Chirun is a new tool that we’re trialling to help enhance the way LaTeX based learning materials are presented online. This is particularly beneficial to content containing equations. Chirun converts LaTeX based source files into web pages, with some added functionality that can hopefully make these materials more accessible for all students.
Please note that as of November 2024, Chirun is in the early release stages so may not yet be used in your modules. It is also not the only tool that can be used for making LaTeX based content accessible. Some staff have found other solutions for making their materials accessible.
How do I know if my course uses Chirun?
The link to the item in your Blackboard Course will include the Chirun logo, represented by the italicised X from the Greek alphabet. Please note that in some Blackboard Courses staff may use Chirun but not integrated in this new way. It may simply be a link to a web page built using Chirun.
Useful features in Chirun
Once you open a link to a Chirun page, you may notice there’s a Settings cog, a link to a PDF version of the LaTeX notes and also a Table of Contents. These features are all included to give you some control and choice over how you interact with LaTeX based learning materials. More on this below.
As the document is presented as a web page, you will also notice that the text can be selected, copied, magnified, and adapts to your browser width. All of these features make the content more flexible and accessible to whoever is using them.
Settings Cog
Selecting the settings cog opens up multiple options for controlling how the web page is displayed. You have options to adjust the the text size, spacing, and font. For the web page colours, you can change the colour scheme, sepia filter, and hues, as well as inverting images for dark mode. You may want to have a play around with these options and see what works best for you. You can always use the Reset to defaults option to return to the standard setup.
Download as PDF
While many people benefit from the flexibility of interacting with the materials in HTML format, you may also find it beneficial to download a copy of the lecture notes in PDF format. This may be particularly useful if you like to annotate lecture notes for instance. A link to Download PDF is available should you require.
Table of Contents
The Table of Contents simple allows you to navigate to sections of the notes more easily. You may find this particularly useful for longer lecture notes.
Interacting with equations
Chirun uses a Javascript add-in called MathJax to give you some additional features that can help you interact with equations. Open the context menu using your preferred method e.g. A right-click, long-press, or chosen screen reader command. Some notable features include:
- Show Math As – Allows you to access the equation in TeX or MathML format. The Copy to Clipboard option allows you to paste the equations into another document.
- Collapsible Math – Allows you to break long expressions down into sub-expressions.
- Accessibility – This opens up further options when once activated allows you control to things such as language, braille output, and setting rules for specific applications such as ChromeVox, Clearspeak and Mathspeak.
Want to know more?
The following list of website links, contain further information about Chirun and MathJax.
If you have any specific questions about Chirun, please contact [email protected].
