Description Strategies to Make an Interactive Science Simulation Accessible

Abstract

Interactive simulations are increasingly important in science education, yet most are inaccessible to blind learners. In developing an accessible prototype of a PhET interactive science simulation, we encountered significant challenges in providing screen reader access, including the need to: 1) describe unpredictable event sequences, 2) cue productive interactions, and 3) to simultaneously convey multiple changes. To address these challenges, we extended existing practices for verbal description of visual interactive content, and we created new strategies for developing rich description for accessible interactive science simulations.