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Cyberlearning Tools for Mathematics: Addressing Accessibility

Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education Conference 2011

Cyberlearning Tools for Mathematics:

Addressing Accessibility

Lila F. Roberts, Clayton State University

Online Math Resources

Many GREAT Sites Have Accessibility Issues

Demos with Positive Impact—http://www.mathdemos.org/mathdemos

2008 MERLOT Classics Award in Mathematics

Exemplary Online Materials for Mathematics Teaching

Many GREAT Sites Have Accessibility Issues

It’s the LAW: Website accessibility is not optional. Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to remove barriers in information technology for those who have disabilities. (Applies to IT developed or purchased by Federal Agencies)

Why Worry?

The DoJ is considering expansion of the regulations to “establish specific requirements for State & Local governments and public accommodations to make websites accessible to individuals with disabilities.”

--http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/factsht_web_anrpm_2010.htm

Why Worry?

Many institutions are currently in the process of ensuring compliance with ADA web site accessibility standards.

--excerpt from Los Angeles Pierce College Web Site Accessibility Statement“Accessibility guidelines state that all items required in a course syllabus are accessible. Any website that is required for course work must also be compliant.” http://207.62.63.167/offices/compliance/adacomp.asp

Why Worry?

It’s the RIGHT thing to do.

Mathematical Symbols (no universal browser support for MathML)

Interactive Web Materials (most materials use scripts, which are not keyboard accessible)

Video and other Multimedia Objects (most video animations do not have alternatives and/or captions/transcripts)

Graphics objects (many are in formats that do not scale nicely—no universal browser support)

Challenges in getting Math on the Web

An NSF-funded project to adapt calculus materials from Demos with Positive Impact so that they are more accessible to individuals who have mild visual or aural disabilities

Primary Goal: Incorporate accessibility best practices into web site, including captioning animations and videos.

Broader Impact—Beyond Section 508: Adapt materials to be accessible for mobile devices such as iPad and Android devices, and to provide multi-lingual accessibility via caption tracks in video animations.

Accessible Calculus

Closed Captioning: Camtasia + YouTube

Math Symbols: MathJax

Flash-less Interactive Tool: JSXGraph

Addressing Accessibility

Camtasia + YouTube

Camtasia + YouTube

YouTube Go To Website

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sAcxI9G4ZE&feature=player_embedded

Mathematics on the Web

Interactive Graphics Tool

Go to Website

GuidelinesW3C Web Accessibility Initiative: http://www.w3.org/WAI/W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0): http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind: http://webaim.org/Accessibility CheckersWeb Accessibility Checker: http://achecker.ca/checker/Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE):http://wave.webaim.org/Web Accessibility Evaluation Toolbar for Firefox:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/accessibility-evaluation-toolb/Cynthia Says: http://www.cynthiasays.com/

Resources for Accessible Design

Captioning Tools

Captioning:

From Techsmith (http://www.techsmith.com)Camtasia Studio (for Windows)Camtasia for Mac

From Automatic Sync TechnologyCamptionSync Automated Closed Captions (http://www.automaticsync.com/captionsync/)--Human Transcribers, Spanish Language Captions, Automatically generated captions if transcript provided

YouTube Accessible Controls

YouTube Accessible Controls (OSU): http://wac.osu.edu/examples/youtube-player-controls/

Math on the Web

Accessible Math on the Web

MathJax: http://www.mathjax.org

Need help with MathML or LaTeX?Design Science MathType: http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/default.htm

Display MathML in Internet Explorer:Design Science: MathPlayer: http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/

Make Math More AccessibleDesign Science: MathDaisy: http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathdaisy/

Interactive Math

Javascript Interactive Graphics Tool: JSXGraph

SVG if browsers support it (such as Firefox, Safari, Safari Mobile, Chrome)VML in Internet Explorer 8Canvas if browser does not support SVG or VML (Android)

JSXGraph: http://jsxgraph.uni-bayreuth.de/wiki/index.php/Category:Examples