Eyes-free interfaces for educational games

Any new technology introduced in the classroom has a potential risk of increasing the divide for students with disabilities. This impact becomes greater as the new complexity of new technologies increases. In this sense, one of the most complex technologies currently being considered are educational video games. And while the potential benefits of video games are great also pose significant challenges from an accessibility perspective. In this paper we investigate interfaces that may facilitate access to educational games for blind students. The long-term goal is to integrate these interfaces into educational game engines or authoring tools, facilitating the adaptation of educational games to avoid a future problem of digital divide. Three eyes-free interfaces have been developed: 1) a navigation system that allows the user to browse and interact with elements using arrow and action keys; 2) a sonar that helps blind users find interactive elements in the game universe with the mouse; and 3) an interface that interprets commands typed in natural language.