Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Code Your Own Game: The Case of Children
with Hearing Impairments
Michail N. Giannakos and Letizia Jaccheri
Department of Computer and Information Science, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
mgiannakos@acm.org, letizia@idi.ntnu.no
Abstract.
It is well known in the computer science community that is important
to encourage children to acquire coding skills and become creators of their own
experiences and not only mere game consumers. Different children have
different needs when approaching coding and making activities. Specifically,
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children, even when provided with accessible
visual translations through sign language interpreters or real-time captions, need
customized support. In our approach we have designed, implemented, and
evaluated a workshop program of 12 children total, with the final goal of
exploring and improving the design of appropriate workshops using the current
learning environments. This paper presents an initial exploratory evaluation of a
coding experience for children with hearing impairments and the development
of a set of guidelines for improving the teaching of coding to children with
DHH difficulties. An initial set of best practices was first developed through a
focus group with experts; and afterwards, by employing content analysis, a
revised set of guidelines was obtained. The results should be useful for special
education teachers, curriculum designers and developers for K-12 education
environments for DHH.
Keywords:
Accessibility, Coding, Design Guidelines, Deaf, Hearing
Impairments, Empirical Evaluation, Focus Groups, Games, Programming,
Workshops.
1
Introduction
Currently, several efforts to broaden participation in programming and introduce
computational literacy to young students [2], [9] are in progress. Children interact
with visual programming tools like Scratch [14] to learn how to code by creating
interactive stories, games, animations, and simulations. Sesame workshop [15] has
given new insights into how programming for children needs to be approached; in
order to be both educational and entertaining. The process for achieving this mix
relies on a development model that integrates expertise in media production,
educational content (or curriculum), and research with children. Sesame Workshop
philosophy [15] identify some of the challenges and solutions in designing interactive
educational activities that can be used by children. Buechley et al. [2] argue that there
