Designing a Programming System for Children with a Focus on Usability

Citation:
J.F. Pane, "Designing a Programming System for Children with a Focus on Usability", CHI 98 Summary: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Los Angeles: ACM Press, April 1998, pp. 62-63.

Abstract:
This research proposes the design of a new programming language and environment for children. Emphasis throughout the design will be on usability. I will apply prior results from empirical studies of programmers and the psychology of programming, as well as new empirical studies that investigate areas that have not yet been studied completely. My thesis is that this focus on usability will produce a system that is easier for children to learn and use than existing systems. I will evaluate this thesis through user studies comparing the new system to other programming systems for beginners.

Full Paper:
CHI98.pdf (91 KB).