[Athen] Converting Hand-Written Documents to an Accessible Format

[Vanessa M Ayala via athen-list]

Hello,

I've been really impressed with the tool Mathpix: https://mathpix.com/handwriting-recognition. It's a STEM focused tool, and uses LaTex code, but I picked it up quickly without prior knowledge. It's not perfect, but it's much better than anything else I've tried. I sometimes use it on stubborn PDFs when I can't get a book to scan, and the OCR outmatches Acrobat every time.

Kind regards,
Vanessa

Vanessa Ayala (she/her)
Digital Accessibility Center Manager | The University of Texas at Austin |  Enterprise Technology



-----Original Message-----
From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman22.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of David Andrews via athen-list
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 6:38 AM
To: Megan E Hall <MEHall at francis.edu>; Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>; athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Athen] Converting Hand-Written Documents to an Accessible Format

I could be remembering wrong, but I think Seeing AI from Microsoft can do this.

However, I think you will find that it is a problematic process at best.  I am sure it will get better with AI, but .....

Dave






>Hello,

>

>A colleague and I have been searching and testing various technology

>tools that would convert a hand-written document to an accessible file

>format. So far, we have found several tools that will use OCR in the

>conversion process, but it seems it still recognizes the handwriting as

>an image. This is also happening in my Adobe Acrobat Pro account; it

>labels them as "figures."

>

>Does anyone have any recommendations for a tool that can do this

>correctly? We are coming up short.

>

>We would also appreciate some insight into how other institutions are

>handling this. Tips, best practices, etc. are welcome.

>

>Thank you in advance,

>

>Megan Hall

>Senior Instructional Designer

>Saint Francis University | Center for Excellence in Teaching and

>Learning

>814.472.3933 | Library Room 110A

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