This thesis documents the adaptation and extension of an existing computational
construction kit, and its use by a community of learners previously
unaddressed – blind and visually impaired children. This community has
an intimate relationship with the digital and assistive technologies that
they rely on for carrying out their everyday tasks, but have no tools for
designing and creating their own devices. Using a computational construction
kit, created around the latest Programmable Brick (the Cricket),
children can write programs to interact with the world around them using
sensors, speech synthesis, and numerous other actuators. The Cricket
system was extended with a number of specific modules, and redesigned
to better suit touch and sound-based interaction patterns. This thesis documents
an initial technology implementation and presents case studies of
activities carried out with a small group of visually impaired teenagers.
These case studies serve to highlight specific domains of knowledge that
were discovered to be especially relevant for this community. Much of
this work impacts approaches, technologies, and activities for sighted
users of the Programmable Brick.