Presenters
Nicholas McNab, Harvard Assistive Technology Center, MA, USA.
Abstract
Mathematical notation is central to STEM teaching, yet once compiled into a PDF it is often unreadable to the assistive technology many students depend on. Accessibility is not a single target: a screen-reader user, a text-to-speech user with dyslexia or ADHD, and a student reading embossed braille each need something different.
One route is for faculty to convert the LaTeX source directly into other, more accessible formats, rather than remediating the compiled PDF afterward. While conversion tools have existed for years, they can falter on real course documents. Despite recent gains in the accessibility of LaTeX-generated PDFs, converting to these other formats remains the most dependable path for now.
What is needed is not a new all-in-one converter, but a support layer around a proven core, so faculty apply their teaching expertise rather than become accessibility engineers.
This talk describes one attempt to build that layer around Pandoc: working with faculty, catching problems before conversion, and producing tuned formats-HTML with MathML, DOCX, EPUB, and braille-from one source. The aim is content every student can read, navigate, and actively work with, including those who take STEM courses without intending to pursue it.
Presenter Biography
Nicholas McNab, Assistive Technology Coordinator · Harvard Assistive Technology Center
Nicholas McNab has 18 years of experience in the Harvard Assistive Technology Center supporting students and faculty across the university. He holds an Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For the past two years his work has focused on the long-term challenges of STEM accessibility, particularly in mathematics, where he develops tools and workflows for converting LaTeX-based course materials into accessible formats.