[nabs-l] nabs-l Digest, Vol 55, Issue 54

[Loew, Ruth]

In response to Kevin Fjelsted's posts: It is certainly not ETS's intent to displace braille.  For the math-to-speech project, researchers are intentionally creating audio structured so that it can supplement braille when the latter is available, supporting multi-modal access.  The audio will also permit access to math content on occasions when braille is unavailable and for individuals who do not know Nemeth braille.  

A different project, on which ETS is working with Measured Progress and the NimbleTools testing platform, is to make that platform compatible with refreshable braille displays.  (Currently no platform for computer-based standardized testing is compatible with refreshable braille.)  ETS continues to make braille forms of its tests available, including those tests that are offered on computer, and routinely approves Perkins braillers or braille slates as testing accommodations on request.

I hope this is helpful.

Ruth C. Loew, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Office of Disability Policy, ETS
phone: 609-683-2984
fax: 609-683-2220

-----Original Message-----

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 26 May 2011 12:01:17 -0500
From: Kevin Fjelsted <kfjelsted at gmail.com>
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Math-to-Speech technology project
Message-ID: <4DDF92D5-CE12-4264-91D6-5B8D71FFABBE at gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

An interesting corollary on this whole thing although it may not see to be related but I experiencing increasing resistance in testing centers when I tell them I need to bring a Braille Writer in order to solve math problems.
If we are not virulent we will be locked out of testing centers when we insist on Braille either reading or writing.

-Kevin

-------------------------------------------

THis is definitely a very dangerous slippery slope to put so much emphasis on speech for Math.
I am currently fighting a huge battle with a disability services office for  major university who has tried to force the use of speech over Braille Nemeth code.

In the first place if there is any extensive math to be done the problem steps are almost always going to require that one write them down. If one is BLind  then Nemeth code is the only way to go.
This touches at the very root of an issue that is trying to force speech at the expense of Braille.  to provide an excuse to avoid using Braille by permitting speech for Math is very dangerous. 
 As much emphasis should be placed on accurate translation to Braille Nemeth in this project as the speech effort.
For this  amount of money, is any of it being allocated to Nemeth Braille on the fly support translation from Design Science software? 
-Kevin
Kevin Fjelsted [kfjelsted at gmail.com

On May 26, 2011, at 11:27 AM, Loew, Ruth wrote:

New Math-to-Speech Technologies to Help Blind and Visually Impaired Students Master Mathematics
 
Princeton, N.J. (May 24, 2011) -
Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Design Science have announced they are working jointly to modify MathType(tm) and MathPlayer(tm), so that classroom materials, tests and other documents containing mathematical content may be clearly spoken by computers. This new math-to-speech technology will provide students who are blind or have other visual impairments the tools they need to learn, practice, and take math and science tests on a more equal footing with their classroom peers.


Some of the country's leading subject-matter experts and developers of assistive technology for students who are blind or visually impaired will assist on the project which begins July 1, 2011, and is supported by a $1.5 million Institute of Education Sciences grant.


"Existing assistive technology that provides synthetic speech for electronic text does at best a limited job of making math accessible for this group of students," explains Lois Frankel, an ETS Assessment Specialist and the leader of the effort. "The current technology falls short because it generally does not 'know' how to describe mathematical expressions, especially in a way that provides access to their nonlinear structure.


"ETS and Design Science will work together to enhance MathPlayer, the tool that voices the math encoded in MathML, so that it sounds more like what students - particularly those in Algebra I - are used to hearing," Frankel says. "We also plan to work on a number of customizations to MathType, including a feature to allow teachers and other users to select how mathematical expressions are described. For example, they could select whether the machine says 'four over five' or 'four fifths.' Another customization we plan to add is keyboard navigation that allows blind or visually impaired users to go back and replay voiced segments in mathematically meaningful 'chunks.' Our goal is to provide students and teachers with a better system for voicing mathematical notation that includes some truly useful functionality."


"It has been a long-term Design Science goal to make math accessible, and our team has been working hard at it for over six years," said Neil Soiffer, Senior Scientist at Design Science. "It's a great opportunity to be partnering with an organization the stature and importance of ETS, to push the state-of-the-art forward."


Working with Frankel and Soiffer on the effort are ETS Assessment Specialist Beth Brownstein, Research Scientist Eric Hansen, and Senior Research Scientist Cara Laitusis. Among the other organizations and consultants who will take part in the project are:


	De Witt & Associates, specializes in accessibility training, learning systems and support, and will provide advice on the implementation of MathML accessibility tools and assist in the development of training modules for students and teachers.
      GW Micro, a leading firm in the adaptive technology industry, will modify its Window-Eyes screen reader software to work seamlessly with the tools developed by the project.	Jim Allan, the accessibility coordinator and webmaster for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
	Maylene Bird, a teacher of mathematics to visually impaired students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
	Christine Hinton, a Program Development Specialist for the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, will help recruit student participants from inclusive schools in New Jersey.
	Gaylen Kapperman, a professor with a visual disability, with specialization in research and development projects pertaining to mathematics instruction and assistive technology used by individuals who are blind or are visually impaired.
	Abraham Nemeth, the author of The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation and a blind expert in making mathematics accessible to blind individuals.
	Susan Osterhaus, a secondary mathematics teacher and statewide math accessibility expert at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.


"The criteria for success in this project will be three-fold," explains Marisa Farnum, Vice President of Assessment Development at ETS. "First, will students using the tailored tools over the status quo be better able to solve algebra problems at an appropriate level? And, are they better able to correctly identify the structure of algebra-level math expressions when using the tools? Second, will math teachers be able to use the authoring tools developed by this project to quickly and easily create math materials that are accessible to their students with visual impairments? And finally, do the teachers and students who participate as subjects in these development efforts find the tools provided usable and convenient?"