SeGA Guidance – Document Accessibility / Accessible Maths and other Symbolic Languages

Martyn Cooper (IET)martyn.cooper@open.ac.uk

Rationale for SeGA Guidance

• To support Module Teams/LTS in producing accessible learning resources

• To support Faculty Accessibility Specialists in their role

• To provide up to date guidance given the external environment and OU context

• To promote consistency for disabled students in their interaction with learning resources

Document Accessibility • Documents delivered

over the web• Word/PDF/XML (oXygen)• What can authors do to

promote accessibility in their documents?

• Electronic documents have inherent accessibility advantages for some

• Key type of module resource

Key Guidance – Document Accessibility

• Images– Alt texts– Scalable

• Tables– Row/Column Titles– Text in Cells

• Links– Screenreaders give Lists of

Links– Make link labels meaningful

(e.g. avoid “click here”)

• Proper Use of Headings– <Title>/<H1>/<H2>/ …

• Fonts– Size/Style (sans serif) – Line Spacing (minimum 1.5

lines)

• Technical Format– Word (very accessible)– PDF (handle with care)– Use Structured Content

(oXygen)

• Justify (left or right)

Maths and other Symbolic Languages

• Maths, Music Notation, Chemistry Equations, Computer Science Notation, …

• Distinct from text in that 2D position of symbols significant

• Notation aids in language comprehension and manipulation

• Key learning objective for the respective disiplines

Key Guidance – Symbolic Languages

• Text alternatives– Often only appropriate for simple

expressions

• Mark-up Languages– MathML– ChemML– Not Supported by browsers

• Chuncking– Way to deal with complex

expressions

• Need to teach the language in its accessible form– Graduateness– Often not currently done

• Mathematicians often use LaTeX– Provide access to LaTeX

expression– Cut and paste into documents,

forums and e-mails

• Issue of what approach to use at what level of study– Text alternatives may be ok for

Level 1 modules but not Level 3

• Alternative representations– E.g. graphs of maths

expressions (with alt texts)

Accessible Music• Music Braille

• Not many users

• MIDI Code

The Challenges of Producing SeGA Guidance

• The audience– Want brief “how to guidance”– But the issues are often complex

• Changing external context– E.g. browser developments (IE no longer supports MathsML)

• Dependency on OU context– E.g. VLE tools

• Issues at teaching and learning level not just the language level

• Assessment consistent with teaching– Alt txts can give answer away

Discussion and Questions