Call for Participation

Scope and Goals

Blocks programming environments represent program syntax trees as compositions of visual blocks. This family of tools includes Scratch, Blockly, Code.org's lessons, App Inventor, Snap!, Pencil Code, Alice/Looking Glass, AgentSheets/AgentCubes, etc. They have introduced programming and computational thinking to tens of millions, reaching people of all ages and backgrounds.

Despite their popularity, there has been remarkably little research on the usability, effectiveness, or generalizability of affordances of these environments. The goal of this workshop is to begin to distill testable hypotheses from the existing folk knowledge of blocks-based programming environments and identify research questions and partnerships that can legitimize, or discount, pieces of this knowledge. The workshop will bring together educators and researchers with experience in blocks languages, as well as members of the broader VL/HCC community who wish to examine this area more deeply. We seek participants with diverse expertise, including, but not limited to: design of programming environments, instruction with these environments, the learning sciences, data analytics, usability, and more.

The workshop will be a generative discussion that sets the stage for future work and collaboration. It will include participant presentations and demonstrations that frame the discussion, followed by reflection on the state of the field and smaller working-group discussion and brainstorming sessions.

Suggested Topics for Discussion

• Who uses blocks programming environments and why? What do they create in these environments, and how satisfied are they with their creations?
• Which features of blocks environments help or hinder users? How do we know? Which of these features are worth incorporating into more traditional IDEs? What helpful features are missing?
• How can blocks environments and associated curricular materials be made more accessible to everyone, especially those with disabilities?
• Can blocks programming appeal to a wider range of interests (e.g., by allowing connections to different types of devices, web services, data sources, etc.)?
• What are the best ways to introduce programming to novices and to support their progression towards mastery? Do these approaches differ for for learners of computing basics and for makers?
• What are the conceptual and practical hurdles encountered by novice users of blocks languages when they face the transition to text languages and traditional programming communities? What can be done to reduce these hurdles?
• How can we best harness online communities to support growth through teaching, motivating, and providing inspiration and feedback?
• What roles should collaboration play in blocks programming? How can environments support that collaboration?
• In these environments, what data can be collected, and how can that data be analyzed to determine answers to questions like those above? How can we use data to answer larger scale questions about early experiences with programming?
• What are the lessons learned (both positive and negative) from creating first programming environments that can be shared with future environment designers?