Varsha Koushik
Shaun K. Kane
ABSTRACT
Block-based programming languages enable novice programmers, including children, to learn the basics of programming. However, most block-based programming languages are not accessible to blind and visually impaired users because they rely upon visual drag-and-drop interaction, and because they typically create visual output. To improve access to block-based programming languages, we introduce Story Blocks, a programming toolkit that uses tangible blocks to represent story components, and which produces output in the form of accessible audio stories and games. Story Blocks provides an introductory programming environment that can be enjoyed by people of all abilities.
- Blikstein, P., Sipitakiat, A., Goldstein, J., Wilbert, J., Johnson, M., Vranakis, S., Pedersen, Z. and Carey, W. (2016). Project Bloks: designing a development platform for tangible programming for children.Google Scholar
- Brennan, K., and Resnick, M. (2012). New frameworks for studying and assessing the development of computational thinking. In Proc. AERA '12, 1-25.Google Scholar
- Cooper, S., Dann, W., and Pausch, R. (2000). Alice: a 3-D tool for introductory programming concepts. In Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges 15, 5, pp. 107-116. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hu, F., Zekelman, A., Horn, M., and Judd, F. (2015). Strawbies: explorations in tangible programming. In Proc. IDC '15, 410-413. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Jordà, S., Geiger, G., Alonso, M., and Kaltenbrunner, M. (2007). The reacTable: exploring the synergy between live music performance and tabletop tangible interfaces. In Proc. TEI '07, 139-146. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kelleher, C., Pausch, R., and Kiesler, S. (2007). Storytelling Alice motivates middle school girls to learn computer programming. In Proc. CHI '07, 1455-1464. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Koushik, V., and Lewis, C. (2016). An accessible blocks language: work in progress. In Proc. ASSETS '16, 317-318. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ludi, S. (2015). Position paper: Towards making block-based programming accessible to blind users. IEEE Blocks and Beyond Workshop, 67-69. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Milne, L. R. (2017). Blocks4All: making block programming languages accessible for blind children. ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing 117, pp. 26-29. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Schanzer, E., Fisler, K., Krishnamurthi, S., and Felleisen, M. (2015). Transferring skills at solving word problems from computing to algebra through Bootstrap. In Proc. SIGCSE '15, 616-621. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Stefik, A., and Siebert, S. (2013). An empirical investigation into programming language syntax. ACM Transactions on Computing Education 13(4), Article 19, 40 pages. {12} Thieme, A., Morrison, C., Villar, N., Grayson, M., and Lindley, S. (2017). Enabling collaboration in learning computer programing inclusive of children with vision impairments. In Proc. DIS '17, 739-752. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ludi, S. (2015). Position paper: Towards making block-based programming accessible to blind users. IEEE Blocks and Beyond Workshop, 67-69. {9} Milne, L. R. (2017). Blocks4All: making block programming languages accessible for blind children. ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing 117, pp. 26-29. {10} Schanzer, E., Fisler, K., Krishnamurthi, S., and Felleisen, M. (2015). Transferring skills at solving word problems from computing to algebra through Bootstrap. In Proc. SIGCSE '15, 616-621. {11} Stefik, A., and Siebert, S. (2013). An empirical investigation into programming language syntax. ACM Transactions on Computing Education 13(4), Article 19, 40 pages. {12} Thieme, A., Morrison, C., Villar, N., Grayson, M., and Lindley, S. (2017). Enabling collaboration in learning computer programing inclusive of children with vision impairments. In Proc. DIS '17, 739-752. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Tangibles + Programming + Audio Stories = Fun
Recommendations
Addressing Accessibility Barriers in Programming for People with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review
Accessibility issues with programming languages and programming environments pose a major barrier for students with visual impairments to participate in computing related courses as well as threatens the productivity of professional programmers with ...
What Is Object-Oriented Programming?
The meaning of the term 'object oriented' is examined in the context of the general-purpose programming language C++. This choice is made partly to introduce C++ and partly because C++ is one of the few languages that supports data abstraction, object-...
Accessible Blockly: An Accessible Block-Based Programming Library for People with Visual Impairments
ASSETS '22: Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and AccessibilityThe visual and mouse-centric nature of block-based programming environments generally make them inaccessible and challenging to use by users with visual impairments who rely on assistive technologies to interact with computers. This prevents these users ...
Comments