LATEX at the University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg - Experiences at the Insitute for Visually Impaired Students

This paper deals with our approach to use LATEX as a mathematical notation for our visually impaired students of computer science at our university. The way we use LATEX, how it is taught to the students, possibilities and limitations will be discussed.

Introduction

The University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg was founded 30 years ago with a main emphasize on technical disciplines. In 1998 Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Erdmuthe Meyer zu Bexten established the center for visually impaired students. Among our 30 visually impaired students there are about 20 students of computer science. Visually impaired persons studying nature sciences are confronted with a lot of Mathematics. In fact it is one of the greatest obstacles they have to overcome during their studies. A major part of the problem is the handling of mathematical expressions for tests or in homework and the communication with sighted persons. Visually impaired persons use Braille print, i. e. raised dots embossed by a special printer or typewriter, for writings. However, conversion of mathematical terms into Braille and handling this terms is not easy.