> >> phone, but I only know one person who uses those. Anyways, You may
> >> want to get in touch with him. He has all of these probes. They do
> >> all different things. They connect to a computer and they can measure
> >> chemical reactions and make graphs and do all this stuff depending on
> >> what probe you use. For example, you could use one probe to graph the
> >> color changes that occur during an experiment.
> >> You could use another probe to track temperature changes like ice
> melting.
> >> I don't really do chemistry, but if I did, I imagine I would want
> >> this thing, but I can't remember what it is called. But he is
> >> actually a chemistry professor at a university. He is totally blind
> >> and he teaches classes and runs labs and does all sorts of things.
> >> There are plenty of blind computer scientists, but he struck my
> >> interest in particular because I have not heard of mini blind
> >> chemists. He also had some good advice for 3-D printing that would
> >> work in the United States, but I am not sure if it would work in
> >> India. If possible though, you may want to get some 3-D models
> >> printed. Another thing is that you want to stay consistent. You want
> >> to make sure that you are doing things in the classroom the same way
> >> you will do them during testing. In my chemistry class, I did not
> >> have access to a lot of 3-D models, but for testing purposes, they
> >> made me a 3-D model.
> >> This really was not fair because it was made out of a lot of cups and
> >> straws. I did not know what it was, and it is not fair to use models
> >> for testing purposes that you did not use in the classroom or to use
> >> a different method for testing purposes that you did not use in the
> >> classroom because this will skew the results. If you use certain
> >> accommodations in the classroom, insist on the same accommodations
> >> for testing.
> >>
> >> Sabra Ewing
> >>
> >> On May 1, 2018, at 5:22 PM, Bhavya shah via BlindMath <
> >> blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> Dear all,
> >>
> >> I am Bhavya Shah, a totally blind 16-year-old student from Mumbai,
> >> India. Having just completed my tenth grade with the same Mathematics
> >> and Science syllabus as my sighted peers in a mainstream school, I
> >> intend to take up the Science stream according to the Indian
> >> education system for Classes 11 and 12 with the subject combination
> >> of
> >> Physics+Chemistry+Mathematics, and probably take up something along
> >> the lines of Computer Science for my undergraduate studies after that
> >> (although I shouldn’t overly worry about about finalizing that for
> >> now, I suppose). Additionally, I shall be enrolling into coaching for
> >> a very competitive pan-India engineering entrance examination over
> >> the next two years where I will be delving into particularly advanced
> >> topics in to the three afore-mentioned subjects.
> >>
> >> Till Class 10, I managed an overwhelming chunk of Math either orally
> >> or mentally, and from what I have been informed, have dealt with
> >> relatively very simple organic structures, general numericals and
> >> chemical equations which I have been handling mostly via plain text.
> >> It has become increasingly clear to me that this makeshift method
> >> will be extremely inefficient and consequently infeasible for the
> >> kind of syllabus I am transitioning to. Hence, I am looking for
> >> different techniques, tools or methods of typing Math and Science
> >> that will allow me to be as rapid a Math&Science typist as I am of
> >> the English language (at its peak, my fingers have achieved about 100
> >> WPM) so that I can cope with the daily rigor this coaching demands. I
> >> need to be able to type mathematical and scientific content
> >> accurately and swiftly not necessarily such that it is visually
> >> readable by a sighted professor but more so for my own reference,
> >> understanding and purposes of review and revision.
> >>
> >> So far, I am versed only with two options – ASCII Math, where I would
> >> just type Math and Science using standard symbols present on any
> >> keyboard such as /, *, ^ and so on to denote different things
> >> (perhaps
> >> (x+2)/x-1)) in chiefly plain text, or type things in LaTeX using
> >> MathType ($\frac{x+2}{x-1}$) and employ Math Player and NVDA to read
> >> it. From my basic understanding of this and limited past experience
> >> with each of these methods, the former sounds much faster and more
> >> efficient to me, but I am open to evidence and experiences suggesting
> >> otherwise. There are various other Math typing tools I have heard
> >> about over the years such as Infty Reader and Lean Math, but have
> >> never adequately researched them let alone used them to any extent.
> >> Any information or instructional material on these and other
> >> potential alternatives you would recommend would be of great help too.
> >>
> >> I would truly appreciate any assistance on different strategies you
> >> may have used to math your sighted counterparts’ speed in terms of
> >> writing and solving mathematical and scientific material, questions
> >> and problem sets.
> >>
> >> Thanks.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Best Regards
> >> Bhavya Shah
> >>
> >> Blogger at Hiking Across Horizons:
> >> https://bhavyashah125.wordpress.com/
> >>
> >> Contacting Me
> >> E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125 at gmail.com
> >> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavyashah125/
> >> Twitter: @BhavyaShah125
> >> Skype: bhavya.09
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> BlindMath Gems can be found at <http://www.blindscience.org/b
> >> lindmath-gems-home>
> >>
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> >>
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> >
>
>
> --
> Best Regards
> Bhavya Shah
>
> Blogger at Hiking Across Horizons: https://bhavyashah125.wordpress.com/
>
> Contacting Me
> E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125 at gmail.com
> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavyashah125/
> Twitter: @BhavyaShah125
> Skype: bhavya.09
>
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