Accessible interactive simulations
for
science education

Taliesin L. Smith & Emily B. Moore

AERBVI, Reno, Nevada, July 27, 2018

Overview

PAP257S1
What is a PhET Sim, & how teachers use them.
What inclusive design research we doing for accessibility.
What sims have accessibility features, & where to find them.
Where to find teaching resources & other sims.
What's coming for accessibility?
Questions & discussion.

Learning objectives!

Describe 3 ways interactive science simulations are used in classrooms.
Describe 2 accessibility features the PhET project has designed, &
- how might these benefit students with visual impairments.
Find, access, & explore an accessible PhET simulation.

Experimentation

A student and teacher wearing goggles examine a blue liquid in a beaker.

Labs & demos

Sometimes not possible: lack of time or resources
May pose access & safety issues for students with disabilities

Simulations

Are more readily available
Can be used on the fly
Very flexible (e.g., explore 9 solutes rather than 1 or 2)
Do not require special equipment
Create a safe lab-like experience for experimentation

PhET Interactive Simulations

170 science & math simulations, or "sims"
50 are in HTML5
Run 100 Million+ times/year
92 languages
Flexible, exploratory learning tools
Used with a diverse age range
Free of cost & openly licensed

When using a PhET Sim

We recommend teachers

Start activities with open play
Avoid explicit instruction
Make learning objectives explicit & meaningful
Monitor & measure student learning
Reflect & refine facilitation techniques

Balloons & Static Electricity

Balloons and Static Electricity simulation

We design the sim to

Be intuitive & easy to use
Be highly interactive & dynamic
Provide real-time feedback
Connect to the real world in subtle ways
Be fun & game-like for students
Be very flexible for teachers

Designed for flexibility

No instructions
No prescribed learning path
No set curriculum level

Teachers can

Design activities based on their own learning objectives
Integrate a sim, based on learning activity
Guide & engage students in context

PhET Girl holding a beaker and looking active.

How teachers use sims

During lecture:
- planned or spontaneous demos, verify concept
Clicker questions:
- poll, challenge, evaluate
Guided inquiry:
- students drive & teachers ask open-ended prompts to gently guide
Introductory exploration:
- new or unfamiliar topics
Group or individual writing activities:
- often scaffold student exploration with worksheets

Many ways to use PhET Sims

You'll need to find out

What sim or sims a teacher will use?
How will the teacher use the sim?
What supporting materials will the teacher use?

Teacher using Build an Atom on an interactive whiteboard.

Teacher in the Philipines projecting a PhET Sim infront a class with no computer access.

What about accessibility?

Balloons and Static Electricity simulation with empty blackbox callouts pointing to all the interactive objects within the visual sim. — Until recently, inaccessible to students without vision.

Mismatch

user + black box = disability = design challenge

“One-size-fits-one” approach

= goal is flexibility

Design through diverse collaboration

= process includes diversity

Inclusive iterative design process

Image of PhET's iterative simulation design process. The design process starts with learning goals. A diverse team creates and intial design which tested and improved iteratively through research. The design is finalized and published to the PhET website.

Always a diverse team

Teacher
Content expert
Visual designer
Software developer

Now team includes

Accessibility expertise
Sonification expertise
Consultants with vision impairments & science expertise
Students with vision impairments

Created sim architecture to support

1. Alternative input (keyboard access)

2. Description:

Simple &

Dynamic

3. Sonification

Alternative input challenges

Simple interactions: Buttons, radios, checkboxes — **Simple:** Maps directly to HTML elements.

Moderate interactions: Slider and a combobox in a phet control panel. — **Moderately Complex:** Maps to HTML enhanced with ARIA.

Array of weird complex interactive sim objects, some draggable: a water faucet, a stick man, a little girl weighing 30 kg, a yellow balloon, a circuit switch, salt shaker — **Complex:** Custom approach required.

Found:

Best to align with standards-based interaction patterns, & keep custom interactions to a minimum.

Auditory description challenges

Sims are very dynamic; thus a challenge to describe
Screen reader users use their preferred technology to access content in diverse ways

Found:

Sim content must be provided in a logical, modular structure, & support all common access approaches used by screen reader users
Simple description: orientational & navigational support (headings, labels, help text)
Dynamic description: alerts describing what is happening & always up-to-date state information that is available on-demand

Sonification challenges

Multiple layers of sounds are difficult for users to decipher
Ensure sound mappings metaphors match description designs
Be careful when using volume as a meaningful sound mapping as volume can easily overwhelm
Must be able to turn it off easily

Found:

Students with & without disabilities find the sound-enhanced simulations to be useful for learning
Students with vision impairments can benefit from the additional content conveyed through sound played along with auditory descriptions

Regardless of challenge

We strive for designs that

Provide efficient navigation
Are easy & intuitive to operate
Support simulation's learning goals
Allow for collaboration with peers using the same sim

Accessible simulations

Bold focus highlights & robust interactions
Simple description for orientation & guiding
Descriptive alerts during interaction describing what is happening
Dynamic descriptions of changing state information available on-demand
Mixture of sound effects (real sounds) & mapped sounds (sonification)

Accessible Balloons and Static Electricity: keyboard access and full description. — Balloons & Static Electricity

Accessible John Travoltage prototype: keyboard access, full description, and sonification. — John Travoltage

Accessible Friction prototype: keyboard access, simple description, and sonfication, — Friction

Can you imagine...

How the accessibility features could help a teacher using a PhET sim in a diverse classroom?
How you would support a student with a vision impairment in a group activity using a PhET sim?
What kind of resources would be preferred to help teachers effectively use accessible sims with students with vision impairments?

Not all sims are accessible

Find accessible sims:

phet.colorado.edu/en/accessibility/prototypes

More sims & resources:

phet.colorado.edu

Use Search box for a specific sim, or
Look for Play with sims link
Sims are sorted by discipline, topic, grade level, & keywords
To view & download teaching resources you'll need to create an account

More sims are coming

6 phet sims coming soon with accessibility features.

Some feedback from teachers

High level findings of West Ed survey & focus groups

Need to increase awareness
Very few teachers & special education teachers surveyed know about these features
Teachers predict broader beneficial impact of features
- Majority of teachers predict a benefit for 1-20% of their students
- Number is higher among special education teachers
- After visually impaired students, English Language Learners most commonly suggested additional student population who might benefit from features
Teachers surveyed preferred a mix of online webpages, videos, & email updates to learn more about features
TVI teachers provided additional recommendations on usability & layout of accessible features that seem aligned with what we are doing (sonification, description, visual layout)

Wrapping up

As designers of learning tools, we want all students with or without disabilities to be able learn & explore with the tools we design. We know that:

Students do best when they are able to study what interests them. - Cary Supalo, blind chemist

In the context of science, that means the ability to explore & experiment independently and with peers.

Learning objectives?

Can folks describe 3 ways interactive science simulations are used in classrooms?
Can folks describe 2 accessibility features the PhET project has designed & how might these benefit students with visual impairments?
Do folks know where to find accessible PhET simulations?

Acknowledgements & Contacts

Funders & Collaborators

National Science Foundation (DRL-1503439 & DRL-1621363)
Hewlett Foundation
University of Colorado
Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
Sonification Lab, Georgia Tech, Atlanta

Accessible interactive simulations for science education

Taliesin L. Smith & Emily B. Moore

Overview

Learning objectives!

Experimentation

Labs & demos

Simulations

PhET Interactive Simulations

When using a PhET Sim

We recommend teachers

Balloons & Static Electricity

We design the sim to

Designed for flexibility

Teachers can

How teachers use sims

Many ways to use PhET Sims

You'll need to find out

What about accessibility?

Mismatch

“One-size-fits-one” approach

Design through diverse collaboration

Inclusive iterative design process

Always a diverse team

Now team includes

Created sim architecture to support

Alternative input challenges

Found:

Auditory description challenges

Found:

Sonification challenges

Found:

Regardless of challenge

We strive for designs that

Accessible simulations

Can you imagine...

Not all sims are accessible

Find accessible sims:

More sims & resources:

More sims are coming

Some feedback from teachers

High level findings of West Ed survey & focus groups

Wrapping up

Learning objectives?

Acknowledgements & Contacts

Funders & Collaborators

Closing Code

Please Reach Out!

PhET website

Accessible interactive simulations
for
science education