• Tactopi - A Playful Approach to Promote Computational Thinking for Visually Impaired Children

    Qualitative Questionnaire

  • We invite you to participate in a research study about an accessible system for promoting computational thinking to visually impaired children by programming a robot. The study consists of viewing a short video and filling out a questionnaire, which will be presented below, if you give your consent.

    The questionnaire aims to collect feedback information related to the system TACTOPI 

    A demo of the system and playing scenarios is provided in the video below. it aims to promote introductory computational thinking and executive functions skills through activities that combine sounds and tactile interactions for an engaging and playful experience.

    We are part of the LASIGE research unit of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and work under the guidance of Prof. Doctor Tiago Guerreiro and Doctor Ana Pires. This study is part of my master thesis which aims to promote computational thinking and executive functions in children using a tangible and accessible environment.

    If you have any concerns about any aspect of this study, you can speak to Prof. Tiago Guerreiro, who will do his best to clarify and answer your doubts by e-mail, tjvg@ciencias.ulisboa.pt.

    If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire on the next page. We will follow all ethical and legal practices and all information about you will be treated in an absolutely confidential manner.

     

  • Project Description

    This page contains the description of the system and the video with a brief demonstration.

  • The questionnaire aims to collect feedback information related to the system TACTOPI 

    A demo of the system and playing scenarios is provided in the video below. it aims to promote introductory computational thinking and executive functions skills through activities that combine sounds and tactile interactions for an engaging and playful experience. 

    TACTOPI is a kit composed of: 

    25 modular pieces, with perforated dots to enable customization, allowing to construct different paths;
    the rudder that is controlled by the child in two different modes;
     a set of 5 3D printed animals with smart tags;
    mission cards with tactile figures with smart tags;
    mobile robot based on BBC micro:bit;
    a magic stone for reading mission cards and animals;
    a mp3 and speaker to reproduce the sounds. 

  • Demographic Characterization

    This page collects data to characterize the population of our study.
  • 1. Role you play:*
  • 2. Have you had contact with or work with visually impaired children?*
  • 2.2.What is the age group of the visually impaired children?*

  • General System Questions

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  • 1. Which age group do you think the system is most suitable?*

  • Note: For the following questions you can either make an audio recording of your answer pressing the orange button "🎙️ Record " or if you prefer you can write your answer in the corresponding text box. The impossibility of carrying out a presencial assessment with educators and children due to the current pandemic, has led us to give you the option to record your answers, taking into account the length of open-ended questions, in order to facilitate your time management and ease of being able to give us feedback on the presented system. As it was stated previously in the consent, we will follow all ethical and legal practices and all information about you will be treated in an absolutely confidential manner.

  • 2. Which qualities do you appreciate the most in the presented system?
  • 3. Which limitations do you identify in the presented system?
  • 4. How do you imagine this system could be used at home by children and family members?
  • 4.1. How do you imagine this system could be used in the classroom?

  • The Map

    In this page we ask questions about the modular map.

  • Modular Map - The map has 25 modular pieces allowing to construct different paths, with perforated dots to enable customization, for instance the lighthouse to assist in locating a destination or animal, or to create pieces that serve as obstacles to avoid.

     
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  • 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages that you can enumerate on this type of map?
  • 6.Do you imagine that other scenarios or concepts can be explored with this type of map?

  • Computational Thinking

    On this page, we ask questions about the rudder (helm) and the two navigation modes that allow the training of computational thinking tasks.

  • Navigation mode 1 - The child can create a sequence using the buttons of the rudder, as can be seen in the image below. In this way, the child can acquire spatial concepts and computational thinking by pre-planning the robot's path step by step until the mission is accomplished.

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  • 7. What are the benefits and limitations that you identify in this rudder solution with buttons to pre-program the robot's actions?

  • Navigation mode 2 - To find the animal in danger (e.g. the ice is melting and the polar bear needs to be rescued) the child follows the sound that increases the rhythm as the robot approaches the goal, using the rudder (helm) in a more conventional and natural way, moving it to the right or left.

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  • 8. Could this navigation mode help the visually impaired children to train spatial concepts? Do you find it useful to learn other concepts or cognitive skills?
  • 9. Do you see benefits or limitations by using a free roam mode?
  • 9.1 Do you consider both modes equally suitable for the visually impaired children? Why?

  • Mobile Robot

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  • 10.Do you consider this robot suitable for the activities? Any suggestions / observations about its size or tactile characteristics?
  • 11. In terms of customization, would it be motivating for children to be able to use plasticine or other materials to customize the robot and create their own characters or elements for the scenario?

  • Story and Tactile elements

  • The activity presupposes the existence of short stories, in particular a narrative about the ocean and the preservation of marine species. There is a set of small books with text and audio versions that present the challenge of each activity.

     
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  • 12. Do you consider that using a story to complete the missions has benefits for the child's motivation?
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  • 13. Do you consider the raised-line representation in the mission cards appropriate? Can the child relate the card to the corresponding animal in 3D?
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  • 14. Do you find the use of 3D prints to represent the characters motivating? Why?

  • Playfulness and sounds

    Playfulness is a concept present in this approach, we aim that children can play and imagine while acquiring concepts of computational thinking, motor skills and executive functions. The possibility of sound reproduction aims to improve the accessibility and interactivity of the system.
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  • 15. What is your opinion regarding the benefits of activities with the playfulness component?
  • 16. Do you consider the presence of audios for the robot's direction and descriptions of the missions adequate to ensure accessibility?
  • We are currently refining these solutions and looking for candidates for experimentation in a real environment. Would you be interested in using this environment with your students?
  • If you have any comments or suggestions you want to share, use this field.

  • Thank you for taking the time to answer this questionnaire!

     
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