Microsoft Supports Benetech to Make Math Accessible; Advancing Equal Education for All Students

Palo Alto, California, April 7, 2014—Benetech is one of three U.S. nonprofit organizations to win Microsoft’s Solutions for Good award—which funds the development of MathML Cloud, a cloud-based app that automatically creates accurate images and image descriptions of mathematical expressions, while retaining the detailed math markup for reference. This service will provide access to math for students who have visual disabilities or learning differences, thus enabling them properly to study math concepts critical for successful Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

It’s Only About Copyright!

Which students qualify for Bookshare in the United States? This is an important question for American students with disabilities, since Bookshare is the largest online library designed to provide accessible eBooks to people who cannot read standard print. The answer: it’s only about copyright.

Benetech Labs Brainstorm

We kicked off 2014 in Benetech Labs by convening our inaugural Labs brainstorm meeting. It was a delight to bring together a great group of leaders from the technology, philanthropy, social innovation and education sectors—for a deep-dive on two of our pipeline projects. The first is a clean water project, in collaboration with Avina, a Latin American foundation that advances sustainable development in the region. The second Labs pipeline project that we examined was 3D print-on-demand for students.

Conferences and Events Highlights: February 2014 – Part 3

In Part 3 of this blog series, we highlight a report by our CEO, Jim Fruchterman, from Geneva, Switzerland on the latest developments regarding the Marrakesh Treaty to bring accessible books to people with disabilities around the world. Now that sixty-odd countries have signed the Marrakesh Treaty, the emphasis has switched to implementing it. Earlier this month, Jim flew to WIPO headquarters in Geneva to participate in a series of meetings with stakeholder groups working to address the need to change laws and get more accessible books flowing.

Conferences and Events Highlights: February 2014 – Part 2

From supporting human rights groups to advancing math accessibility, our staff is busy this month! Our VP of Engineering Gerardo Capiel spoke on a panel discussing accessibility standards at the EDUPUB2 Workshop on Digital Publishing for Education. Our Human Rights team will be heading at the end of the month to the Lesbians Who Tech Summit in San Francisco.