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- Reliable bluetooth connectivity
- Immediate feedback from building code to seeing real time results (e.g. robots moving)
- “it is important to have the robots drive in “slow mode” so that students can see the steps in slow motion and have time to make changes on the fly”
- Blockly’s large and colorful icons, drag and dropping and snapping feature
- Ability to transfer knowledge from more basic coding tools to higher-level ones
- EV3 Comment block which allows students to explain at each step what their program is doing and troubleshoot (EV3 lego)
- Visual coding - Visuals have a code equivalent
- Dash has variety of options to choose from e.g. graphics, music, sound, puzzle
A feature they wish their coding tool had:
- “it is important to have the robots drive in “slow mode” so that students can see the steps in slow motion and have time to make changes on the fly”
- Ability to switch between multiple coding languages (C3, Java, Python, Processing) - “a node-based mode that looks similar to TouchDesigner, Unreal Blueprints, or Unity Shader Graphs, that converts to another coding language”
- Make chrome app and Chrome devices switch accessible (script, operations, and commands)
- Code blocks and instructions to be read with text to speech
- Code blocks provide auditory feedback when clicked
- Coding apps that can work with keyboard commands, so they can be used with USB switch interface
- No sign in process, which poses problems with younger kids
- Adjust Ability to adjust reading level of instruction of single program based on age and abilities
- Versatility based on age - easy to understand and work with for younger learners and ability to offer more challenging tasks for older kids
- A leveled approach more like a video game, motivating kids without a lot of direct instructions
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- “Blockly app does not allow access using row/column scanning to the secondary levels of the codes (options within Drive>Forward, backwards, etc). Point scan was very difficult to use in terms of vision and timing.”
- Blockly has no chrome app so headmouse, eye gaze, and alternative access were not supported
- Most online apps don’t support scanning (e.g. lightbot)
- Most apps are visual and text based and don’t provide audio feedback/response
- “In order for us to provide access to the EV3 for our math project, we needed an engineer to create a program that could be accessed by our headmouse using on a PC.”
- “Lego app was nice as you could create your own interface, but using the joystick required very advanced skills. The only other option is sliders which requires both motors (right and left wheels) to be joined.”
- Students with motor skills have a hard time pressing small buttons.
- Difficulty differentiating icons
- Difficulty with language either due to not knowing English or developmental delay
- Sphero is too complex
- Robots or kits with small components parts can be challenging for some students
- Inability to provide students with sufficient time for processing
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- Networking with AT specialists
- QIAT list serv (input into the ongoing process of identifying, disseminating, and implementing a set of widely-applicable Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services in school settings.)
- Learning from students
None of the participants indicated the platforms they are using
Other resources to help educators succeed
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