Abstract:

University students enrolled in engineering, architecture, physics, and mathematics programs (STEM disciplines) are frequently required to follow PowerPoint-style presentations that include extensive mathematical content, often combining complex expressions with diverse alphanumeric characters, special symbols, subscripts, nested fractions, exponents, and multi-level parentheses. For students with visual impairments and specific educational support needs, this complexity introduces an additional barrier to understanding. Despite the widespread availability of screen readers, their interpretation of advanced mathematical notation is often incomplete or inaccurate, and they require students to have prior access to the instructional material. To address these limitations and promote inclusive and equitable learning environments, we propose a novel support system that enables instructors to dynamically provide descriptive and supplementary information related to formulas through text or audio, made accessible via 2D matrix codes. The system’s originality lies in its ability to overlay complementary 2D information encoded in infrared light on top of standard slide projections, without altering the visible content, and allowing students to retrieve this information using a smartphone. Its implementation is simple and cost-effective, requiring no significant modifications to existing classroom equipment. This is achieved by exploiting near-infrared (NIR) spectral components emitted by the projector lamp, or alternatively by an auxiliary NIR laser source, in a spectral region where ambient light is attenuated. Smartphone cameras, based on silicon CMOS sensors with NIR detection capability, capture the projected 2D infrared patterns and convert the retrieved information into audible output. Although initially designed to support inclusive presentations for STEM students, the system can be easily extended to other disciplines to provide complementary or accessible instructional content.

Keywords:

Inclusive learning, Visual impairment support, Accessible STEM materials, Technology-enhanced teaching.