A Tangible Block Editor for the Scratch Programming Language

We describe the early-stage development of a tangible block editor for the educational programming language Scratch that is intended to contribute to an environment that will allow blind and visually impaired (BVI) students (grades 6-12) to learn computer programming concepts alongside their sighted peers (both independently and in pairs) in mainstream classrooms. In this late breaking work, we describe our design that incorporates many of the key strategies of the Scratch visual code editor meant to promote engagement and lower hurdles to programming. Novel key elements of the design include: the strategic use of magnets and locally interlocking block edges to ensure only blocks with valid syntax can be connected, the use of telescoping tubing to specify parameter/operand location and allow their expansion for nested expressions and a block-sized-channel grid work surface that provides structure to aid BVI students in navigating and manipulating their programs.