Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• MathPlayer V2.1: Web-based Math Accessibility

  Neil Soiffer (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper describes MathPlayer v2.1, a plug-in developed by Design Science, Inc. that renders MathML visually in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat/Reader while providing extensive accessibility features for people with print disabilities…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • MathML
  • screen readers
  • braille
  • print disabilities
  • synchronized highlighting
  • math-to-speech
  • PDF accessibility
  • learning disabilities

• A Software Model to Support Collaborative Mathematical Work between Braille and Sighted Users

  Dominique Archambault, Bernhard Stöger, Mario Batusic, Claudia Fahrengruber, Klaus Miesenberger (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper presents the software model behind the MaWEn (Mathematical Working Environment) project, a long-term collaboration between Johannes Kepler Universität Linz and Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. The project addresses a fundamental …

  • braille
  • mathematics accessibility
  • collaborative editing
  • MathML
  • inclusive education
  • braille mathematics
  • synchronisation
  • navigation

• Lambda: A Multimodal Approach to Making Mathematics Accessible to Blind Students

  Alistair D N Edwards, Heather McCartney, Flavio Fogarolo (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the Lambda System, a European Union-funded project designed to make mathematics accessible to blind students through a multimodal mathematical editor. Mathematics relies heavily on visual two-dimensional notation — fractions are s…

  • visual impairment
  • mathematics
  • braille
  • education
  • MathML
  • multimodal interface
  • screen reader
  • STEM accessibility

• MathPlayer: Web-Based Math Accessibility

  Neil Soiffer (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This poster paper presents MathPlayer, a free plug-in for Microsoft Internet Explorer developed by Design Science Inc. that renders MathML (Mathematical Markup Language) visually in web pages and makes mathematical expressions accessible to people wi…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • MathML
  • screen readers
  • print disability
  • learning disabilities
  • braille
  • STEM accessibility
  • web accessibility

• UMA: A System for Universal Mathematics Accessibility

  A. I. Karshmer, G. Gupta, E. Pontelli, K. Miesenberger, N. Ammalai, D. Gopal, M. Batusic, B. Stöger, B. Palmer, H-F. Guo (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents the Universal Mathematics Accessibility (UMA) system, a multi-institution collaboration to make mathematical content interoperable between the notation systems used by blind and sighted individuals. The fundamental problem is that…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • braille
  • visual impairment
  • STEM accessibility
  • MathML
  • Nemeth Braille
  • aural navigation
  • format conversion
  • assistive technology

• Evaluating Prosodic Cues as a Means to Disambiguate Algebraic Expressions: An Empirical Study

  Ed Gellenbeck, Andreas Stefik (2009) — Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '09)

  This paper investigates whether inserting pauses into text-to-speech renderings of mathematical expressions can help listeners distinguish between structurally different but verbally similar algebraic expressions. The core problem is that written mat…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • text-to-speech
  • screen readers
  • MathML
  • SSML
  • DAISY
  • prosody
  • learning disability
  • dyslexia

• Using Accessible Math Textbooks with Students Who Have Learning Disabilities

  Preston Lewis, Steve Noble, Neil Soiffer (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper reports results from Project SMART (Supported Math Accessibility Reading Tool), a classroom study conducted at the University of Kentucky with 48 eighth grade students who had learning disabilities. The project provided digital versions of…

  • learning disabilities
  • mathematics accessibility
  • MathML
  • DAISY
  • print disabilities
  • assistive technology
  • K-12 education
  • text-to-speech
  • digital textbooks

• Mathematics on the Web: Emerging Opportunities for Visually Impaired People

  Cristian Bernareggi, Dominique Archambault (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the @Science European thematic network surveys the state of the art in making mathematical content on the web accessible to visually impaired people, arguing that MathML adoption is the key to unlocking accessibility. The authors expl…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • blind users
  • MathML
  • braille
  • screen readers
  • STEM accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • web standards
  • education accessibility

• Doing Math: Mathematics Accessibility Issues

  Nancy Alajarmeh (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This student award paper argues that mathematics accessibility for visually impaired students must move beyond rendering (displaying and reading mathematical notation) to support "doing the math" — the active manipulation of algebraic expressions, eq…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • blind and low vision
  • STEM accessibility
  • education accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • MathML

• Improving accessibility to mathematical formulas: the Wikipedia math accessor

  Leo Ferres, Jose Fuentes Sepúlveda (2011) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents MathAcc, an assistive technology system that generates natural language descriptions in Spanish for the more than 355,000 mathematical formulas found across 26,174 Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia renders formulas as rasterised PNG i…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • blindness
  • natural language generation
  • MathML
  • Wikipedia
  • STEM accessibility
  • multilingual accessibility
  • screen readers