Games that can be Heard with the Eyes
Accessible and Intergenerational Design for Hearing Inclusion

This initiative introduces a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience embedded within a Service-Learning project focused explicitly on the design of accessible video games as digital, cultural and social tools. Video games are approached not merely as entertainment products, but as interactive environments with the potential to promote inclusion, participation and well-being for people with hearing loss. Through international peer collaboration, students engage in structured dialogue, critical reflection and constructive feedback to co-develop and improve inclusive video game solutions.

This Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience is embedded within an international Service-Learning project that explores video games as cultural, social and inclusive digital tools. The activity connects student teams from the University of Burgos (Spain) and the Polytechnic University of Leiria (Portugal) within the RUN-EU alliance, fostering cooperation, mutual learning and shared responsibility for social innovation.

The COIL is designed around the co-development and critical discussion of accessible video game concepts aimed at improving digital inclusion for older adults with hearing loss. By working with video games as interactive environments, students address accessibility not only as a technical requirement, but as a matter of participation, equality and cultural access, aligning with core European values such as inclusion, diversity, solidarity and social cohesion.

International pairs of student teams participate in a minimum of two structured online meetings, with the possibility of additional sessions as the collaboration evolves. In the initial meeting, each team presents its video game concept, explaining its purpose, target users, game mechanics, narrative approach and accessibility strategies. This phase promotes clear communication, intercultural dialogue and the ability to explain design decisions to an international peer audience.

Whenever a playable prototype is already available, teams will share the game build with their international partners, allowing peers to test the video game directly. This hands-on experience enriches the feedback process by complementing conceptual discussion with practical interaction and user experience analysis.

Following each exchange, teams prepare structured and constructive peer feedback, focusing on strengths, potential areas for improvement and opportunities for further development. This feedback process is explicitly formative and non-evaluative, reinforcing a climate of trust, respect and collaborative learning.

In subsequent meetings, teams share, discuss and reflect on the feedback received, integrating insights gained both from dialogue and, when applicable, from prototype testing. These reflective sessions support critical thinking, ethical awareness and openness to diverse viewpoints, while directly contributing to the improvement of the video game projects.

Fully integrated into the academic curricula of both institutions, this COIL experience supports the development of transversal competences such as teamwork, intercultural communication, critical reflection and social responsibility, while encouraging students to approach video games as inclusive digital, cultural and social tools. At the same time, it reinforces the RUN-EU mission by promoting international cooperation, mutual learning and inclusive innovation, contributing to shared European values of accessibility, diversity and collaboration in response to real social challenges.