# Handwriting recognition, LaTex and more!

December 2014 – Note that MyScript now has apps for iPad and Android tablets.

Web Equation by Vision Objects

A consistently popular post on this blog is that on online whiteboards. If I want to communicate mathematics online to answer a student query for example I find it quicker to use a graphics tablet and an online whiteboard.

I do keep an eye on various LaTex generators, one that has come to my attention is Web Equation; what I like about this is that handwriting is turned into LaTex (only one line at a time). The handwriting recognition is impressive and I found it easy using my graphics tablet to enter expressions accurately; see the quadratic formula below for example.

Web Equation by Vision Objects

So you scribble an expression and it get turned into LaTex for you – it works:

$x^{2}+y^{2}=25$

$\dfrac {-b\pm \sqrt {b^{2}-4ac}} {2a}$

But I must confess I was just as excited to note that now you can immediately see a graph where appropriate, powered by my favourite Desmos graphing calculator and by the option to ‘Compute with WolframAlpha’! (see above image).

..and finally if you wish to be distracted by some more fun applications there are some other great demonstrations from MyScript. Try Web Shape for example and turn your sketches into vectorized shapes. This should work well on the interactive whiteboard.

## 4 comments on “Handwriting recognition, LaTex and more!”

1. Bob Wellham

I use technology extensively …. but like many only what I know (obviously limited!!!). I think I need to use a graphics tablet as you suggest – I think I would find my explanations much more fluent using one. But what do I use ….. what is the best technology? which tablet? are there preferences or are they all about the same?
Hope you can help me.

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• For my personal everyday use so I can use the tablet for handwriting, I have a Wacom Bamboo and that certainly works for me; you do need a bit of time up front to practise. I also appreciate the tablet when doing a lot of work on spreadsheets for example – I find the pen has a more natural feel as well as being more precise. I can’t really compare any other tablets as Wacom is all I have used.

Look at this for example – I just couldn’t do that with a mouse!

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