Southern New Hampshire University

Using a Screen Reader with Desmos and Equatio

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Desmos and Equatio are two great tools to help work on math problems and solve equations. Since the Equatio tool uses the Desmos interface, both tools have Desmos' accessibility support included.

Included with Desmos is a robust set of keyboard shortcuts, font-size settings for low vision users, sufficient color contrast, screen reader and Braille access to the equation editor, and accessible graphs for fully blind students via audio and tactile output.

The Desmos tools are regularly tested with the most recent editions of ChromeVox, JAWS For Windows, Narrator, NVDA, Talkback, and VoiceOver in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

Please watch this captioned YouTube video for a quick overview on Accessibility Features in the Desmos Graphing Calculator.

Setting up Windows screen readers with Desmos

Please go to the following Desmos support articles to see best practices for using JAWS, NVDA, and Microsoft Narrator screen readers with Desmos.

Setting up Mac screen readers with Desmos

Please go to the Mac Instructions article from Desmos to see best practices for using Mac VoiceOver screen readers with Desmos.

Using the calculators

The Desmos equation editor is powered by a technology called MathQuill. You can type things like y=2x^2, 2/3x-4y=7, and sin(x). You can also enter evaluable expressions, like 2^3 or 4+5, and the calculator will output the answer. When writing in MathQuill, the TAB key moves out of a block. In a fraction, the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys move between the numerator and denominator. The HOME and END keys move to the beginning and end of the current block, and the CTRL + HOME or END keyboard shortcuts move to the beginning and end of the active expression.

For further instructions on expression entry and navigation along with a list of keyboard shortcuts please visit the following article from Desmos support: Using the Calculators: Expression Entry and Navigation.

Detailed overview

Desmos offers detailed documentation on using a screen reader with their calculator and graphing tools. Please visit the following article for the latest documentation about the accessibility features: 

Desmos Accessibility Features Documentation

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