1. Scratch Braille Block System

Visual programming environments such as Scratch, Entry, and Blockly make programming more accessible to young students. These platforms allow learners to build visual applications by combining blocks, which enhances computational thinking. Among them, Scratch is one of the most well-known block-based programming languages (Mitchel Resnick et al., 2009). It has been translated into over 70 languages and is widely used in more than 160 countries.

The Scratch Braille Block System (Fig. 1) consists of two components: Scratch Braille Blocks and the Scratch simulator. The Braille blocks are designed to have the same shape and functions as the original blocks from Scratch programming developed by MIT.

(a) Scratch Braille Blocks

(b) Scratch simulator

Fig. 1. Scratch Braille Blocks System

2. Prior Research

Over the years, many educational tools for visually impaired students have been developed. These include a game-based problem-solving model (Lala Septem Riza, 2020), interactive phoneme applications, basic arithmetic frameworks for visually impaired children (Tusher Chakraborty et al., 2018), the iCERA interactive number system, robot programming environments for blind learners (Chiara Martolini et al., 2018), and AI-based assistive tools (Chandimal Jayawardena et al., 2019).

Ana Cristina (2020) explored programming tools for children aged 4–8 with visual impairments, such as DOC robots with maps, DASH robots with Blockly, and tactile blocks with apps like OSmo. These studies confirm that tactile programming tools can effectively enhance learning outcomes.

3. Educational Approach

In this study, Scratch Braille Blocks were designed for visually impaired students to learn programming in a tactile manner. The blocks can be connected physically, similar to LEGO, and use magnets for easy assembly. Each block includes braille, enabling visually impaired students to recognize commands through touch. The system includes master and slave blocks: the master block initiates communication, reads the structure, and sends it to the simulator for execution.

This setup allows students to experience programming by assembling blocks by hand, offering an inclusive educational experience where visually impaired and sighted students can learn together.

4. Pilot Class Design

Five elementary school teachers participated in the pilot study. Although they had 1–3 years of Scratch experience, none had prior experience with braille. Before the lesson, they were given braille materials to practice with. During the session, they wore blindfolds and solved tasks using only tactile feedback and auditory support from their sighted partner.

Each team consisted of a blindfolded participant and a sighted assistant. The assistant checked the simulator and provided verbal feedback. This method simulates an inclusive classroom, where visually impaired and sighted students collaborate and communicate to solve programming problems.

Table 1. Four Scratch programming tasks

No	Task	Concepts
1	-When flag clicked, make meow sound.	Events Sequencing
2	-Draw a 100 steps line.	Events Sequencing
3	-Draw a 200 steps line and play meow sound.	Events Sequencing Loop
4	-When flag clicked, draw a circle and make meow sound.	Events Sequencing Loop

5. Tasks and Results

The pilot lesson included four programming tasks involving sequential, event-based, and looped logic. All participants completed simple to advanced tasks. For example, the fourth task required using loops to draw a circle, combining several commands like pen down, move, and rotate. Tasks emphasized audio output so blindfolded participants could verify outcomes.

On average, participants completed 85% of tasks. Three out of five participants finished all tasks, averaging 6 minutes and 17 seconds. Post-class surveys showed strong positive feedback regarding usability, effectiveness, and potential for programming education.

<Table 2> Task completion and time

Participant	Task completion	Elapsed time
A	4/4 (100%)	8 min 3 sec
B	4/4 (100%)	6 min 45 sec
C	2/4 (50%)	6 min 26 sec
D	4/4 (100%)	4 min 4 sec
E	3/4 (75%)	7 min 8 sec

6. Participant Feedback

Participant 1: Adding more auditory cues to the simulator would be helpful. A wider range of tasks would allow step-by-step learning.
Participant 2: It was difficult to distinguish similar braille blocks, but using braille as a tool helps make programming education more accessible.
Participant 3: Combining braille and block-based programming is very helpful for teaching coding to visually impaired students.
Participant 4: The braille block experience was meaningful. It helps promote understanding of disabilities and benefits inclusive education for all students.

7. Conclusion

This study proposed and tested a tactile Scratch Braille Block System for visually impaired students. The blocks replicate the functions and colors of Scratch 3.0, with added braille for touch-based identification.

In the pilot class, five participants worked in pairs to solve four tasks involving core programming concepts. The average task completion rate was 80%. With more familiarity in braille, students could perform even better. This system has strong potential for inclusive programming education.

References

Ana Cristina Pires (2020). Exploring accessible programming with educators and visually impaired children. Interaction Design and Children, 148-160.

Chandimal Jayawardena, B. K. Balasuriya, N. P. Lokuhettiarachchi, A. R. M. D. N. Ranasinghe (2019). Intelligent Platform for Visually Impaired Children for Learning Indoor and Outdoor Objects, TENCON 2019, 2572-2577.

Chiara Martolini, Anna V. Cuppone, Giulia Cappagli, Sara Finocchietti, Antonio Maviglia, Monica Gori (2018). ABBI-K: a novel tool for evaluating spatial and motor abilities in visually impaired children, MeMeA, 1-6.

Diana Franklin, Jean Salac, Cathy Thomas, Zene Sekou, Sue Krause (2020). Eliciting Student Scratch Script Understandings via Scratch Charades. SIGCSE, 780-786.

Karen Janette Murcia, Kok-Sing Tang (2019). Exploring the multimodality of young children’s coding. Australian Educational Computing Section 34(1), 1-15.

Lala Septem Riza, Tyas Sawiji, Nurjanah Nurjanah, Haviluddin, Edy Budiman, Alejandro Rosales-Pérez (2020). A Labyrinth Game for Blind Children Using Problem Solving Learning Model, iJET 15(2), 58-71.

Mitchel Resnick, John Maloney, Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Natalie Rusk, Evelyn Eastmond, Karen Brennan, Amon Millner, Eric Rosenbaum, Jay S Silver, Brian Silverman, and others (2009). Scratch: Programming for all, CACM 52(11), 60–67.

Peter Fikar, Florian Güldenpfennig, Roman Ganhör (2018). Pick, Place, And Follow: A Ball Run for Visually Impaired Children. Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (Companion Volume), 165-169.

Tusher Chakraborty, Taslim Arefin Khan, A. B. M. Alim Al Islam (2018), Towards Devising a Low-cost and Easy-to-use Arithmetic Learning Framework for Economically Less-privileged Visually Impaired Children, ACM Trans. Access. Comput. 11(4): 21:1-21:31.