11

Expanding Audio Access to Expanding Audio Access to Mathematics Expressions by Mathematics Expressions by

Students with Visual Impairments Students with Visual Impairments via MathMLvia MathML

2012 GMI Crossover Symposium on Technology for the Blind and Visually

Impaired

Hosted by the Universityof Colorado at Colorado Springs

May 12, 2012

22

Presented byPresented bySusan A. Osterhaus Susan A. Osterhaus

Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Outreach Programs1100 West 45th Street

Austin, TX 78756 U.S.A.susanosterhaus@tsbvi.edu

www.tsbvi.edu/math

33

AgendaAgenda

• What is MathML?• Goal of the Project• Feedback Survey 1• Student Selection• Criteria for Selecting Math Expressions• Resources and Acknowledgements• Show and Tell of MathType• Questions

What is MathML?What is MathML?

Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) is an application of XML for describing mathematical notations and capturing both its structure and content. It aims at integrating mathematical formulae into World Wide Web pages and other documents. It is a recommendation of the W3C math working group. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4

5

MathML = Math AccessibilityMathML = Math Accessibility

Math Expressions written in MathML can be read by:

•DAISY (www.daisy.org)

•MathPlayer (www.designscience.com)

•ReadHear (www.ghbraille.com)

Goal of the ProjectGoal of the Project

Developing Improved Tools for Making Mathematics Accessible to Students with Visual Impairments Who Use Computerized Speech

6

Feedback Survey 1Feedback Survey 1

Evaluate three different ways (called “speech styles”) in which a computer using the MathPlayer software can speak math, and lead to the development of enhanced speech that will be included with the free MathPlayer software.♦ MathSpeak♦ Simple Speech♦ ClearSpeak

7

Student SelectionStudent Selection

• Visual Impairment♦ Blind or♦ Low Vision

• Currently Taking Algebra 1, Algebra 2, or some other math class for which Algebra 1 is a prerequisite.

8

Criteria for Selecting Math Criteria for Selecting Math ExpressionsExpressions

• Appropriate level (high school algebra)

• Typical of expressions found in high school algebra curricula.

• Of sufficient complexity to offer areas of potential ambiguity that a successful speech style should resolve for the listener; that is, not be so simple that students would instantly understand them, no matter how they were spoken.

9

Criteria for Selecting Math Criteria for Selecting Math Expressions (cont.)Expressions (cont.)

• Uses structures that would be understood by a sighted student who is currently taking the second half of an Algebra 1 class.

• Of sufficient simplicity that excessive computation is not required in order to answer the math questions posed about the statement.

• Speaks significantly differently in at least two of the three speech styles being tested (ClearSpeak (the style we are developing) vs. the existing MathSpeak and Simple Speech styles).

10

Criteria for Selecting Math Criteria for Selecting Math Expressions (cont.)Expressions (cont.)

• Lends itself to math questions that will be diagnostic of aspects in which the speech style succeeds or fails to make a math expression clear, as opposed to those that assess whether the student can do the mathematics required to work with the expression. For example, if a speech style makes the start or end of a fraction clear, a student is more likely to correctly identify the denominator of the fraction than if the style fails to make those boundaries clear.

11

Lois Frankel,Ph.D., Project DirectorLois Frankel,Ph.D., Project Director

• Expanding Audio Access to Mathematics Expanding Audio Access to Mathematics Expressions by Students with Visual Impairments Expressions by Students with Visual Impairments via MathMLvia MathML

• Email: lfrankel@ETS.ORG Email: lfrankel@ETS.ORG • Mail:

Assessment Development

Educational Testing ServiceRosedale and Carter RoadsMS 14-N Room N157  Princeton, NJ 08541

12

Future PresentationsFuture Presentations

• Lois Frankel and Susan Osterhaus, Making a Computer Speak Math However you Want, AER International Conference 2012, July 18-22, Bellevue, Washington.

• Beth Brownstein and Susan Osterhaus, Making a Computer Speak Math Like a Teacher Would, 2013 NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition, April 17-20, Denver, Colorado. 

13

AcknowledgementAcknowledgement

"The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R324A110355 to the Educational Testing Service. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education."

14