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Mitchel Resnick. Bhargava, Rahul Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences. Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 2011-02-23T14:16:43Z 2011-02-23T14:16:43Z 2002 2002 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61124 50777497 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). 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. by Rahul Bhargava. S.M. 78 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences. Designing a computational construction kit for the blind and visually impaired Thesis application/pdf Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="4e1ba220-5171-4a38-8c2d-227e52762b36"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Designing a computational construction kit for the blind and visually impaired</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2002</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Bhargava, Rahul</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.</Keyword> <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.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>