[BlindMath] long descriptions of mathematical images

[Nikita]

Alex,

 

This is a user experience issue.

Note that most screen readers provide image quik navigation commands. Usually these commands are G and Shift+G.

If all images have the same alt text, then the user will not understand the difference between them during quick navigation.

At a minimum, it makes sense to include the figure number or something like that in the alt text. For example:

 

<img alt="Figure 1 (description see below)">

<img alt="Figure 2 (description see below)">

 

Sincerely, Nikita.

 

From: Alex Jordan <alex.jordan at pcc.edu> 
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2022 11:42 PM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nikita <nikitamailings at yandex.com>
Subject: Re: [BlindMath] long descriptions of mathematical images

 

Thank you Nikita,

 

Would it be ok practice for the alt text to direct readers to the long description in the figcaption, instead of offering a short description?

 

Alex

 

On Sat, Jul 9, 2022, 4:46 AM Nikita via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

Hi Alex.
For long descriptions of images, it is better to use special semantic tags
<figure> and <figcaption>
For example:

<figure aria-labelledby="img1">
<img id="img1" alt="Short description">
<figcaption>
<p>Long description.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

The content of the <figcaption> element can be visually hidden or made into
an expandable spoiler, as in your prototype.
Sincerely, Nikita.

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath <blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Alex Jordan via
BlindMath
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2022 3:26 AM
To: Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics
<blindmath at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Alex Jordan <alex.jordan at pcc.edu <mailto:alex.jordan at pcc.edu> >
Subject: [BlindMath] long descriptions of mathematical images

Hello,

I contribute to some open source projects in math education. A
challenge with images on the web in the context of math education is
how to describe them for screen reader users. The normal advice for
alt text does not always apply, since you often would like the reader
to extract something from the image without directly telling them what
they are supposed to get out of it. And if alt text becomes too long,
then some screen readers cut it off at 100 characters or so.

I wanted to ask this community if you know of good strategies for this
issue.

I also want to ask for criticism of a method I am experimenting with.
In this method, I follow the image with an HTML details tag with a
summary tag. The img alt text asks you to read the longer description
in the details tag. There is an aria-describedby that references the
div within the details tag where the description lives. Here is a toy
example:

https://spot.pcc.edu/~ajordan/temp/graphdetailssummarytest.html

May I ask this community, in particular blind AT users, for feedback?
If you follow that link, what criticism/commentary/observations do you
have about this method for describing an image? Please forgive me if
the description itself is poorly written.

Thank you,
Alex

-- 
Alex Jordan
Mathematics Instructor
Portland Community College

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