Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

Ana Paula Juliana Perin

, Deivid E. dos S. Silva

and Natasha M. C. Valentim

Federal University of Paran

a, R. Evaristo F. Ferreira da Costa, 383-391 - Garden of the Americas, Curitiba, Brazil

Keywords:

Block Programming Tools, ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant, High School.

Abstract:

Block programming emerged as an alternative to textual programming education due to its complexity. In

this context, the need to support teachers in selecting this type of tool was recognized. For this purpose, a

virtual assistant named ADA Blocks was created and used. Therefore, this paper presents a feasibility study

to evaluate the acceptance of ADA Blocks. Ten experts in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) assessed this

assistant. The study’s results revealed that most experts agreed on the ease of use and usefulness of the

virtual assistant ADA Blocks, as well as concerns regarding its development in terms of accessibility. Some

limitations were also identiﬁed, such as the inability to revisit a question when necessary.

1 INTRODUCTION

The challenges of the 21st Century, such as adapting

to emerging technological resources and processes,

demand an education more aligned with the needs of

the contemporary world. In this context, collaborative

environments can be an alternative to the traditional

classroom model, fostering interaction, experimenta-

tion, and connection among students. These environ-

ments enable student agency and the development of

essential 21st-century competencies and skills. This

approach can facilitate the understanding and crit-

ical and creative use of technologies. Among the

important competencies and skills to develop in stu-

dents are: technological proﬁciency, leadership, col-

laboration, effective communication, emotional intel-

ligence, autonomy, and teamwork (F

uhr and Hauben-

thal, 2019).

According to Hartono et al. (2018), it is essen-

tial to adopt an appropriate methodology so that stu-

dents understand the materials used in the teaching

and learning processes. In this context, planning and

preparing teachers to apply new pedagogical method-

ologies become essential to promote student protago-

nism (Santos et al., 2019). Hartono et al. (2018) high-

light that the role of the teacher includes: (1) encour-

aging collaborative learning through experiences and

social interactions; (2) fostering autonomy, decision-

making, and critical thinking, allowing the student to

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6470-681X

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1066-0750

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6027-3452

choose what, when, how, where, and why to learn;

(3) offer practical learning opportunities, supported

by technology; and (4) provide learning experiences

beyond the conﬁnes of the classroom.

Therefore, one way to prepare students for the

challenges of the 21st Century and develop their

skills and competencies can be through programming.

However, using textual programming languages can

make the learning process more difﬁcult due to the

complexity of the syntax of most languages (Burnett

and McIntyre, 1995; Souza and Franc¸a, 2013), which

can make it difﬁcult for students to develop Informa-

tion Systems (IS), in addition to developing skills nec-

essary for the challenges of the contemporary world.

An alternative to minimizing this difﬁculty can be

through the use of block programming, which can

make learning more attractive by providing a visual

and intuitive experience (Rios et al., 2019). Fur-

thermore, block programming allows an interdisci-

plinary approach, promoting the development of con-

cepts related to Logic and Computational Thinking in

schools.

However, when teaching block programming,

teachers may face difﬁculties due to a lack of famil-

iarity with the various tools available. In addition to

the possibility of feeling insecure when choosing the

tool that best adapts to the context and speciﬁc needs

of their classes. To support and encourage high school

teachers in choosing block programming tools for use

in the classroom, the ADA Blocks virtual assistant

(Perin et al., 2022) was developed.

High School was chosen to help teachers at this

Perin, A. P. J., Silva, D. E. S. and Valentim, N. M. C.

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts.

DOI: 10.5220/0013479600003932

In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2025) - Volume 1, pages 135-146

ISBN: 978-989-758-746-7; ISSN: 2184-5026

135

level of education to improve the teaching and learn

the process (Li et al., 2022), in addition to preparing

future professionals who are more capable of develop-

ing innovative technologies and IS solutions. This be-

comes important because, in Computing courses, stu-

dents often experience difﬁculties related to problem-

solving and algorithmic thinking (Calderon et al.,

2021). Furthermore, students who enroll in IS courses

have skills deﬁcits in text interpretation and in sub-

jects such as Portuguese and Mathematics, difﬁcul-

ties that already manifest themselves in high school

(Garcia et al., 2017; Saraiva et al., 2020), which im-

pacts the understanding and resolution of algorithmic

problems in IS courses. In general, it is believed

that block programming can help in the develop-

ment of 21st Century skills and competencies in high

school students, such as logical-mathematical rea-

soning and computational thinking (Figueiredo and

Garc

ıa-Pe

nalvo, 2017), in addition to promoting stu-

dent protagonism with more playful activities and

challenges.

The assistant ADA Blocks has a set of questions

that address aspects such as support material, lan-

guage, and discipline, among other relevant factors.

These questions aim to facilitate the suggestion of

block programming tools that are most appropriate to

the context of each teacher’s discipline. Therefore,

a feasibility study was carried out with ten HCI ex-

perts, to seek a quick look at the ADA Blocks virtual

assistant from experts. Additionally, we would like

to highlight that this study seeks to build a body of

knowledge about the difﬁculties of using the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant. The feasibility study was

chosen because the main objective of the study is

not to ﬁnd a deﬁnitive answer but rather to create

a body of knowledge about the technology (Shull

et al., 2004). The data collection questionnaires used

were: a participant characterization questionnaire and

a questionnaire adapted from the Technology Accep-

tance Model (TAM 3), deﬁned by Venkatesh and Bala

(2008). In general, the results of this study show that

ADA Blocks are easy to use and ADA Blocks opti-

mizes the teacher’s work and contributes signiﬁcantly

to the area of Information Technology in Education in

Computing. It was realized that ADA Blocks can also

be used in introductory subjects in higher education

courses. A limitation of the assistant is that it is not

accessible to blind or visually impaired teachers.

This paper is organized into 7 sections. Section

2 presents related work on the use of block program-

ming in high school. Section 3 addresses the method-

ology used in the feasibility study. Sections 4 and

5 present the results and discussions of the quantita-

tive data. Section 6 presents the results of qualitative

data. Finally, Section 7 presents ﬁnal considerations

and future work.

2 RELATED WORK

Jocius et al. (2020) conducted a training with 116

teachers using the Snap!

tool. The participants were

teachers from the Humanities, Sciences, and Mathe-

matics areas. The training began with PRADA (Pat-

tern Recognition, Abstraction, Decomposition, and

Algorithms), addressing computational thinking, fol-

lowed by code infusion sessions. In this process, the

Use-Modify-Create learning structure was adopted,

which allowed teachers to use, modify, and create new

codes. During the course, teachers developed lesson

plans for their respective disciplines and suggested ac-

tivities that could be implemented in the classroom.

In addition, they carried out a collaborative activity

to map and describe the patterns of the PRADA ele-

ments, in addition to creating teaching materials, such

as slides and handouts, to share the knowledge ac-

quired with other participants.

Buffum et al. (2016) used the ENGAGE

tool

for teacher training, employing a game-based learn-

ing environment focused on Computer Science. The

study had the participation of 18 students and 4 teach-

ers, and was divided into three stages: 1) Devel-

opment of the curriculum in collaboration with the

teachers; 2) Teacher training; and 3) Implementation

of the study with students. The teachers expressed

satisfaction with the training received and highlighted

the support of the game-based learning environment

in the classes. On the other hand, the students demon-

strated a positive response to the experience, and ob-

servations made in the classroom indicated a high

level of engagement on their part.

In the study by Seralidou and Douligeris (2019),

teachers taught content that included the design and

programming of Android applications for mobile de-

vices. Students worked in groups of two or three

people on each computer. During each class, teach-

ers gave students activity sheets that mentioned the

time available to complete the activity and then ob-

served the students. The researchers monitored high

school teachers to evaluate the methodology used in

the classroom, both from the teacher’s and student’s

perspectives, and it was noted that students and teach-

ers have a positive attitude towards the implementa-

tion and use of the MIT App Inventor

software.

https://snap.berkeley.edu/

http://projects.intellimedia.ncsu.edu/engage/

https://appinventor.mit.edu/

CSEDU 2025 - 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

136

The studies mentioned above highlight the use of

block programming tools by high school teachers and

their students, evidencing positive perceptions regard-

ing their use in the classroom. However, teachers

were observed to receive support from researchers

during the teaching and learning processes, working

with a speciﬁc tool. It was not mentioned whether

teachers were free to choose the tool most appropriate

to their context of use or subject. The lack of teacher

autonomy in choosing the block programming tools

that best suit their needs can limit and restrict teaching

and learning processes, making them inﬂexible and

standardized. In this sense, the existence of an assis-

tant that supports the process of selecting one or more

block programming tools was not identiﬁed in the lit-

erature, offering autonomy to the teacher in choosing

the most appropriate tool to meet their needs. For this

reason, the ADA Blocks virtual assistant was devel-

oped with the objective of helping teachers choose the

block programming tools that are most appropriate to

their context of use.

3 ADA BLOCKS ASSISTANT

The ADA Blocks virtual assistant consists of a tech-

nology that recommends a set of block programming

tools for high school teachers. To suggest the tools,

the teacher must answer a set of questions in the rec-

ommendation questionnaire. After answering all the

questions, the ADA Blocks assistant suggests some

tools to the teacher.

The recommendation questionnaire has ten ques-

tions. These questions were constructed based on the

characteristics investigated in a benchmark (Perin et

al., 2021). The questions are related to the disci-

pline in which the teacher wishes to use the block

programming tool, whether they would like to use

support material and what type of material, among

others. Among the answers, one can ﬁnd the dis-

ciplines where the block programming tools can be

worked, the platforms on which they work, the op-

erating systems, and emerging technologies, among

others. The basis for the construction of ADA Blocks

was an opinion survey carried out with high school

teachers (Perin et al., 2022), a Systematic Mapping

of the Literature (SML), and the benchmark (Perin

et al., 2021). The recommended tools were those re-

turned in the SML and the manual search on their web

pages. Only tools that had an access link and allowed

the characteristics to be consulted were considered.

More details about the ADA Blocks wizard can be

found in the technical report

The ADA Blocks assistant questionnaire was di-

vided into two stages: (1st) data entry and (2nd)

analysis and recommendation of block programming

tools. The ﬁrst stage (data entry) consists of the

teacher’s response to the assistant’s questionnaire.

The recommendation questionnaire has a set of ques-

tions where there are at least two possible answers for

each question. The questionnaire works as follows: a

question, when answered, is directed to the next one

based on the answer obtained in the current question.

The second stage is the analysis of the answers and

the recommendation of tools based on the teacher’s

answers. The Figure 1 presents the results of a search

for block programming tools (screen in Portuguese)

recommended by the ADA Blocks virtual assistant.

4 FEASIBILITY STUDY

The feasibility study was carried out as suggested by

Shull et al. (2004), whose purpose is to verify whether

the objectives of the proposed technology, the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant, can be met, before being ap-

plied in a real context. A previous study was con-

ducted with high school teachers to assess the adop-

tion and acceptance of the ADA Blocks virtual assis-

tant, which allowed us to create a body of knowledge

from the perspective of these teachers (Perin et al.,

2022a). As a result, improvements were made to the

assistant, making it more effective and aligned with

the needs of teachers. From this study, the need arose

to conduct a new investigation with HCI experts, to

obtain a technical view on the suitability of the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant in terms of design, usabil-

ity, and accessibility, and to identify improvements

needed to align the ADA Blocks with its target au-

dience. In this paper, we ﬁrst seek to create a body

of knowledge about the ADA Blocks virtual assistant

from the perspective of HCI experts. This study was

approved by the Research Ethics Committee

The feasibility study was carried out in three

stages: (1) Planning; (2) Execution; and (3) Anal-

ysis. In the Planning stage (1), the target audience

was deﬁned as HCI experts. Subsequently, it was

deﬁned that study participants would be invited by

e-mail. The steps deﬁned to carry out the study af-

ter participant acceptance were: (1) Presentation of

the Informed Consent Form (ICF) and the objective

of the study, (2) Presentation of the functionalities

of the ADA Blocks website, page menus and the

https://ﬁgshare.com/s/6e9faa378645d045e712

Federal University of Paran

a, Brazil - CAAE:

78743624.0.0000.0102 - Opinion Number: 6.786.195

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

137

Figure 1: Result of an ADA Blocks tool search (screen in Portuguese).

ADA Blocks virtual assistant recommendation ques-

tionnaire, and (3) Presentation of the data collec-

tion questionnaires. For this study, the data collec-

tion questionnaire was made available directly on the

ADA Blocks website

, allowing participants to ex-

plore the assistant and then answer the questionnaire

in the same environment, without the need to ac-

cess an external platform. Therefore, the data collec-

tion questionnaires were deﬁned, namely: a charac-

terization questionnaire and a questionnaire adapted

from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM 3), de-

ﬁned by Venkatesh and Bala (2008). The charac-

terization questionnaire contained six multiple-choice

questions, to know the proﬁle of the experts, and

whether they had prior knowledge about block pro-

gramming. The questionnaire based on TAM 3 con-

tained ten multiple-choice questions about the percep-

tion of experts’ acceptance of ADA Blocks. The TAM

3 model was chosen because researchers widely use it

and has undergone several experiments that indicate

its viability of use (Davis et al., 1989; Venkatesh and

https://www.adablocks.com.br/

Bala, 2008) ). In addition, this questionnaire had open

ﬁelds for participants to comment on ADA Blocks

virtual assistant.

The Execution stage (2) took place on Jun/2024,

totaling 26 days. In the ﬁrst contact via e-mail, a sum-

mary of the study was presented, and if the teachers

wished to participate voluntarily, an online meeting

was scheduled according to their availability. Dur-

ing the meetings, ICF was presented, and any doubts

that might arise were clariﬁed. Subsequently, the re-

searcher brieﬂy introduced the ADA Blocks virtual

assistant. Finally, the experts were instructed to send

the signed ICF by email, instructed to use the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant and explore its website, and to

answer the characterization and evaluation question-

naire at the time they found most convenient within 7

days after the study presentation meeting. The third

stage, data analysis, will be presented in the following

section.

CSEDU 2025 - 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

138

5 RESULTS

Ten HCI experts participated in this study. The results

obtained were organized into three parts: (1) Charac-

terization data of the teachers; (2) Quantitative data

of the TAM 3 indicators; and (3) Qualitative analysis

of the open questions, this third part is presented in

Section 6.

5.1 Characterization of the Participants

To characterize the experts of the HCI proﬁle, six

questions were asked: (1) Gender; (2) Age; (3) Qual-

iﬁcation; (4) Area of activity; (5) Experience in the

HCI area; and (6) Whether the expert knew the term

block programming before to use the ADA Blocks.

Regarding the gender of the experts of HCI (ques-

tion 1), 70% (N = 7) are male and 30% (N = 6) are

female. Regarding age (question 2), 70% (N = 7) of

the specialists are between 20 and 30 years old, 20%

(N = 2) are between 31 and 40 years old, and 10% (N

= 1) are between 41 and 50.

Regarding qualiﬁcations (question 3), 90% (N =

9) of the participants have a master’s degree, and 10%

(N = 1) have a specialization.

Regarding the type of area in which they work

(question 4, Figure 2), 38.5% (N = 5) work in

academia as researchers, 30.8% (N = 4) work in

academia as professors, 23.1% (N = 3) work in the

private sector, and 7.7% (N = 1) work in the public

sector.

Figure 2: Area in which they work.

Regarding the time of experience in the HCI area

(question 5, Figure 3), 30% (N = 3) have been work-

ing for 6 years, 30% (N = 2) have been working for

5 years, 20% (N = 2) have been working for 7 years,

20% (N = 2) have been working for 9 years and 10%

(N = 1) have been working for 3 months.

Regarding the expert knowing the term “block

programming” before knowing the ADA Blocks tool

(question 6), 90% (N = 9) responded that they knew

the term, while 10% (N = 1) responded that they did

not know.

Figure 3: Time of Experience in the HCI Area.

5.2 Acceptance Analysis Using TAM 3

The results regarding the acceptance analysis of ADA

Blocks are presented according to the TAM 3 indica-

tors, which are: (1) Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU),

which establishes the degree to which a participant

believes that the use of a speciﬁc technology is easy

to use; (2) Perceived Usefulness (PU), which estab-

lishes the degree to which a participant believes that

the technology can improve his/her performance; and

(3) Future Use Intention (FUI), which establishes

the degree to which a participant believes that he/she

would use the technology in the future.

The indicator (1) Perceived Ease of Use con-

tains the following statements: (PEOU1) My inter-

action with ADA Blocks is clear and understandable.

(PEOU2) Interacting with ADA Blocks does not re-

quire a lot of mental effort. (PEOU3) I ﬁnd ADA

Blocks to be easy to use.; and (PEOU4) I ﬁnd it

easy to get ADA Blocks to do what I want them to

do, recommend a set of block programming tools for

high school teachers. Figure 4 presents the results of

TAM3.

The data indicate that most participants fully

agreed with the statements related to Perceived Ease

of Use (PEOU1 to PEOU2 4), reinforcing the percep-

tion that the ADA Blocks virtual assistant is an intu-

itive and accessible tool. These results highlight that

users found the interaction clear (PEOU1), indicating

that the interface and navigation ﬂows are well struc-

tured; it requires little mental effort to use (PEOU2),

suggesting that interactions are intuitive, reducing

cognitive overload; it is easy to use (PEOU3) and

is efﬁcient in performing speciﬁc tasks, such as rec-

ommending block programming tools to high school

teachers (PEOU4). The ease of use mentioned in

PEOU3 and PEOU4 reinforces that participants felt

conﬁdent in using the tool to achieve their goals. This

positive perception can be used strategically to pro-

mote ADA Blocks as an effective and accessible so-

lution, both in training for educators and in initiatives

for wider adoption in educational institutions.

Even with positive results on PEOU1 to PEOU4,

two participants somewhat disagree PEOU1 and one

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

139

Figure 4: Analysis of participant acceptance of ADA Blocks.

participant moderately disagrees PEOU2. Regarding

PEOU3, one participant neither agreed nor disagreed

with the statement. To solve some of the difﬁculties

faced by some participants, a tutorial on ADA Blocks

could be created, containing instructions for use, thus

assisting in the use of the assistant or improving its

interface, such as changing the side menu to a top

menu. The aim is also to expand the tool’s function-

alities, maintaining ease of use as a fundamental prin-

ciple, especially when integrating resources that meet

the speciﬁc needs of high school teachers.

Regarding the Perceived Usefulness indicator,

there are four statements, namely: (PU1) Using ADA

Blocks improves my performance in choosing block

programming tools that can be used in my high school

subject; (PU2) Using ADA Blocks increases my pro-

ductivity in choosing block programming tools that

can be used in my high school subject; (PU3) Using

ADA Blocks enhances my effectiveness in choosing

block programming tools that can be used in my high

school subject; and (PU4) I ﬁnd ADA Blocks to be

useful for choosing block programming tools. It was

identiﬁed that most participants fully agreed with the

statements.

Thus, in Figure 4, it can be seen that most par-

ticipants fully agreed with the statements, reﬂecting a

positive perception of ADA Blocks. Statement (PU1),

which deals with improved performance when choos-

ing tools, suggests that the platform facilitates teach-

ers’ decision-making, providing a selection of tools

that are more aligned with the needs of their high

school subjects. This implies that ADA Blocks con-

tribute to a more efﬁcient and successful selection

process.

Statement (PU2) highlights the impact on produc-

tivity. The fact that participants consider ADA Blocks

to increase productivity indicates that the platform of-

fers a time-saving solution, simplifying the search for

suitable tools. By centralizing different options in a

single space, ADA Blocks avoids the need to search

multiple sources, speeding up the selection process.

Regarding effectiveness (PU3), it reveals that the

platform not only facilitates the selection process but

also makes it more effective. This suggests that par-

CSEDU 2025 - 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

140

ticipants were not only faster, but also more assertive

in their choices, which can be attributed to the sug-

gestions of block programming tools offered by ADA

Blocks, which align the options with the users’ peda-

gogical context.

Statement (PU4) about the Perceived Usefulness

of ADA Blocks reinforces the perceived value of the

platform. Most participants consider it useful, which

is a strong indicator that ADA Blocks met the expec-

tations and needs of its users, offering a practical, ef-

fective and relevant solution.

In general, the afﬁrmative answers to the four

questions reveal that the experts perceived ADA

Blocks as a useful tool for high school teachers, im-

proving their performance, productivity and effec-

tiveness in choosing block programming tools. This

demonstrates the relevance of ADA Blocks in the ed-

ucational context.

Finally, the indicator Future Use Intention (3) has

two statements, namely: (FUI1) Assuming that I have

access to ADA Blocks, I intend to use it; and (FUI2)

Considering that I have access to ADA Blocks, I

foresee that I would use it. In general, participants

responded positively about the future use intention

(FUI1 and FUI2 - Figure 4). It can be observed that

one participant remained neutral (neither disagree nor

agree) about the statement FUI1 (P4) and two re-

mained neutral (neither disagree nor agree) about the

statement FUI2 (P2 and P7). In addition, (P2 and P7)

somewhat disagreewith FUI1 and UF2.

It can be seen that most of the participants ex-

pressed a positive intention for future use, with agree-

ment on both statements. The positive intention for

future use is a good indication that the ADA Blocks

virtual assistant has been well received and meets the

needs of the participants, stimulating interest in con-

tinuing to use it.

However, P2 somewhat disagree with the state-

ments UF1 and UF2 can be attributed to the fact that

not all participants are specialists working directly in

teaching. Participant P7 works in the private industry.

Regarding P7 somewhat disagrees with the statements

UF1 and UF2, which can be attributed to the fact that

he does not work as a high school teacher, not see-

ing the need for their future use; however, he sees the

usefulness of ADA Blocks.

In addition, the broad disagreement of P2 and P7

with both statements UF1 and UF2 suggests that, for

these participants, ADA Blocks do not fully meet

their expectations or needs. In this case, one way

to improve the future usage intention of these partic-

ipants may be through adjustments to ADA Blocks,

whether in the interface, in the personalization of rec-

ommendations, or in the functionalities offered.

6 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS AND

DISCUSSIONS

For qualitative analysis, the partial procedures of the

Grounded Theory (GT) method (Corbin and Strauss,

2014) were used. GT has 3 stages in the coding

process, namely (1) open coding, (2) axial coding,

and (3) selective coding. In open coding, the par-

ticipants’ feedback was coded. In axial coding, the

codes were grouped according to their properties and

related to each other, thus forming categories that rep-

resent their characteristics. Selective coding was not

performed, it is not possible to create a theory, since a

circularity of the data is necessary through more stud-

ies. The responses received were analyzed and coded

individually, and peer-reviewed.

Regarding the difﬁculties encountered, difﬁcul-

ties related to the design of ADA Blocks can be men-

tioned (see the quote from P2 below); difﬁculties re-

turning to a previous question while answering ADA

Blocks questions (see P6 and P7a quotes below); dif-

ﬁculties related to texts being too close to the hori-

zontal and colors being off-standard in some ADA

Blocks elements (see P7b quote below); difﬁculties

related to the ADA Blocks menu icons (see P9 quote

below); and difﬁculties using ADA Blocks in a mo-

bile browser (see P10 quote below).

“The biggest difﬁculties are in the design of the

tool (P2)”.

“I encountered difﬁculties when trying to return

to a previous option while answering the ADA Blocks

questions (P6)”.

“Impossibility of returning to a question in the

questionnaire (P7a)”.

“Texts too long horizontally... Use of non-

standard colors in some elements (P7b)”.

“The way the menu icons are arranged made me

try harder to identify ’where’ I was on the page and

’where’ I wanted to go (P9)”.

“There were some obstacles in mobile use (P10)”.

One way to solve or minimize the difﬁculties

pointed out by P2 and P9 is to redesign the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant, repositioning the main menu

from the side to the top of the page and its con-

tent being structured by tabs, rather than continuous

scrolling. Furthermore, it is essential to highlight the

menu icons, making them more visible and under-

standable for users, which will make it easier to lo-

cate and navigate the interface. With this change, it

will be possible to adjust the texts to more appropri-

ate and standardized sizes, in addition to optimizing

the colors, which was a difﬁculty mentioned by P7b.

One way to solve the difﬁculty of returning to the pre-

vious question (P6 and P7a) would be to implement

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

141

an option that allows the user to return to the previous

question with a simple click, whenever necessary.

Regarding the limitations of ADA Blocks, limi-

tations such as not providing details on how to use the

block programming tools and how to apply them in a

teaching plan (see the quote from P5 below) and sug-

gestions for applying ADA Blocks in a real scenario

(see the quote from P9 below) can be mentioned.

“There are no details on how to use the block pro-

gramming tools, how to apply them in a teaching plan

(P5)”.

“...I suggest applying them in a real scenario to

evaluate their usefulness (P9)”.

One way to minimize the limitations of ADA

Blocks related to P9’s comment would be to pro-

vide support materials, such as tutorials, class videos,

teaching plan models developed by other teachers

who have already used the block programming tool

suggested by ADA Blocks, as well as discussion fo-

rums on how to apply the tool in a teaching plan.

Regarding the suggestion to apply ADA Blocks in a

real context (P9), the authors consider conducting a

study with high school teachers, in which the block

programming tool suggested by ADA Blocks is used,

taking into account the context of the use of both

teachers and students. In addition, the study would

also evaluate the results obtained with the use of the

tool and the usefulness of ADA Blocks in this process.

Regarding the suggestions for improvement, the

following can be mentioned: a suggestion to add tools

to assist elementary school teachers in a future ver-

sion (see the quote from P1 below); a suggestion

to add buttons to ”select all” and ”deselect all” in

the questionnaire recommending block programming

tools (see the quote from P5 below); a suggestion to

add other topics to ADA Blocks in addition to block

programming (see the quote from P9 below); a sug-

gestion to include suggestion options where users can

complement information about other tools to be used

and to include a section where users can comment on

their experiences using the tools (see the quote from

P10 below).

“... here’s a tip to also think about elementary

school, perhaps in a second version of ADA Blocks

(P1)”.

“There could be some buttons to ”select all”, ”de-

select all” (P5)”.

“It would be interesting to add other topics. In

addition to block programming (P9)”.

“Perhaps it would be interesting to include sug-

gestion options so that users themselves can comple-

ment information about other tools to be used... a

section where users comment on their experiences us-

ing the tools, such as a forum for questions, exchange

of ideas, tutorials, among others. (P10)”.

Regarding the suggestion for improvement of P10,

the intention is to create a knowledge base containing

block programming tools that can be used in elemen-

tary school and recommended by ADA Blocks. This

knowledge base will allow teachers to access a variety

of block programming tools that can be used accord-

ing to the needs of their students and the pedagogical

context. In addition, the aim is to provide detailed de-

scriptions of each tool, its functionalities and applica-

tion examples, discussion forums, and support materi-

als. In this way, ADA Blocks can facilitate the choice

of the best solution for different levels of education

and educational realities.

Regarding the improvement suggestion men-

tioned by P5, the aim is to add a button to the rec-

ommendation form that allows the user to select all

options or not, but only in speciﬁc questions, such as

language, platform, and operating system. Not mak-

ing this button available for all options can ensure

that the tool ﬁlter performed by the ADA Blocks vir-

tual assistant works correctly. This is because ADA

Blocks was developed to suggest the most appropri-

ate tool for the characteristics and context of the use

of the teacher in the classroom. The ﬁlter is essential,

for example, to prevent a teacher from selecting all

high school subjects to work with block programming

or all emerging technologies. In this way, the system

ensures that recommendations are personalized, and

aligned with the speciﬁc objectives and needs of each

teacher.

Regarding P9’s suggestion, the aim is to incorpo-

rate options based on auditory and tactile languages

for the visually impaired into the block programming

theme, as identiﬁed by Psycharis et al. (2022) as be-

ing the most appropriate. In addition, a knowledge

base will be created that compiles studies and tools for

programming in tangible and inclusive blocks, such

as CodeRhythm, developed by Rong et al. (2020),

and BrailleBlocks, designed by Gadiraju et al. (2020).

This approach aims to expand access to programming

for people with visual impairments, promoting inclu-

sion and engagement in learning emerging technolo-

gies.

Finally, regarding P10’s suggestion, the aim is to

add to the web page of the ADA Blocks virtual as-

sistant the option for users to share their experiences

with the tools recommended by ADA Blocks. This

can be done through a discussion forum, in addition to

allowing teachers to include support materials, such

as tutorials and teaching plans that they have devel-

oped. This functionality aims to create a collabora-

tive space, where teachers can exchange knowledge

and contribute to the continuous improvement of the

CSEDU 2025 - 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

142

assistant.

Regarding suggestions for improving the acces-

sibility of ADA Blocks, suggestions include acces-

sibility options that are missing, such as alternating

contrast between Light and Dark, and inserting an

”Accessibility” section in ADA Blocks with more in-

formation that would be useful (see the quotes from

P10 below); suggestions to check whether the cap-

tions provided by the video platform allow HandTalk

to read and interpret them for users; and suggestions

to integrate HandTalk into tutorial videos (see the

quotes from P6 below).

“...include missing options, such as toggling be-

tween Light and Dark contrast (P10)”.

“Perhaps a section on the ”Accessibility” website

with more information would be useful (P10)”.

“I don’t know if the subtitles provided by the video

platform allow the software to read and interpret them

for users; this possibility would need to be veriﬁed

(P6)”.

“As a suggestion for improvement, it would be ad-

vantageous to integrate Hand Talk into the tutorial

videos (P6)”.

To meet P10’s suggestion, the aim is to imple-

ment toggling between light and dark modes in the

redesign of the ADA Blocks virtual assistant. This

functionality aims to improve the accessibility of the

tool, allowing users to adjust the interface according

to their preferences and visual needs. In addition, an

item called ”Accessibility” will be added to the main

menu, which will provide information on the topic

and explain how the ADA Blocks assistant meets ac-

cessibility criteria, with a focus on promoting inclu-

sion.

Regarding video captions, the intention is to re-

formulate the videos and their content to make them

more interactive, adjusting the size of the subtitles to

meet the needs of the visually impaired. In addition,

a sign language interpreter will be included, ensur-

ing accessibility for the hearing impaired as well as

providing a more inclusive experience for all users.

This reformulation would meet the suggestions for

improvements made by P6.

Regarding the perceptions of accessibility of

ADA Blocks, the following can be mentioned: au-

ditory descriptions of images for interpretation using

screen reading software (see the quote from P6 be-

low); ADA Blocks provides a sign language transla-

tor (see the quote from P7 below); and the participant

liked the accessibility tools, such as the sign language

plugin (see the quote from P10 below).

“[...] When examining the HTML code of the ap-

plication, the presence of audible descriptions for the

images was noticed. This functionality is of great im-

portance, as it facilitates the interpretation of images

by people with visual impairments, using screen read-

ing software. (P6)”.

“ADA Blocks provides a sign language translator

(P7)”.

“I liked the accessibility tools, such as the sign

language plugin (P10)”.

The perceptions about the accessibility of the

ADA Blocks virtual assistant highlight important re-

sources to promote inclusion. The presence of audi-

tory descriptions for images, mentioned by P6, facil-

itates the interpretation of visual content by visually

impaired people, using screen reading software. The

provision of a sign language translator (P7) is another

relevant aspect, ensuring access to content for peo-

ple with hearing impairments. The quote from P10

expresses the satisfaction of users with these accessi-

bility tools, such as the sign language plugin. These

resources are essential to make ADA Blocks a more

inclusive tool, offering equal access to knowledge and

technology for people with different needs.

Regarding the perceptions about the usefulness

of ADA Blocks, the usefulness throughout the inter-

action can be mentioned, especially in terms of digi-

tal accessibility (see the quote from P6 below); useful

when there is a need to ﬁnd the best tool to work on

a certain subject; and useful and brings beneﬁts to the

user who was not familiar with the term “block pro-

gramming” (see the quote from P3 below).

“The usefulness of the ADA Blocks assistant has

been extremely positive for me throughout my interac-

tion with it, especially in terms of digital accessibility

(P7)”.

“ADA Blocks is very useful when we need to ﬁnd

the best tools for a given subject[...] and brings ben-

eﬁts since I was not familiar with the term [block pro-

gramming](P3)”.

The perceptions about the usefulness of the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant highlight its importance in

terms of digital accessibility and choosing appropri-

ate tools. According to P7, ADA Blocks have proven

to be positive, especially when offering accessible re-

sources for different users. The virtual assistant has

also proven to be useful for ﬁnding the best block pro-

gramming tool to work on a given subject, as men-

tioned by P3, helping in the choice of block pro-

gramming tools according to the context of use. In

addition, ADA Blocks brings beneﬁts to users who

were not familiar with the concept of ”block program-

ming”, promoting digital inclusion and the learning of

new skills.

Regarding perceptions about ease of use of ADA

Blocks, we can mention the ease of navigation and in-

teraction with digital applications, essentially for peo-

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

143

ple with special needs (see the quote from P6 below);

and the ease of using ADA Blocks (see the quote from

P3 and P10 below).

“I understand that ADA Blocks signiﬁcantly facil-

itates navigation and interaction with digital appli-

cations, something essential for people with special

needs (P6)”.

“The tool is easy to use (P3)”.

“I found the tool easy to use (P10)”.

The perceptions about the ease of use of ADA

Blocks highlight its simplicity in navigation and inter-

action with digital applications, especially for people

with special needs. As mentioned by P6, ADA Blocks

facilitate the interaction of users with skills, ensuring

a more accessible and intuitive experience. This ac-

cessibility is crucial to ensure that everyone can use

the tool independently, regardless of their limitations.

In addition, the ease of use of ADA Blocks is also

highlighted by P3 and P10, who highlight how the

platform is simple to use, providing a pleasant experi-

ence from the beginning. These perceptions indicate

that ADA Blocks are designed to be accessible to a

wide range of users, with a focus on simplicity and

effectiveness of interaction, which is essential to en-

sure that everyone, including those with disabilities,

can make the most of its functionalities.

Regarding perceptions about the future use of

ADA Blocks, the following can be mentioned: the

participant intends to use ADA Blocks to prepare ma-

terial for his ﬁrst-year college class (see the quote

from P3 below); and ﬁnally, the participant be-

lieves that there is great potential for expanding ADA

Blocks (see the quote from P10 below).

“I have beginner programming classes at the Col-

lege, and I intend to use it to prepare material for

these classes. (P3)”.

“I believe that there is great potential for expan-

sion in this project, congratulations to the researchers

(P10)”.

The perceptions about the future use of ADA

Blocks highlight a positive view regarding its poten-

tial for application and expansion. The quote from

P3, in which the participant expresses the intention

of using ADA Blocks to prepare material for his ﬁrst-

semester classes at the College, reﬂects the usefulness

of the tool in the context of higher education. Thus,

it demonstrates that ADA Blocks are useful to help

create material for beginner programming courses

and have a practical application in academic environ-

ments, especially in introductory programming disci-

plines. This suggests that the tools suggested by ADA

Blocks can be used to teach basic programming con-

cepts, providing an accessible and dynamic teaching

resource.

Furthermore, P10 believes in the potential for the

assistant to expand, indicating an even more opti-

mistic view of the future of ADA Blocks. The per-

ception that the assistant can grow and reach more

users indicates that there is recognition of its value

and an expectation that it will become more popular

and widely used, both in primary and higher educa-

tion. This may involve adapting the tool to different

audiences, improving its functionalities, or expanding

its use to other areas of education and even outside the

academic context, reaching users who seek to learn

programming or improve their digital skills.

Taken together, these perceptions suggest that

ADA Blocks have signiﬁcant potential for future ap-

plication, both in higher education, as demonstrated

by P3’s quote, and on a larger scale, as indicated by

P10’s quote. This reﬂects a vision of growth for the

tool, with the possibility of becoming an even more

robust and accessible platform, meeting a wider vari-

ety of educational needs and expanding its impact on

programming learning.

Regarding the characteristics perceived by par-

ticipants, we can mention the difﬁculty of ﬁnding

a place that brings together several block program-

ming tools in one place (see the quote from P2 be-

low); ADA Blocks user-centered approach increases

user satisfaction and reinforces trust in the platform as

an innovative and reliable solution (see the quote from

P6 below); and ADA Blocks provides a questionnaire

that helps teachers choose block programming tools

in addition to not requiring downloading or installing

programs (see the quote from P7 below).

“It is difﬁcult to ﬁnd a place that brings together

all these tools in one place (P2)”.

“ This user-input approach not only increases my

satisfaction but also reinforces my conﬁdence in the

platform as an innovative and reliable solution (P6)”.

“It provides a questionnaire that helps those

teachers who may not understand the speciﬁcities of

each tool...it is possible to access it via the web (no

need to download/install programs) (P7)”.

The characteristics perceived by the participants

about the ADA Blocks virtual assistant highlight fun-

damental aspects that contribute to its effectiveness

and attractiveness, especially in an educational con-

text. The quote from P2, which highlights the dif-

ﬁculty of ﬁnding a place that brings together sev-

eral block programming tools, points to a signiﬁcant

gap related to educational resources. ADA Blocks

ﬁlls this gap by bringing together several block pro-

gramming tools in a single platform, facilitating the

search and choice of appropriate tools according to

the teacher’s context of use. This simpliﬁes the selec-

tion process and provides teachers with a centralized

CSEDU 2025 - 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

144

solution without having to explore multiple websites

and platforms, which saves time and effort.

P6 highlights ADA Blocks’s user-centric ap-

proach, which is a key point for its acceptance. By

placing user needs and preferences at the center of

the tool’s design, ADA Blocks not only improves the

user experience but also strengthens participants’ trust

in the platform as a reliable and innovative solution.

This suggests that personalization and adaptation to

users’ needs are valuable aspects, making the tool

more attractive and useful in the long run.

Furthermore, P7’s quote reveals that ADA Blocks

provides a questionnaire that helps teachers choose

the best block programming tools, without the need

for in-depth technical knowledge. This can be impor-

tant for teachers who may not be familiar with the

speciﬁcs of the different tools. The ease of access

to the platform, without the need to download or in-

stall programs, is also a positive point, as it eliminates

technical barriers and allows users to start using the

tool immediately, directly via the web.

Overall, the characteristics perceived by partic-

ipants highlight ADA Blocks as a practical, user-

centered and accessible platform, which meets a real

need for centralization of block programming tools

and facilitates the process of choosing educational

tools. These factors contribute to a more satisfactory,

reliable and efﬁcient experience for teachers.

7 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS AND

FUTURE WORK

The results of the study demonstrate that the ADA

Blocks virtual assistant has great potential to assist

high school teachers in choosing block programming

tools, promoting efﬁciency, practicality and greater

autonomy in pedagogical planning. The quantitative

analysis revealed a largely positive perception regard-

ing ease of use and perceived usefulness, indicating

that the platform can answer the needs of teachers in

choosing block programming tools. However, chal-

lenges related to accessibility and some limitations in

the interface, such as navigation on mobile devices

and the inability to return to previous questions in the

questionnaire, were identiﬁed. These limitations of-

fer opportunities for improvement, especially in the

design and functionalities of the platform.

One limitation of the study is the small number

of participants, only 10 HCI experts. A small sam-

ple size may limit the diversity of perspectives and the

generalizability of the ﬁndings. Furthermore, detailed

data on the proﬁle and expertise of the participants

were not collected, such as their areas of HCI spe-

cialization (Usability, accessibility, user eXperience),

their level of knowledge and practical experience, and

which assessment technique was used to evaluate the

ADA Blocks. This lack of information makes it difﬁ-

cult to assess the representativeness and depth of the

experts’ contributions, which may result in biased or

incomplete conclusions. Finally, the lack of clear cri-

teria for selecting participants may have impacted the

quality of the data, since experts with different areas

of expertise may prioritize different aspects, inﬂuenc-

ing the results in a non-uniform manner.

In future work, we intend to redesign the inter-

face of the ADA Blocks virtual assistant, standardize

the colors, and adjust the font sizes so that they are

suitable for the most diverse users. The aim is also

to include support materials for the use of block pro-

gramming tools suggested by ADA Blocks, in addi-

tion to developing collaborative features to promote

user interaction, exchange of materials and experi-

ences, and strengthening interaction and community

learning. The development of this feature can expand

the impact of ADA Blocks in the educational ﬁeld.

In addition, the aim is to integrate and increase the

knowledge base, adding inclusive resources, such as

tools for the visually and hearing impaired, and the

incorporation of topics beyond block programming,

such as tactile languages. In this way, the accessibil-

ity and scope of the platform can be expanded. The

aim is also to conduct future studies focusing on the

application of ADA Blocks in real classroom scenar-

ios, analyzing the direct impact on students and teach-

ers, in addition to exploring its use at elementary and

higher education levels.

Finally, ADA Blocks represents a promising ini-

tiative for the development of 21st-century skills,

such as computational thinking, problem-solving and

student leadership. Its success depends on contin-

uous efforts to adapt and expand its functionalities,

making it a robust and accessible solution for edu-

cation. With the proposed adjustments and improve-

ments, the platform can consolidate itself as an essen-

tial tool in teaching block programming, contributing

signiﬁcantly to innovation in the educational ﬁeld.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was ﬁnanced in part by the Coordina-

tion for the Improvement of Higher Education Per-

sonnel (CAPES) - Program of Academic Excellence

(PROEX).

Feasibility Study of the ADA Blocks Virtual Assistant by HCI Experts

145

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