Phy1000: introduction to accessible physics concepts  (Page 4/4)

In writing these modules, I will need a way to ensure that all of the text, including the text in equationsand other mathematical expressions, is compatible with those tools. One way that I hope to do that is to ensure that all of the text consists only of thecharacters on a standard QWERTY keyboard ( (External Link) ).

Restrict to QWERTY characters

One way to accomplish that goal is to write all equations and other mathematical expressions in a format that is compatible with a standard computerprogramming language that will only accept a subset of the characters on a QWERTY keyboard. I haveselected the programming language named JavaScript for this purpose. While JavaScript is not my favorite programming language, it is adequate for thispurpose and is probably the most accessible programming language for blind students.

Prior knowledge of JavaScript is not required

It will not be necessary for you to have prior knowledge of or to develop expertise in JavaScript programming to understand and work through thesemodules. One of the early modules in the collection will be a module on JavaScript programming. That module will be designed to teach you what you needto know about JavaScript programming to satisfy your needs. There will also be additional information about JavaScript programming scattered throughout themodules on an as-needed basis.

Trigonometry

While it would be advantageous for you to have prior knowledge of trigonometry, that is also not a requirement. One of the early modules in thecollection will be an introduction to trigonometry. That module will be designed to teach you what you need to know to understand and workthrough the material in the modules. There may also be additional information about trigonometry scattered throughout the modules on an as-needed basis.

Pictures and diagrams

I will be very frugal with the use of pictures and diagrams.

In those cases where a picture or a diagram is needed, I will make such pictures and diagrams as simple as possible so thata blind student can print an enlarged version and ask a sighted friend to perforate the lines using a tracing wheel. Then the student can turn the paperover and explore the perforations while reading the text.

In many cases, I will provide detailed instructions for using a graph board to create the picture or diagram.

Finally, I will provide SVG graphics files for all pictures and diagrams so that you can convert them to tactile graphics as described here .

Greek characters

I will not use any Greek characters in the modules. In those cases where the use of a Greek character is unavoidable or highly desirable, I will spell outthe name of the character using QWERTY characters.

Resources

I will publish a module containing consolidated links to resources on my Connexions web page and will update and add to the list as the modulesin this collection are published.

Miscellaneous

This section contains a variety of miscellaneous information.

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