Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

28 results found in STEM accessibility.

Blocks-Based Programming (Block Programming, Visual Block Programming, BBPE)
A programming paradigm designed to introduce coding concepts to beginners — particularly children — by representing code as visual, interlocking blocks that are dragged and dropped to construct progra…
ClearSpeak
A set of rules for generating natural-sounding spoken descriptions of mathematical expressions, developed by ETS (Educational Testing Service). ClearSpeak uses conversational phrasing like "the fracti…
Code Literacy (Coding Literacy, Programming Literacy)
The ability to read, write, and understand computer code, increasingly recognized as a fundamental skill for education and employment in the digital economy. In accessibility contexts, code literacy e…
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
The use of software to create, modify, analyse, and optimise designs for physical objects or systems. In accessibility contexts, CAD tools are critical for designing assistive technology, tactile grap…
Diagram Accessibility (Accessible Diagrams, Scientific Diagram Accessibility)
The practice of making visual diagrams — including scientific figures, flowcharts, organizational charts, and technical schematics — accessible to people with visual impairments, learning disabilities…
Force Feedback (Haptic Force Feedback, Kinesthetic Feedback)
A type of haptic technology that applies physical forces to the user through a device such as a stylus, joystick, or glove, simulating the sensation of touching or interacting with virtual objects. Un…
Image sonification (Visual-to-audio mapping, Auditory image display)
The process of converting visual information from images — such as shapes, charts, diagrams, or spatial layouts — into audio representations that can be perceived without vision. Image sonification ma…
LaTeX (TeX)
A document typesetting language widely used in academia and STEM fields for producing scientific documents containing complex mathematical formulae. LaTeX encodes mathematical content as plain text ma…
Math Accessibility (Mathematical Accessibility, STEM Accessibility)
The practice of making mathematical content — including formulae, equations, graphs, and geometric representations — accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments.…
Math OCR (Mathematical OCR, Scientific Document Recognition)
Optical character recognition technology specifically designed to recognize and convert mathematical expressions, formulas, and scientific notation from printed or PDF documents into accessible digita…
MathJax
An open-source JavaScript display engine that renders mathematical notation written in LaTeX, MathML, or AsciiMath in web browsers. MathJax is significant for accessibility because it produces output …
MathML (Mathematical Markup Language)
A W3C standard XML-based markup language for describing mathematical notation and its structure, enabling mathematical content to be rendered visually in web browsers and read aloud by screen readers.…
MathML (Mathematical Markup Language)
A W3C standard XML-based markup language for describing mathematical notation and capturing both its structure and content. MathML comes in two forms: presentation MathML, which describes how a formul…
MathML (Mathematical Markup Language)
An XML-based markup language standardized by the W3C for describing mathematical notation and capturing both its structure and content. MathML enables screen readers and other assistive technologies t…
MathSpeak (MathSpeak Rules)
A set of rules and conventions for verbally describing mathematical notation in a standardized, unambiguous way that can be understood by people who cannot see the visual representation of formulas. M…
Mathematical Accessibility (Math Accessibility, STEM Content Accessibility)
The practice of making mathematical content — including equations, formulas, graphs, and notation — perceivable, operable, and understandable by people with disabilities. Mathematical content poses un…
Mathematical Accessibility (Math Accessibility, STEM Accessibility)
The practice of making mathematical notation, formulas, equations, and quantitative content accessible to people with disabilities, particularly blind and low-vision users. Mathematical notation poses…
Nemeth Braille (Nemeth Code, Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics)
A specialized Braille code designed for representing mathematical and scientific notation, developed by Abraham Nemeth and adopted by the Library of Congress. Unlike literary Braille, Nemeth Braille h…
Nemeth Braille Code (Nemeth Code, Nemeth Mathematics Braille)
A system of Braille encoding developed by Abraham Nemeth in 1946 for representing mathematical and scientific notation, widely used in the United States and some other English-speaking countries. The …
Nemeth Code (Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science)
A specialized braille code developed by Abraham Nemeth for representing mathematics, science notation, and technical symbols. Nemeth Code provides a comprehensive system for expressing equations, frac…