1.1 | Inspiration and Context

In the recent decade, people started to realize the importance of computer education in this digital age. Computer programming is adopted in school’s education in enhancing student’s logical thinking. Visual programming language (VPL) are widely used in teaching students and novice learner for easier and better understand in basic programming logic. In Hong Kong, many elementary and junior high schools teach programming using simple block-based programming tools such as Scratch[1] and APP Inventor[2]. By dragging and combining action boxes, user can easily create a simple command sequence. With the same idea in block-based programming, different tangible teaching toolkits were also being made. StoryBlocks[3] and Algobrix[4] are the two example that they transform block-based programming into tangible blocks building, for users to create logic sequences physically. 

Scratch(left) and APP Inventor2(right) ​both used block-based visual programming language

However, these teaching tools are chiefly design for sighted students, which visually impaired students would find it very difficult to use. Therefore, I would like to create a tangible programming education toolkit, specify for blind or visually impaired (BVI) students.
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This toolkit would have to be acoustically responded and with tactile symbols on it. This toolkit would be in a form of building blocks, and each blocks have to be easily connected without the help of vision.

1.1.1 Design Context

​General Target:
To enhance learning experience with education toolkit.

​1.1.2 Design Goal

To enhance programming learning experience of blind and visually impaired (BVI)
​novice learners, with a tangible education toolkit

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[1]  "Scratch for Educators". scratch.mit.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
[2] "Teaching with App Inventor". appinventor.mit.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
[3] Caitlin Kelleher, Randy Pausch, and Sara Kiesler. 2007. Storytelling alice motivates middle school girls to learn computer programming. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '07). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1455-1464. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1240624.1240844
​[4] Kickstarter. (2020). Algobrix – The Ultimate Coding Learning Game. [online] Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/543628386/algobrix-the- ultimate-coding-learning-game [Accessed 20 Jan 2020].