When there are mathematical formula to be presented on a VLE page what are the options available?
You could upload an image of the equation with appropriate alternative text description. However, this is not ideal. So what other options are there for Moodle users?
MathJax
Moodle has a MathJax filter. MathJax is a JavaScript display engine for mathematics that works in all browsers according to the MathJax website. You can read more about Moodle MathJax Documentation in Moodle Docs.
MathJax is enabled by default. However, should there be a need to change settings the site administration can be done through Administration > Site administration > Plugins > Filters > Manage filters.
How can you insert a formula with MathJax?
If you are using TinyMCE text editor there may be some settings that you have to change please refer to the Moodle MathJax Documentation. You can check and change your text editor preference by going to preferences.
From Preferences menu select Editor preferences.
Now you can select which text editor you want to work with from the drop-down list.
- Atto HTML editor
- TinyMCE HTML editor
- Plain text area
Because there was the caution about TinyMCE editor I use Atto HTML editor.
In your Atto HTML editor to type a formula:
- Click on the Show/hide advanced buttons
- Go to Equation editor
Equation editor requires a bit of getting used to. It has four tabs: Operators, Arrows, Greek symbols and Advance. Because I was entering fractions I used the Advanced tab mostly.
Let me show you an example of entering a half. I select a divided by b plus c and then replace the values of a and b plus c with 1 and 2 respectively to get half.
When you insert this to the web page it shows as \( \frac{1}{2} \) but it will be displayed as half by the clever MathJax filter.
If you want to display a more complex formula, you can use the building blocks in the Advanced tab to build this. Once you have created quite a few formula you will even be able to type in the formula without using the equation editor!
In formula we need superscripts and subscripts. Use underscore to create subscript and ^ for superscript.
In this video you can see how a MathJax formula will be read out to a screen reader user.
I am a Learning Technology Researcher and the Chair of the Online Learning Research Centre at the University College of Estate Management. My principle research interests lie in the area of social implications of information and communication technologies, especially eLearning.