For the first time, 41,506 blind and visually impaired children in the UK could benefit from a breakthrough that gives them access to block coding.
Zach Herbert, a 14-year-old student at New Worcester College in Worcester; Image credit: Micro:bit Educational Foundation
Today, Microsoft MakeCode launches new screen reader compatibility, removing a barrier that has long prevented many students who are blind or have low vision from participating in block-based coding with their classmates. Developed in partnership with the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Blockly team, this new feature is supported by classroom resources to help teachers bring coding to more kids.
The technology was co-designed with children and young people aged 8 to 18 who are blind or have low vision, as well as their supporting teachers and experts in the field. Their feedback shaped every stage of development and helped create solutions that reflected the real-life barriers some young people face in the classroom. With input from people in the UK, Europe and the US, this technology will make coding more accessible to future generations of learners around the world.
The accessibility improvements being developed within Blockly, the technology behind many of the world’s most widely used coding platforms, could have an impact far beyond Microsoft MakeCode. This is a major step toward making mainstream coding tools accessible to visually impaired learners.
For Zach Herbert, a 14-year-old student at New Worcester College in Worcester, the impact was life-changing. he said: “I didn’t actually take any computer science classes until seventh grade.”
Before new accessibility features were introduced, Zach was often unable to participate in the same computing science classes as his classmates because he did not have access to existing coding platforms. Instead, he was taught individually or given alternative activities. He can now code independently with his colleagues using MakeCode and the micro:bit.
He added: “It’s amazing what you accomplished. You didn’t have to rely on anyone else’s help to do it, you didn’t have to rely on a sighted person to do it. It’s your work. It’s your masterpiece.”
Another student at the school, Thomas Robb, 12, said technology has allowed him to move from contributing ideas to creating projects himself.
he said: “Before, my friends and I used Scratch, but we had never coded. I was creating ideas and sounds. Without a screen reader, I wouldn’t have been able to use the micro:bit.”
All children, regardless of ability, should have the opportunity to create with technology. For too long, many visually impaired youth have faced barriers to accessing the same coding experiences as their peers. By working directly with the most affected youth, we have created a solution that removes some of those barriers and gives more children the opportunity to learn, create, and build confidence through computing. We hope this is just the beginning of a bigger change to make coding accessible to future generations of learners around the world. ”
Lucy Gill, Head of Product, Micro:bit Educational Foundation
Jacqueline Russell, Product Manager at Microsoft, added: “This has truly been a highly collaborative project between the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, Blockly, and our team, with input and feedback from our users driving our progress throughout. I’m very proud of this milestone; it means we’ve transformed what was a purely visual, mouse-centric user interface into a fully accessible tool for all students to learn computing.”
The BBC micro:bit is used by over 70 million children in 85 countries, making it one of the most widely adopted educational technologies in the world. The new screen reader developed with Blockly allows this breakthrough technology to be adopted by other coding platforms, extending its impact far beyond the micro:bit and allowing even more children to benefit from accessible coding.
This announcement marks just one step in the Micro:bit Educational Foundation’s ambition to make technology accessible to all children. From expanding accessibility for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, with fine motor impairments and who are neurodiverse, to developing new learning resources and collaborating with local translators to increase global access, the Foundation continues to work with its funding partners to break down barriers for the next generation of learners and creators.
sauce:
Microbit Education Foundation
