Scratch

Module developed by Joseph Jeffery

What is Scratch?

Scratch is an online programming tool aimed at teaching kids the basics of coding and game creation through drag and drop programming. Developed by MIT.

Scratch...

...provides a different way to show learning and content.
...lets students learn coding in a visual manner.
...allows for a variety of tasks using the same editor.
...games are fun to share and play.

Why use it?

Where does it fit?

Aside from the obvious technology courses, Scratch can be used to provide a hands on approach in many different courses combining game creation with the content of the course for some interactive fun!

Examples:

Cell division simulation in biology
French language Guess Who Game
Animated stories in English language arts class
General game creation - Jumping Game Example (Scratch File) (Click download button in top right corner and the upload the file into scratch to view)

The button at the top will take you to the main Scratch site. To get creating just click 'Create'.

Optionally you can sign up for Scratch to get access to cloud saves, but you can still save manually to a local computer if you choose to use the program without creating an account.

How do I start?

Screencasts

How to use Scratch

This screencast goes over the basics of scratch and how to make things move.

Links to more information:

Scratch Educators Guide

Additional information?

Where next?

Going beyond Scratch as a tool for teaching coding you can take many different paths depending on your comfort level. If you're looking for something similar to Scratch try something in the easy section. If you are ready to move beyond drag and drop coding entirely or just want to learn the more expert skills then go with the tools in the hard section.

Easy:

Hard:

Python (Full programming language)
KhanAcademy (Tutorials for Computer Science / Programming)
CodeAcademy (Web coding tutorials - Javascript, HTML, CSS, etc.)

Google Sites

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