Accessibility in video gaming: An overview and implications for English language arts education

Abstract

Scholars in recent years have explored the connections between video games, literacy, and learning. Research illustrates that video games can serve as texts for engagement and analysis in English language arts classrooms. Scholars have also demonstrated how games themselves effectively integrate a complex array of learning principles that help players understand and progress in the game. In this article, we explore how recent efforts in game design to promote accessibility for differently abled gamers have implications for literacy education that can promote inclusivity and equity in English language arts classrooms. While recognizing the social construction of the concept of (dis)abilities, we explore existing literature on the video games, literacy, accessibility, and universal design for learning. We then demonstrate specific ways that video game designers promote visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive accessibility for gamers and share how literacy educators can draw upon these strategies to promote accessibility in their curriculum and instruction to help all students engage, learn, and thrive.