The Perception of Teachers on Usability and Accessibility of Programming Materials for Children with Visual Impairments

Autor/inn/en	van der Meulen, Anna; Hartendorp, Mijke; Voorn, Wendy; Hermans, Felienne
Titel	The Perception of Teachers on Usability and Accessibility of Programming Materials for Children with Visual Impairments
Quelle	In: ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 23 (2023) 1, Artikel 14 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Blindness; Visual Impairments; Accessibility (for Disabled); Usability; Instructional Materials; Special Education Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Programming; Computer Science Education; Educational Technology; Elementary Secondary Education; Netherlands + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Blindheit; Visual handicap; Sehbehinderung; Accessibility; Zugänglichkeit; Lehrmaterial; Lehrmittel; Unterrichtsmedien; Special education; Teacher; Teachers; Sonderpädagoge; Sonderpädagogik; Sonderschulwesen; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Lehrerverhalten; Programmierung; Computer science lessons; Informatikunterricht; Niederlande
Abstract	Programming education is strongly emerging in elementary and high school. Diversity and inclusion are important topics, however, insights on suited programming materials for younger learners with visual impairments are lacking. A wide range of programming materials for children exists, diverse in both what is being programmed (output) and how this is done (input), yet often relying on visual features. An understanding of the usability and accessibility aspects of these different materials is important to inform educational practice and to increase understanding of what makes programming materials suited for low vision and blind children. The aim of this study is to explore the usability and accessibility of programming materials currently used in education to low vision and blind children in the Netherlands. A focus group was conducted with six teachers or IT experts, all working with the target group in special education. The thematic analysis of the discussion of 25 materials (including unplugged lessons, robots and robotic kits, block-based and text-based languages) showed the potential of several materials, especially unplugged lessons, and the continuing search for suited materials and workforms specifically for the blind children. Furthermore, prioritizing "fun" and close connections to children's daily life as well as careful explorations of usability at the cognitive level came forward as important factors for future research and development in programming materials for low vision and blind children. These insights can contribute to obtaining an inclusive approach to programming for young learners. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Association for Computing Machinery. 2 Penn Plaza Suite 701, New York, NY 10121. Tel: 800-342-6626; Tel: 212-626-0500; Fax: 212-944-1318; e-mail: acmhelp@acm.org; Web site: http://toce.acm.org/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01