Access Craft!
Educational Game on Accessibility
Aligned with Computer Science Teachers Association standard 2-IC-21, “Discuss issues of bias and accessibility in the design of existing technologies”, I co-designed and co-developed a creative game for 6th-8th graders. The objective of the game is for groups of students to craft an app based on their allocated user’s interests, and adapt it when given information on their accessibility needs.
Sprint 1: Interview client (STEM teacher) to evaluate needs and lesson goals.
What are the demographics like in our target audience?
What approaches has this teacher taken in the past that haven’t worked with their students?
What prior computer science knowledge are students coming in with?
What successful methods has the teacher used to evaluate student understanding?
Sprint 2: Brainstorming learning outcomes, develop first prototype, and play-test.
What specific knowledge from the CSTA standard should students gain?
How can we use simple materials to turn our game concept into something tangible and meaningful?
What specific emotions, language, and behaviors did users express during play-testing?
Were users thinking about accessibility throughout the game, or were they distracted by other game mechanics?
Sprint 3: Defining learning outcomes, refining prototype, and second play-test.
How can we expand and clarify our learning outcomes?
Based on play-test feedback, what supporting resources can we develop to improve the user flow throughout the game?
Are the changes we made after sprint 2 evidently improving the user’s experience and understanding of the topic?
Sprint 4: Finalize learning outcomes and relate them to: game mechanics, user actions, and user experience.
How can we combine physical prototypes and resource sheets into a cohesive and digital lesson plan unit?
How can we demonstrate to our client that our learning outcomes are being met as the user engages with particular game mechanics and actions?