A classroom where blind students could get to the code

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Learning programming should not depend on being able to see the screen. In a partnership with BITS, the American Printing House, and Microsoft colleagues, the University of Arizona’s Disability Resource Center helped more than 140 blind and visually impaired students take part in six months of Python learning.

The lasting lesson was not that coding needed to be made easier. It was that the learning environment needed to be accessible. When students could work with the tools and instruction in a way that fit how they learn, they could focus on programming itself—and imagine what they might build next.

That is the kind of work I want to keep doing: listen to the people affected, make the path usable, and leave space for learners to surprise themselves.

Read the University of Arizona story about the program.

Jeff Bishop — News and project updates

A classroom where blind students could get to the code