Creating and Accessing Digital Math Content

Introduction and General Information

The resources on this page were compiled to assist with the following:

• Creation of accessible math content for students who are blind or visually impaired and use assistive technology.

• Provide resources to assist students with visual impairments in accessing math content that has been created for them while using assistive technology.

• Access by the regular education teachers of math content created or modified by a student with a visual impairment utilizing assistive technology.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all possible resources and is meant as a starting point for teachers and students.

Some General Information about Accessible Math

As we all know, math notation in general is very visual. Due to the nature of the spacing, it is difficult for non-specialized software to correctly interpret the equations and symbols. For this reason, there are specific technologies to both create accessible math content and to decipher it so someone using assistive technology can interpret it. The two terms that are seen most often are LaTeX and MathML.

LaTeX and MathML are both used mathematical notation, but they're quite different in how they work.

LaTeX, which is pronounced "lay-tech," is a typesetting system. It's widely used in documents because it allows inclusion of complex mathematical formulas. However, the coding is embedded into programs like Microsoft Word, so no direct knowledge of LaTeX itself is needed. Those creating and editing content utilize the tools included in the program or application to do so.

MathML is used to display math content. Users do not actually type it manually because it is very long and complex. It is most often used on the web or sometimes in specific applications. For our purposes here, let’s say it is used to display math so it shows up correctly.

There are, of course, other tools used to create and access math content, but as these two terms are used in some of the resources on this page, a fundamental understanding of what MathML and LaTeX are is helpful.

More Basic Information on Accessible Math:

• The Accessibility Guy: Introduction to Math Accessibility

• TPGI: Making Math Accessible

Math Resources for Specific Software and Devices

Resources in this section are sorted by device, software, or access point. Some resources listed reference multiple devices or access points and therefore may be listed under more than one category. 

Desmos

Desmos is available both as a Web Application and a mobile app on both iOS and Android. Resources for both are provided here.

Math with Windows Screen Readers

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