13 June 2019

Braille maths and tactile diagrams – making maths accessible

“We are delighted with the work carried out by A2i on behalf of our student. It’s highly specialised work, requiring knowledge of both alternative formats and mathematics to a high level. We work with them to provide a timetable for materials to be produced across the year, and they tailor the documents to meet the individual needs of the student. The service they provide is fantastic.”

Have you got someone starting a Maths course and they’re visually impaired? What about Biology, Chemistry or Engineering courses too – they all use maths and equations.

Braille maths

As you might imagine, Maths documents can be quite tricky to transcribe to Braille, but look no further – A2i’s expert team can produce Braille Maths for you.

Specialist Braille translation software recognises some of the more basic maths symbols like + and =, but other symbols like minus and superscripts have to be adapted by a transcription professional.

And once you move on to a more complex degree Maths with calculus, geometry, and matrices, for instance, it is vital to have a high-level understanding of the Maths initially and also Braille, in order to adapt it correctly for Braille reading Mathematicians.

Tactile diagrams

As we all know, Maths isn’t always just text. It’s more complicated than that (as if degree-level Maths wasn’t hard enough already!). There are often graphs and diagrams explaining certain concepts or data. And diagrams might be either computer-generated, or hand-drawn for lectures.

But don’t worry, A2i can help with all of this.

We have years of experience transcribing Maths notation and our dedicated Braille Maths transcribers have degrees in either Maths or engineering, plus extensive knowledge of Braille so they help with any queries you, or your student, may have.

We also produce tactile diagrams and transcribe graphs, 3D representations, geometry, and other images. Tactile diagrams translate a visual image into a tactile one; they use raised surfaces so blind and visually impaired people can feel them. Our tactile diagrams include Braille for the text and labels around the diagrams too, where needed.

What do you need?

But, before you start – remember to check if your student reads Braille – not all blind or visually impaired people do. If your student would rather have their Maths available in an accessible electronic format then our E-text Maths might be better for them.

E-text Maths documents are professionally transcribed so they can be accessed on the computer using specialist read-aloud software.

Read our Customer Case Study for Liverpool Hope University to find out more about our E-text Maths service.

Get in touch

Please just get in touch if you’d like a quote or more information about any of our services:

Tel: 01179 44 00 44
Email: info@a2i.co.uk
Twitter: @A2iTranscribes