Demo: Expanding Blocks4All with Variables and Functions
Jacqueline Shao Yi Ong, Nana Adwoa O. Amoah, Alison E. Garrett-Engele, Mariella Irene Page, Katherine R. McCarthy, Lauren R. Milne · 2019
Blocks-based programming environments are often inaccessible for children with visual impairments who cannot interact with their visual components. We present our work on expanding Blocks4All, a touchscreen-based blocks-based programming environment that is accessible with screen readers, to improve its accessibility and expand its functionality. We describe our designs to support more complex functionality such as modifiable blocks, variables and functions and provide our code to encourage others to make their own environments accessible. We plan to evaluate the updated interface with children with low vision participating in a robotics competition