The Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is conducting research to improve the usability of OctoStudio, a free app that engages children and teens in learning to code by creating their own interactive stories, animations, and games. Since launching two years ago, OctoStudio has been used by thousands of young people and educators around the world. This new project seeks to improve the usability of OctoStudio to ensure that students who are blind or low-vision (BLV) are also able to access this app to learn to design and code their own interactive projects. 

To find out more about the initial work on making OctoStudio accessible for blind and low-vision students, please see the Perkins School for the Blind's blog post about OctoStudio.

Currently, we are seeking to gather feedback about the OctoStudio app with two groups:

1. Educators who work with BLV students, especially those interested in engaging BLV students in coding or creativity apps

2. Children and teens (ages 10 to 17) who are blind or low-vision and who have experience using screen readers on mobile devices, such as VoiceOver (on iPhone or iPad) or TalkBack (on an Android phone or tablet).

We are inviting educators who work with BLV students to participate in a one-hour interview to explore how the OctoStudio app may be relevant for your students. Educators will be asked to download the app and spend about 20 minutes playing with it prior to the interview. Educators who are selected to participate and complete an interview will receive a $50 gift card. If you are an educator interested in participating, please fill out this interest form.

We are inviting students (ages 10 to 17) who are blind or low-vision to participate in a one-hour playtest session. Students will need prior experience using a screen reader (either VoiceOver on iOS or TalkBack on Android). If your child is selected to participate, here is what you can expect:

• We will share a version of the OctoStudio creative coding app for students to try, explore, and create with. 

• We will ask to listen and observe your child as they explore and play with the app, and ask questions about their experience, such as: "What did you try on the app?" "What did you create?" "What do you wish was different?" 

If you are a parent with a child or teen interested in participating, please fill out this interest form.

This research project is led by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, in collaboration with evaluators from Lynch Research Associates. If you have any questions about this research, please contact Natalie Rusk, PhD, and team at octo-study@media.mit.edu

To learn more about the creative learning tools and environments developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group, please see the Lifelong Kindergarten website. You can also learn more through the Lifelong Kindergarten podcast and the Lifelong Kindergarten book from MIT Press.