Tactile image from the Echo Explorers game
Bridge Multimedia, the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), PBS KIDS, and the WNET Group recently partnered to bring an accessible STEM-based educational video game to an even wider audience. Children who are blind and deafblind can now play Echo Explorers, from the wildly popular Cyberchase series, through APH’s Monarch – an innovative multi-line braille device that renders tactile graphics integrated with braille. According to Greg Stilson, APH Vice President of Digital Transformation,
“Students who are blind or have low vision can play Echo Explorers on the Monarch using braille and tactile graphics alongside sighted peers who are playing on tablets or computers.”
This increased accessibility offers all children the opportunity to share a fun learning experience, which advances inclusion, socialization, and education through gaming.
In the award-winning Echo Explorers, players must use mapping and coordinates skills to help free bats that are trapped in a cave. Children explore the math concepts of directionality, spatial mapping, navigating a coordinate grid, and the science concepts of pollination and echolocation. Bridge Multimedia, with funding from OSEP, created the original Echo Explorers game with accessibility features and a universal design sensibility to support players with a wide range of physical and cognitive abilities and disabilities.
“Echo Explorers is a huge testament to the power of inclusive design,” Stilson said. “Because accessibility was built in from the very beginning, it allowed us to more easily adapt the game for this new Monarch platform.”
Sandra Sheppard, Executive Producer of Cyberchase and Director of Kids’ Media and Education at The WNET Group said,
“This exciting new collaboration continues Cyberchase’s efforts to create accessible games. It helps us further our mission of engaging a wide range of children in STEM learning through fun, high-quality media.”
Dr. Wendy Sapp, Bridge’s Project Director said,
“True inclusion means all children can learn and play together, no matter their abilities. By making games accessible to students who are blind or have low vision, we’re breaking down barriers and building a more connected, understanding community through shared experiences.”
Echo Explorers is available for free on the PBS KIDS website, through the PBS KIDS Games app, and now in tactile format on the Monarch.
Thanks to all our exceptional partners. Looking forward to more exciting collaborations!
Matt Kaplowitz & the Bridge Team