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Moving Away from the Blocks: Evaluating the Usability of EduBlocks for Supporting Children to Transition from Block-Based Programming

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Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023 (INTERACT 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14142))

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Abstract

When learning to code, children and novice programmers often transition from block-based to traditional text-based programming environments. This paper explores the usability problems within a block-based authoring environment, EduBlocks, that may hinder children’s learning. Using domain-specific heuristics, a usability evaluation was performed by expert evaluators, which was later combined with data from an analysis of problems reported in Forums, to produce a corpus of usability problems. The corpus was subsequently analysed using thematic analysis, and seven design guidelines were synthesized. Using the guidelines, a model of interaction was created to inform the design of block-based authoring environments that support the transition to text-based authoring. The model examines the interplay between learning within a school environment to independently using the authoring environment and how the interface can support these differing scenarios. This paper contributes to the design of effective user interfaces to support children learning to code and provides guidelines for developers of hybrid authoring environments to support the transition away from blocks.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    EduBlocks Curriculum https://curriculum.edublocks.org/.

  2. 2.

    EduBlocks Feedback Forum https://app.edublocks.org/feedback.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK

    Gavin Sim, Mark Lochrie, Oliver Kerr & Matthew Bates

  2. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

    Misbahu S. Zubair

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  1. Gavin Sim
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  2. Mark Lochrie
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  4. Oliver Kerr
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  5. Matthew Bates
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Correspondence to Gavin Sim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of West London, London, UK

    José Abdelnour Nocera

  2. Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Marta Kristín Lárusdóttir

  3. University of York, York, UK

    Helen Petrie

  4. University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Piccinno

  5. Université Côte d’Azur, Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France

    Marco Winckler

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Sim, G., Lochrie, M., Zubair, M.S., Kerr, O., Bates, M. (2023). Moving Away from the Blocks: Evaluating the Usability of EduBlocks for Supporting Children to Transition from Block-Based Programming. In: Abdelnour Nocera, J., Kristín Lárusdóttir, M., Petrie, H., Piccinno, A., Winckler, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2023. INTERACT 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14142. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42280-5_19

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