What a viewer gets
- One idea at a time, in the order the explanation needs, because a reveal waits for its word.
- Equations typeset on the page from a
data-texattribute, drawn as the voice says them and never spelled out as symbols. - A sentence that appears word by word under the voice, through
data-text="spoken", when the wording itself is the point. - Chapters a learner can jump between, a transcript page to read afterwards, and captions for a viewer who needs them.
What the author writes
KaTeX ships inside the wheel, so an equation needs no download and no content delivery network. A
diagram is plain HTML and CSS with
data-cue and data-reveal attributes on the parts that appear,
and data-describe gives each of those parts one sentence that the transcript prints.
The workflow
1
Start a lesson project
decktalk init --example lesson writes a worked lesson with an equation, which is the fastest
way to see the shape of one.2
Write the explanation, then the diagram
Say the thing, then draw the thing. Every reveal needs a word in
script.md that names it,
which is what Writing for the ear is about.3
Build it without voice
decktalk build --no-voice paces the whole lesson with placeholder narration, so the timing is
settled before a credit is spent.4
Check every landing
decktalk verify reports each reveal that came late, early or not at all, and
decktalk screenshots writes a PNG per slide so the text contrast and the crowding can be read.5
Reteach one section
A better sentence is an edit and
decktalk build --only 2. The rest of the lesson keeps its
takes.