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Created 3/25/18. Updates available online.

Research and Design

Design

PhET simulation design starts with identifying learning goals, which guides the initial design. The sim goes through an iterative research cycle that can include student interviews, redesign, and classroom usage. Once the final design is ready, the simulation gets posted to the PhET website.

Our design process uses an inclusive approach, and involves partners and accessible technology users from across the United States and Canada. If you would like to get involved, email phethelp@colorado.edu for more information about ways you can join us.

Our partners include:

Research

As we design accessibility features, we also conduct research to investigate how students learn with these features. Our primary goal is to develop valid and generalizable approaches to increasing the accessibility of interactive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) resources that can be used across PhET simulations, and to share these findings with the broader STEM education community.

Past Presentations

2017

November 16, 2017 - Taliesin Smith. Building Accessibility and Inclusion into Interactive Science Simulations. Inclusive Design 24 (#ID24). Video Stream. Presentation.

February 27-March 4, 2017 – Taliesin L. Smith and Clayton Lewis, and Emily B. Moore. Description strategies to make an interactive science simulation accessible. 32nd CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. San Diego, CA. Presentation.

2016

November 14 & 15, 2016 – Taliesin L. Smith, Clayton Lewis, and Emily Moore. Inclusive interaction: Description strategies for a complex interactive science simulation. Teaching with Technology Community Conference. St. John's, Canada. Show 'n Tell Presentation.

October 24-26, 2016 – Taliesin L. Smith, Emily B. Moore, and Clayton Lewis. Demonstration: Screen reader support for a complex interactive science simulation. ACM SIGACCESS ASSETS Conference. Reno, NV. Poster PDF. Word.

July 19-22, 2016 – Taliesin L. Smith, Clayton Lewis, and Emily B. Moore. A balloon, a sweater, and a wall: Developing design strategies for accessible user experiences with a science simulation. International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Toronto, Canada. HTML. Slides.

July 19-22, 2016 – Emily B. Moore, Taliesin L. Smith, and Emily Randall. Exploring the Relationships Between Implicit Scaffolding and Inclusive Design in Interactive Science Simulations. International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Toronto, Canada.

July 20-21, 2016 – Elise Morgan and Emily B. Moore. Exploring best practices in accessible design of interactive science simulations. Physics Education Research Conference. Sacramento, CA. Poster.

July 16-20, 2016 – Elise Morgan and Emily B. Moore. Exploring best practices in accessible design of interactive science simulations. AAPT Summer Meeting. Sacramento, CA.

June 1-3, 2016 – Emily B. Moore, Katherine Perkins, Jutta Treviranus. Ramping up accessibility in STEM: Inclusively designed simulations for diverse learners. NSF DRK-12 PI Meeting. Washington, DC. Poster.

May 17-23, 2016 – Emily B. Moore, Accessible PhET simulations for diverse learners. NSF STEM For All Video Showcase Virtual Showcase. Video.

May 7-12, 2016 – Emily Randall. Making science simulations accessible for students with vision impairments. ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). San Jose, CA. Paper.

May 4-8, 2016 – Taliesin L. Smith. Access, action, agency: Inclusive design for the non-visual use of a highly interactive simulation. OCAD University Graduate Exhibition (GradEx). Toronto, Canada. Poster.

April 15, 2016 – Taliesin L. Smith. Access, action, agency: Inclusive design for the non-visual use of a highly interactive simulation. OCAD University. Toronto, Canada. Presentation.

February 23, 2016 – Emily B. Moore. Increasing the accessibility of PhET Simulations: Challenges, progress, and potential. Discipline-Based Education Research at the University of Colorado Boulder. Boulder, CO. Slides.

2015

November 9, 2015 – Kathy Perkins. Assistive technologies for learning: Broadening participation in STEM. (Panel Discussion including Jenna Gorlewicz, Ethan Danahy, Donna Lange, and Richard Ladner, Moderator: Rebecca Griffiths). Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) 2015 Forum on Next Generation STEM Learning for All. Washington, D.C. Slides.

October 26-28, 2015 – Emily B. Moore & Clayton Lewis. Opportunity: Inclusive design for interactive simulations. ACM SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS), Lisbon, Portugal. Poster and Paper.

October 15, 2015 – Emily B. Moore. Emerging Innovations in Research and Practice. (Panel Discussion including Cathy Bodine and Jonathan Lazar, Moderator: Cyndi Rowland). 15th Annual Coleman Institute Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology. Broomfield, CO.

October 14, 2015 – Emily B. Moore. Making interactive simulations accessible. College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) Webinar on OER and Accessibility. Webinar and slides.

August 2-7, 2015 – Emily B. Moore. Expanding beyond visual: Multimodal interactive visualizations for accessible STEM learning. Gordon Research Conference on Visualization in Science and Education. Lewiston, ME. Poster.

March 22-26, 2015 – Emily B. Moore. Designing Accessible Interactive Chemistry Simulations for All Students – Including Students with Disabilities. American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring National Meeting. Denver, CO. Poster.

Publications

Accessible PhET Interactive Simulations

Taliesin L. Smith, Clayton Lewis, & Emily B. Moore (2017). Description strategies to make an interactive science simulation accessible.The Journal on Technology and Persons with disabilities, 590, 225-238. Paper.
Note: Correction for link to side-by-side demonstration noted in paper.

Taliesin L. Smith and Emily B. Moore (2016). The PhET Interactive Simulations Project: Working to Increase Access to Interactive STEM Simulations [Part 2 of 2]. SNOW, Education, Access and You! Paper.

Emily B. Moore (2016). The PhET Interactive Simulations Project: Working to Increase Access to Interactive STEM Simulations [Part 1 of 2]. SNOW, Education, Access and You! Paper.

Taliesin L. Smith (2016). Access, action, & agency: Inclusive design for the non-visual use of a highly interactive science simulation. Masters in Inclusive Design. OCAD University, Toronto, Canada. Master Research Project.

Emily B. Moore, Taliesin L. Smith, & Emily Randall (2016, July). Exploring the Relationship Between Implicit Scaffolding and Inclusive Design in Interactive Science Simulations. In International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 112-123). Springer International Publishing. Paper.

Taliesin L. Smith, Clayton Lewis, & Emily B. Moore (2016, July). A Balloon, a Sweater, and a Wall: Developing Design Strategies for Accessible User Experiences with a Science Simulation. In International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 147-158). Springer International Publishing. Paper.

Emily Randall (2016). Making science simulations accessible for students with vision impairments. Proceedings of the 34th Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 122-127). ACM. Paper.

Emily Randall (2016). Developing accessible physics simulations for students with vision impairments. Physics Education and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO. Thesis.

Emily B. Moore (2016). ConfChem Conference on Interactive Visualizations for Chemistry Teaching and Learning: Accessibility for PhET Interactive Simulations Progress, Challenges, and Potential. Journal of Chemical Education. 93(6), 1160-1161. Paper..

Emily B. Moore (2016). Accessibility for PhET Interactive Simulations—progress, challenges, and potential. Spring 2015 ConfChem: Interactive Visualizations for Chemistry Teaching and Learning. Paper.

Community Development for Accessible Interactive Simulations

Emily B. Moore & Clayton Lewis (2015, October). Opportunity: Inclusive Design for Interactive Simulations. In Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (pp. 395-396). ACM. Paper.

Accessible Education Technology and Disability Law

Emily B. Moore & Paul Grossman (2016). ConfChem conference on interactive visualizations for chemistry teaching and learning: The cutting edge — educational innovation, disability law, and civil rights. Journal of Chemical Education. 93(6), 1154-1155. Paper.

Paul Grossman, Adapted by Emily B. Moore (2015). The cutting edge: educational innovation, disability law, and civil rights. Spring 2015 ConfChem: Interactive Visualizations for Chemistry Teaching and Learning Chemistry. Paper.

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