Making Programming Accessible to Learners with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

https://doi.org/10.21585/ijcses.v2i2.25

Authors

  • Alex Hadwen-Bennett King's College London
  • Sue Sentance King's College London
  • Cecily Morrison Microsoft Research Cambridge

Keywords:

Visual Impairments, Programming Education, Physical Programming, Special Needs, Inclusion

Abstract

Programming can be challenging to learn and for visually impaired (VI) learners there are numerous additional barriers to the learning process. Many modern programming environments are inaccessible to VI learners, being difficult or impossible to interface with using a screen reader. A review of the literature has identified a number of strategies that have been employed in the quest to make learning to program accessible to VI learners. These can be broadly divided into the following categories; auditory and haptic feedback, making text-based langauges (TBLs) accessible, making block-based languages (BBLs) accessible and physical artefacts.

A common theme among the literature is the difficulty VI learners have in gaining an understanding of the overall structure of their code. Much of the research carried out in this space to date focuses on the evaluation of interventions aimed at VI high-school and undergraduate students, with limited attention given to the learning processes of VI learners. Additionally, the majority of the research deals with (TBLs), this is despite the fact that most introductory programming courses for primary learners use (BBLs). Therefore, further research is urgently needed to investigate potential strategies for introducing VI children in primary education to programming and the learning processes involved.

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Author Biographies

Alex Hadwen-Bennett, King's College London

PhD student and Teaching Fellow in Computer Science Education

School of Education, Communication and Society

King's College London

Sue Sentance, King's College London

Senior Lecturer in Computer Science Education,

School of Education, Communication and Society,

King's College London

Cecily Morrison, Microsoft Research Cambridge

Post-Doctoral Researcher,

Human Experience & Design Group

 

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Published

2018-05-17

How to Cite

Hadwen-Bennett, A., Sentance, S., & Morrison, C. (2018). Making Programming Accessible to Learners with Visual Impairments: A Literature Review. International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools, 2(2), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.21585/ijcses.v2i2.25

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2018): International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools

Section

Full Papers
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