Using this course with a screen reader

What this accessible version is

This is a parallel copy of the full FW 536 course site, rebuilt for screen-reader use. Compared with the standard site it has:

• A single-column reading order, so what you hear matches the page order.
• A "Skip to main content" link as the first item on every page.
• Proper headings, landmarks, and lists for fast navigation.
• Math exposed as MathML, so your screen reader can speak and explore every equation.
• Lecture slides converted to text (the original PowerPoint files are hard to navigate by ear).
• High-contrast styling and text that scales with your browser font setting, for anyone using magnification as well.

All content — labs, problem sets, answer keys, plain-language summaries, R Markdown templates, datasets, and exams — is the same as the standard site.

How every page is laid out

Every page follows the same order, so you can build a habit:

1. Skip link — press Enter on "Skip to main content" to jump past navigation.
2. Accessibility bar — a link back to this guide and to the course home page.
3. Navigation region labeled "On this page and related documents" — a list of the sections on the current page plus links to the other documents for that day.
4. Main content — one top-level heading (Heading level 1) naming the page, then Heading level 2 for each major section.
5. Footer — course identification.

There is exactly one Heading level 1 per page (the page title), so jumping to "first heading" always lands you on the page topic.

Screen-reader tips

VoiceOver (macOS / iOS)

• Open the rotor with VO + U, then arrow to "Landmarks" to jump between the navigation region, main content, and footer.
• Use the rotor "Headings" list to jump between sections.
• Navigate by heading with VO + Command + H.
• Math is read automatically; see "Reading the math" below for exploring an equation piece by piece.

NVDA (Windows)

• Press H to move to the next heading, 1–6 for a specific heading level.
• Press D to move between landmarks (navigation, main, footer).
• Press K to move between links, L for lists, T for tables.
• NVDA reads MathML directly; with the MathCAT or MathPlayer add-on you can also explore subexpressions.

JAWS (Windows)

• H for next heading, R for next region/landmark, T for next table.
• JAWS reads MathML and supports equation exploration.

Reading the math

Every equation is rendered by MathJax with assistive MathML turned on. That means a hidden, screen-reader-native MathML version of each equation sits alongside the visual one, so your screen reader speaks the math correctly rather than reading raw symbols.

Here is a sample equation so you can test your setup — it is Bayes' rule:

To explore an equation piece by piece:

• Move focus onto the equation (it is focusable). Your screen reader will announce the whole expression.
• The MathJax Explorer is enabled: with the equation focused, use the arrow keys to walk into and out of subexpressions (for example, into just the numerator or just the denominator). Press Down to go deeper, Up to come back out, Left/Right to move between sibling parts.
• Right-click (or use the application/menu key) on an equation to open the MathJax menu, where you can change speech verbosity or copy the equation as LaTeX or MathML.

If math is read as a string of disconnected symbols, make sure JavaScript is enabled and the page has finished loading; the MathML is added after MathJax runs.

Answers, tabs, and tables

Reveal-able answers

Worked answers in the practice labs are inside expand/collapse controls. Your screen reader announces them as "collapsed" buttons or a disclosure triangle; press Enter or Space to expand and read the answer. Each lab also has "Expand all" / "Hide all" buttons near the bottom.

Tabbed content

A few pages group related material in tabs (for example, the five continuous distributions on Day 2). Tabs are a standard ARIA tablist: Tab to reach the tab strip, then use Left/Right arrows to move between tabs; the matching panel updates automatically.

Tables

All tables have proper column headers, announced as you move across each row. Use your screen reader's table navigation (for example, NVDA: Ctrl + Alt + arrows) to move cell by cell and hear the column heading for each value.

Lecture notes

The lecture PowerPoint files are difficult to navigate by ear, so each lecture has an accessible lecture-notes page instead: one Heading level 2 per slide, with the slide's text as paragraphs, lists, and tables, plus any speaker notes inside an expandable "Speaker notes" control.

Many slides contain figures — plots, diagrams, R output, or equations shown as images. Every one of these has a text description in its caption, so your screen reader will read what the figure shows as you move through the notes. Two images in the Day 2 afternoon deck could not be extracted and are labelled only "Image"; ask the instructor if you need those.

For the concepts behind each lecture, the plain-language summary and the lab for that session are fully text-based and are often the best place to start.

Doing and submitting the work

Assignments are submitted as R Markdown knitted to HTML, uploaded to Canvas. R Markdown is plain text and works well with a screen reader. Each session has a hand-in template tailored to the problem set you choose.

• Write answers as text and code in the template, then knit to HTML.
• The R Markdown tutorial (linked from the course home page) walks through install, knit, and adding images.
• Where a problem says to "plot and inspect," you may instead report and interpret the numeric summaries (estimates, standard errors, intervals, fitted values at chosen points). A described numeric result is accepted in place of reading a plot.
• If a problem expects a photo of hand-written derivation, you may type the derivation instead (for example, using LaTeX math inside the R Markdown), which also makes your own submission accessible.

Accommodations summary

Getting help

If any page, equation, table, or lecture figure is not usable with your screen reader, tell the instructor so it can be fixed promptly. Please report the page name and the section heading so it can be found quickly.

Return to the course home page.