[nfbcs] Accessible interactive coding platforms?

[Amanda Lacy]

At the coding club at Texas School for the Blind, we use Quorum and
run it via the command line. Popular programs include those that
generate sound and music or control a robot.

On 3/20/17, Louis Maher via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Jessie,
>
> It might help to call the Microsoft Disability help desk (1-800-936-5900).
>
>
> Regards
> Louis Maher
> Phone: 713-444-7838
> E-mail: ljmaher at swbell.net
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mabry, Jessie
> via
> nfbcs
> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2017 9:33 AM
> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Mabry, Jessie <Jessie.Mabry at ct.gov>
> Subject: [nfbcs] Accessible interactive coding platforms?
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am collaborating with a national organization that establishes coding
> clubs for middle school and high school students. We would like to find
> accessible platforms and activities that will allow blind students to
> participate. The current curriculum allows students to program in Scratch,
> Earsketch, Khan Academy, Codesters, and Actimator. Some of these platforms
> teach universal languages that would be useful to learn, like Python and
> JS,
> but the interface itself is just unusable with a screen reader, and the
> lessons involve drawing and animation. Then there are platforms like
> Scratch
> where the language is proprietary on top of the inaccessibility. I'd prefer
> something accessible that will also teach a language students can use later
> on, unless that's just not as practical for very young children. The other
> condition is that the platform can't involve downloadable components, since
> many of the clubs take place in libraries or in schools with restricted
> computers.
>
> So I have a few questions I'm hoping some of you can help me with.
>
> First, I've heard that Quorum's web compiler is undergoing major
> enhancements and should soon be able to do a lot of what the downloadable
> platform can do. Have any of you used Quorum or tried its tutorials? Do you
> think it would be worthwhile to develop some activities with it to
> incorporate into clubs for blind and sighted students?
>
> Second, I saw Codecademy and W3Schools mentioned on the list as potentially
> accessible platforms, but when I tried the tutorials, neither Jaws nor NVDA
> would read what I typed in the program editor in real time, though I could
> read it below the editor afterward. I'm using the latest versions of both
> screen readers with Firefox. It's particularly frustrating, because that
> seemed like the only thing I couldn't do. I could read all the text and
> examples, but couldn't practice in the editor. Have other people
> experienced
> the same issue, or is it something to do with my settings? I just hear
> "blank" every time I should hear a character.
>
> Are there other usable platforms that you know of? I've heard of block
> languages that are being made accessible for young students, and
> SwiftPlayground is supposed to be VoiceOver-friendly.
>
> Finally, for those of you who were exposed to coding at a young age, what
> kinds of activities did you like to do with it?
>
> Thanks in advance for your feedback.
>
> Jessie Mabry
>
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