Designing a computational construction kit for the blind and visually impaired
Name
50777497-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
7.49 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
80d2eb2a87d325c4092964e5a8e22efe
Author(s)
Bhargava, Rahul
Advisor(s)
Mitchel Resnick.
Date Issued
2002
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis documents the adaptation and extension of an existing computational construction kit, and its use by a community of learners previously unaddressed - blind and visually impaired children. This community has an intimate relationship with the digital and assistive technologies that they rely on for carrying out their everyday tasks, but have no tools for designing and creating their own devices. Using a computational construction kit, created around the latest Programmable Brick (the Cricket), children can write programs to interact with the world around them using sensors, speech synthesis, and numerous other actuators. The Cricket system was extended with a number of specific modules, and redesigned to better suit touch and sound-based interaction patterns. This thesis documents an initial technology implementation and presents case studies of activities carried out with a small group of visually impaired teenagers. These case studies serve to highlight specific domains of knowledge that were discovered to be especially relevant for this community. Much of this work impacts approaches, technologies, and activities for sighted users of the Programmable Brick.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-68).
Subjects
Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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