I have a blind student who uses the Brailliant Display Keyboard. This keyboard helps the student navigate, read, write etc. However, this keyboard and the Code Studio do NOT work well together. Since he cannot see, he cannot “run” his program and determine if his code is working. The DrawDiamond activity is nearly impossible because he cannot determine if he is creating/naming a function and a call-up. We are in Unit 3 Lesson 5. To click and drag a function from the toolbox to the work space is not an option for him. However, he can use the “show text” option. So I need someone to tell me about the Explore and Create PTs turned-in to the AP Board.
What help am I allowed to give a blind student for the PT activities? He is at a significant disadvantage to all the other students. This is really hard to explain unless you are actually watching the roadblocks we face, as they occur.
What modifications/accommodations are allowed by the AP Board for the Explore and Create PTs?
He has a device called a “draftsman” which helps him draw, would this be allowed as a extra tool to help him with the PTs and on the AP Exam?
With whom do I need to talk to get answers?
Can Code.org start developing a Code Studio for blind students?
These may be easy questions, but this is my first experience with this issue, and I want this student to be successful.
@msmith Thanks for contacting us about your challenges. I can answer a few of your questions based on my current teacher experiences. My first recommendation is to consult with your students’ special needs team (i.e. Testing coordinator, AP Administrator and 504 personnel). They are be able to contact the College Board on your behalf for advise on how proceed with your student. The College Board does allow accommodations for the AP exam based on your students’ Specialized Education Plan, if one exists. However, they will need to be notified early. Follow the plan outlined for teachers in the Course and Exam Description guide as it relates to the Create and Explore PT until the College Board advises you how to proceed. I will pass this post on to the Code Curriculum team for answers that I cannot address. Please contact us if you have any more concerns.
Hi there! For the 2020-2021 school year I will have my first blind student in AP CSP. I read through your thread and took a look at Quorum. I was wondering if you would be will to share your successes with your student. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I had to be very tactile with my blind student. I gave him a mini-duck for turtle movements. I actually have to guide his hand through some of the coding so he understood what was going on when he moved his mouse. He had a special keyboard, and it took time for him to understand how to move through the Coding APP on Code.org. So, he finally gave up and dropped from the class because the coding became very difficult for him, and there wasn’t enough help for him, and I could not devote all my class time to just him. He took three times the amount of time it took others to get through a coding event. The case worker, myself and the IEP director tried our best to find a way to help. We even contacted the AP Board to request exemptions for the AP Testing, unfortunately, that proved ineffective. I was feeling very defeated in our efforts to help, because when one door opened, another closed, and I could tell our student was getting very frustrated about what to do.
I was given a link to a site from Code.org to help with his coding, but it still wasn’t user friendly for him. I had his case worker come in to see the difficulty we were having, but it just wasn’t enough for our blind student. He felt left out on many activities and none of the videos were helpful as you can imagine. We all tried to be very verbal about what we did and about explaining videos, but it still left him feeling lost.