IEP Technologies :  Expanded Core Curriculum Games for Visually Impaired Students

IEP Process

ObjectiveEd.com is our new company where we are building Expanded Core Curriculum interactive simulations for visually impaired students, based on a child’s IEP . 
The student’s progression in mastering skills in our education-based games are preserved in a private secure cloud, available to the school team in a web-based dashboard . 
If you are a Special Ed Teacher , press for additional information on using these types of games as a tool for maximizing student outcomes, relating to their 
IEP Process .

Little things matter

I receive many emails thanking me for the games, many expressing surprise about how many games there are, and telling me how much fun they have playing the games.

Kimberly R. wrote to me about the Euchre card game,  saying “I love, love, love this game. It has helped me grow more confident when playing with others in person around the card table.   I’d like to thank you for making this and many more games so myself and others who are blind can have games to play on our phones.”
I don’t think it’s simply that the games exist and are accessible that makes the games popular.   It’s that the testers, who are all visually impaired, as well as the fans, tell me how game should be enhanced, and I listen.
For example, in Blindfold Pinball, the testers told me to create  a “Learn Bumper Sounds” screen.  Pinball has over many different sound packs, where each sound pack is a different pinball machine, such as a wild-west pack, an animal pack, and  a body pack (including burps and farts).  The “Learn Bumper Sound” screen tells you which sound corresponds to which bumper, and its point score, as the pinball bounces around the pinball machine.  Knowing the sounds helps you know when to hit the flipper, so the ball is shot as high as possible to score more points.
In Blindfold Invaders, testers suggested that I create a “Learn Sounds” screen so people can identify each of the 14 sounds they will hear during the game.  Even though the sounds are described in the user guide, the testers told me that having a menu of the sounds, such as “Incoming missile from invader”, or “invaders moving left” or “right edge warning” would make the game easier to understand.
Blindfold Barnyard initially told you where the animals are situated using compass directions, such as “The closest pig is to the northeast”.   In the game, to get to the pig, you  slide your finger to the upper left.  The testers said I should add clock directions as an alternative, since many visually impaired people use clock directions instead of compass directions.  In this mode, the game now says “The closest pig is at 2 o’clock”.
It’s these little things that make a difference between a good game and a great game, and I really appreciate the feedback, so I can continue to improve the games.