Access by Blind Students and Professionals to Mainstream Math and Science

Abstract

The Oregon State University Science Access Project has developed computer technologies providing access to math and science information for people with print disabilities. The Accessible Graphing Calculator (AGC) is a Windows application that can display graphs through an audio tone plot. The Tiger Tactile Graphics and Braille Embosser is a true WYSIWYG Windows “printer for the blind” that embosses graphics as variable height gray-scale images and can emboss text as braille. The WinTriangle self-voicing RTF scientific word processor is under development but already used to create information readable by blind people and sighted scientists. The new Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) web graphics language is ideal for creating extremely accessible graphics of great complexity. These are viewed by blind people with the Accessible SVG Viewer and a tactile copy. The Tiger, WinTriangle, and the ASVG Viewer are becoming user interfaces to HTML/mathML,SVG — a monumental breakthrough to truly equal access.