I have this feeling that there is a fun game idea in here for Maze Day (and beyond). I’m not sure what it is. Perhaps you press a square on the DDR Pad to hear one phrase “mahna mahna, dee dee da dee dee”. Then you have to press another one to go to the next phrase? Or perhaps it is a joint effort between two kids? One doing “mahna mahna” and the other doing the dee’s? Maybe the background is playing in a loop and you have to queue the “mahna mahna” at the right time like Guitar Hero?
Give it a listen and then give me some ideas in the comments.
Paul posted a really nice video about using Tar Heel Reader over at YouTube. The puppet and the stop motion self assembly of the switch interface are great! Check out Reading with Franz.
I saw iDaft today and think it rocks! You play the samples by typing the corresponding keys on your keyboard. Not surprising technically, its just Flash. But it makes me think about combining fun, music, and literacy. What could we do with music and samples like this to make fun and even educational games for kids with disabilities?
How about putting the samples on the 16 pads you get with 2 DDR pads? Then we could have a game that was something like Guitar Hero where you put the samples in the right places. DJ Hero? Or maybe DJ Revolution? I think our blind visitors would have a ton of fun on Maze Day trying to “sing” along with Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by stepping on the DDR pads. Think Daft Hands or Daft Bodies on the DDR pad.
Or how about making an AAC device more fun by changing the pitch of the voice like this? Or somehow linking a “word wall” to music so when you put words together in appropriate ways they go with the music?
Suppose you could provide a list of words or word combinations to a web site and it would automagically assign them musical pitches like this. What cool games could we make where students play with words while making music? How could we integrate reading into it? Perhaps the “score” (the words to be spoken) is presented something like the Guitar Hero notes so you have to at least recognize the words to know which to play.
How do we make such a game switch accessible?
I’m thinking out loud here. Help me out folks, some of you have to be more musical and creative than I am. Post a comment.
Come see if you can find “it” at Maze Day 2009 on the University of North Carolina Campus at Chapel Hill. What are we looking for? We’ll be looking for bus stops, intersections, building entrances and much more. Using Trekker Breeze, students, teachers, parents and peers will participate in a “Talking GPS” scavenger hunt on campus. During the activity we will use the newest in GPS technology for the blind and visually impaired to find out “What’s around.” Join us to learn about this exciting technology and be ready to have some fun in the process.