<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3059" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>The BBC either just recently launched or is just about to launch accessible
educational games, so obviously it can be done. Wearing my hats as a blind
computer user and media studies scholar, I recently consulted on another
accessible game proposal with educational ties, and am certain it can be done.
The issue is that accessibility has to be considered from the design stage, and
most educational software is purchased through educational companies that
consider accessibility in the final stages or as an afterthought, which makes
accessibility difficult to impossible.<BR><BR>Here is the article which
discusses the BBC accessible educational games.<BR><BR><BR>from<BR>++E-ACCESS
BULLETIN</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>- ISSUE 85, JANUARY 2007.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Technology news for people with vision impairment</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.headstar.com/eab/">http://www.headstar.com/eab/</A>
).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sticky By Name, Sticky By Nature</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>by Mel Poluck.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Audio and other accessible games for the blind have been around for</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>some time and many have a loyal following. But although they could</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>provide the ideal medium to engage children while learning, they are</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>rarely used in the classroom.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Very soon that may be set to change however, with the launch of BBC</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jam's new accessible learning materials: a set of online, fun and</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>compelling games for learning National Curriculum topics, some of</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>which were showcased for the first time last week at BETT, the</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>world's largest conference on educational technology.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sonic Science, to name one of these resources, aimed at vision</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>impaired and sighted children of around seven years old, is a game</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>using graphics and speech output for learning about Physics,
providing</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>teachers and pupils with a lesson about pressure. Using stereo sound</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>and the directional keys - and peppered with puns perhaps only</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>children could appreciate - the player, in the form of protagonist
Harris</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hotle must 'push' a cart by holding down the 'up' key for the correct</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>amount of time before releasing to hit another cart at just the right</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>speed so as not to cause a nasty accident. A talking power meter
speaks</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>the results to players.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Usually people create resources then try to make it accessible.
We're</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>trying to work out something that will work for a lot more children,"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jonathan Hassell told delegates at BETT.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But this development phase hasn't always been easy, particularly as
far</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>as Maths and Science-themed games are concerned. "How do you</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>visualise an abstract concept? That was the challenge," said Hassell.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One aspect of the project Hassell and his team have found
particularly</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>tough was creating literacy materials for vision impaired pupils he
said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"It's different for them - they always have to have someone to give</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>them feedback." Despite this daunting challenge, the team has devised</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>'Benjamin's House,' named after its narrator, British poet Benjamin</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Zephaniah, which lets blind children develop Braille reading and</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>writing skills as they explore Zephaniah's virtual house.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Using his vivid poems, he introduces us to rooms and objects in his</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>home including the hoover, a spider and even well-known literary</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>characters such as Dr Zeus, who happens to be in the sauna at the
time.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The whole game, which was tested among schoolchildren in Surrey,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>England, is replete with sound effects, activities and stories.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We're trying to produce materials children can use on their own,"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hassell said, although notes for teachers and parents will be
available.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And these resources encourage learning outside of the classroom too
as</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>users will be able to log in from any computer and everything</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>previously created can be accessed again.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Jam team have received assistance on accessible gaming by the</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bartiméus Accessibility Foundation in the Netherlands where</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>developers have created such games as Demor</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.demor.nl/">http://www.demor.nl/</A> )</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) and 3D sound to guide</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>players around a large physical area in which the game takes place.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Throughout Jam's development, learners with various disabilities have</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>been considered, including hearing impaired pupils who will soon have</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>access to a literacy game whose animated characters use British Sign</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Language. "We can do something a lot of companies are afraid to do -</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>take into account children with all kinds of needs," Hassell told</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>delegates.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>All materials will be available for free, since the entire project
was</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>funded by BBC licence-payers, although the downside of this is that</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>materials will not be available for users beyond the UK, although</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hassell said this could change in future. "People in other countries</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>who've seen what we've done are desperate for this," he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We're re-imagining everything that happens in computer games," said</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hassell. "We're re-inventing computer games for people that may have</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>never used them before."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>NOTE: BBC Jam's accessible games for learning go live in March.<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=stacylee@ksu.edu href="mailto:stacylee@ksu.edu">Stacy L. Smith</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=athen@athenpro.org
href="mailto:athen@athenpro.org">athen@athenpro.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 26, 2007 10:21
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Athen] Accessible games and
simulations</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Listers -<BR><BR>I received this email from a co-worker, and I
figured you can answer it<BR>better than me. Any
thoughts?<BR><BR>***<BR><BR>I'm doing research for a whitepaper on
simulatioins and<BR>games in eLearning...and came across an article by Kieran
Pitts<BR>and Andrew Ashwin titled "Online games and simulations as aids<BR>to
learning ethos, challenges and evaluation." Here, they talk<BR>about how
educators have a harder time making simulatiions and<BR>games
accessible....and cite SENDA (2001) and the DDA<BR>(1995)....which may well be
something in the UK... (The<BR>University of Bristol published
"interact" in Oct. 05, Issue 31,<BR>pp. 12 - 13). Anyway, I wonder if
you had any information on<BR>the accessibility piece as that seems like
something we may have<BR>to consider if we head towards this at some
point. This may be<BR>years down the line...<BR><BR>Any help would be
appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Stacy<BR><BR>Stacy Smith<BR>Adaptive Technology
Specialist<BR>Disability Support Services<BR>202 Holton Hall<BR>Kansas State
University<BR>Manhattan, KS 66506<BR>Phone:
785-532-6441<BR>FAX: 785-532-6457<BR>Email: <A
href="mailto:stacylee@ksu.edu">stacylee@ksu.edu</A><BR><BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>This
information is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient<BR>or an
agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you<BR>are
hereby notified that you have received this document in error and<BR>that any
review, dissemination, copying, or the taking of any action<BR>based on the
contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If<BR>you have
received this communication in error, please notify us<BR>immediately by
e-mail, and delete the original
message.<BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Athen
mailing list<BR><A
href="mailto:Athen@athenpro.org">Athen@athenpro.org</A><BR><A
href="http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org">http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org</A></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>