Code Jumper Aims to Jumpstart Computer Science Interest for Kids Who Are Blind

Cecily: Project Torino is a physical programming
language that allows children ages seven to
eleven who are blind or low vision to access
the computing curriculum.
Craig: Students learn if I take this device
and plug it into this device and plug it into
the hub that creates a loop.
It could be music, so they may be able to
loop a couple notes together.
*MUSIC* Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
Craig: They can create a repeat, they can
add additional notes.
The possibilities are endless.
Jonathan: The huge benefit of Torino is that
it’s a physical environment where students
can actually touch and manipulate the different
elements that make up the program and the
environment.
Cecily: Each pod is a statement in your program.
It’s one line of code.
You then put those pods together to create
those lines of code in your program.
Cecily: Many of these kids come in with a
whole set of skills ripe for computing and
we just need to give them the tools that allow
them to grow that talent.
Jonathan: Programming is an ideal potential
job opportunity for visually impaired people.
They actually make up approximately one percent
of the programming community worldwide.
Cecily: It's either the top one or the bottom
one.
Student: It’s the bottom one you need to
change.
Jonathan: It’s an environment that will
work for any student that is a tactile learner.
Because its accessible, it allows you to immediately
engage with the concepts of programming.
It allows you to immediately create programs
that work.
Student: If this one was on eight and that
was on one, this one would play because the
number is higher.
Cecily: Particularly in this case where there’s
quite a specialized market we needed to partner
with someone who really understood that market
and really understood how we would get a quite
advanced technology into the hands of the
kids it would be the most impactful for.
APH knows how to do that.
Craig: Microsoft handed us this project name
of Torino and we decided on the name Code
Jumper.
And they said take all of this research and
time and energy and money we’ve spent and
help us get this into the hands of students
and partner with us.
Cecily: Our hope is that we inspire all blind
and low vision children to code regardless
of where they are.
Student: I think we only need two because
then the next one there’s more than one
note.
Student: Yes.
Student: Then we put a pause in between.
Student: Yes, that’s right.
Jonathan: There’s been lots of light bulb
moments where they’ve suddenly understood
a concept where they’ve been able to track
through the program physically as its running.
So they’ve been really enthused about Project
Torino and as a teacher that’s what you
want to see in your students.
You want to see that level of enthusiasm to
learn more.
Craig: It is an active, hands-on learning.
Hitting at those most concrete and operational
levels for a student and I think it’s just
the beginning of what’s to come for this
field.