Programming with Scratch

Episode 37: Programming with Scratch

In episode 11, I covered ways to introduce your children to programming. One of those ways was Scratch, and in this episode, I will go into more detail about programming with Scratch.

What is Scratch?

Scratch was created by a team at MIT to be an accessible way for children to learn to code. It is free and can be used online, or it can be downloaded. Scratch can be used by children from age 8 all the way through high school. Younger children can use the Scratch Junior app on an iPad.

Scratch is block based. Students don’t need to type the code but just drag the blogs and stack them together

Learn more about Scratch from this TED talk by Mitchel Resnick who headed up the MIT team that developed it.

Why is Scratch great to use for coding?

It is easy to use. Students can learn the basics quickly.
It is fun to use.
Completed programs can be easily shared
Students can play each other’s games with one click see how it was coded

What can you do with Scratch?

Scratch can be used to create interactive cards, animated stories and many different types of games.

Here are some examples:

Cloud Catcher Game
Shoot the Fishes
Beach Hunt
Lucky Shot

Be sure to take a look at FundaFunda Academy’s online Scratch classes. You can select 5-week self-paced ones that progress from Beginner to Advanced or a one-semester class that can be taken over the summer or during any semester. The full semester classes are equal to all 3 of the 5-week classes and will earn high schoolers a 1/2 credit in computer programming.

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