Scenario
Higher Education institutions, along with all other public sector organisations, have a legal obligation under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 to take significant steps to ensure the accessibility of all digital content. In the field of Science, and Mathematics in particular, this presents a challenge. Much online learning content currently available to students is generated through LaTeX and often published into Learn Ultra in the form of PDF documents which are notoriously inaccessible, a finding that was common when the Science DLD team reviewed many Level 1 Learn Ultra modules in 2023.
Solution
Following a DCAD-led exploratory study in 2023, Chirun (a LaTeX-to-HTML conversion tool produced by Newcastle University) was identified as the best option available to help us address this issue. Chirun can be integrated within Learn Ultra through an LTI connection, allowing staff to convert their LaTeX materials into accessible HTML alongside their other course materials.
This is not always a straightforward process, however, so the Science DLD team are working with staff in DCAD on a proposed project, funded by some Enhanced Accessibility Grant money within the university, to pilot the conversion of LaTeX output content using Chirun.
Student interns will run much of the testing, with problems documented en route. The ultimate aim is not only to convert large swathes of currently inaccessible PDF content into accessible HTML, but of course to provide a longer term solution to the issue. Ensuring that the teething problems with the use of Chirun are resolved and local knowledge and that expertise is increased through this project will help the Science DLD team better support the wider and more sustainable rollout of Chirun in future. Many academic staff might not persist with the process of inital fault finding and fixing as it is time consuming, so the project hopes to circumvent this and provide a supported route to creating accessible learning materials for all disciplines using equations or other complex mathematical notation.
Our Collaboration and Development Process
The project proposes to work collaboratively with Newcastle University, where the originators of the open-source Chirun tool are based, and to reach out to each department in the Faculty of Science here at Durham to identify modules with LaTeX-based content that can be converted to accessible format using Chirun. The lack of provision for this is a known issue, so there will be plenty of examples, allowing us to work with every department in the Faculty on this project. This will not only widen its scope, but it will also place local experts in each department who will then be in a position to disseminate best practice regarding creation of accessible materials using Chirun.
We will work with students, not only in the form of the interns running much of the testing and processing through the Chirun tool, but also by asking student end users to evaluate the Chirun-based output when it is created. This consultation will take place through feedback forums and focus groups. We will also create resource videos for the student community, explaining about the purpose of the Chirun tool, about any changes in appearance of their learning materials in Blackboard, about how to access the newly created HTML content and about how to use the functionality in Chirun for increased accessibility.
Next Steps
The potential impact of this project is huge, with a route to providing fully accessible content in many areas that struggle at the moment to meet the legal requirements. Among the anticpated impacts of the project are:
- Online learning content in many modules across numerous departments rendered fully accessible to students.
- Increase in expertise in using Chirun at Durham University, including the creation of local resources for staff.
- Publication of the project’s work (both internally and externally) via articles in Durham University’s own Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Higher Education journal, presentations at the monthly Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Forums and the annual Learning and Teaching Conference (September) and potential proposal to present at the Association for Learning Technology Conference (ALT-C) or submit an article to the ALT Journal Research in Learning Technology.
Contact
For more details on this project, please contact the Science Digital Education team.