MAKERS IN THE MIDDLE
Scratch coding
What is Scratch?
Scratch is a free online project which provides students with an opportunity to program their own interactive stories, games and animations. They can also share their creations with others in the online community.
See their website at https://scratch.mit.edu/ .
Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.
Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. https://scratch.mit.edu/about/
Scratch has been designed for school-age students, from 8 years. Students engage with the code computer program and learn important strategies for problem solving, design and communication. They ‘can use Scratch to code their own interactive stories, animations, and games. In the process, they learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for everyone in today’s society.’ https://scratch.mit.edu/about/
A Connected Learning Environment
Click on the logos to connect to the relevant websites.
Scratch.mit
There are opportunities for teachers and students to share their Scratch projects with an online community
ScratchEd
This online community is valuable for teachers, where they can ‘share stories, exchange resources, ask questions, and find people. ScratchEd is developed and supported by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
ted talk
This YouTube video is presented by the MIT Scratch Team
Activity cards and tutorials
There are online tutorials available, as well as downloadable Activity cards and Educator Guides
An example of a Scratch Coding Makerspace:
At a state primary school, north of Brisbane, Scratch Coding is used as part of the schools Friday Afternoon Options Program. Students in Grades 5 and 6 work in a computer lab.
Beginning students are shown through some tutorials and provided with copies of the Activity Cards, which they can work along at their own pace, independently. Some students have previously worked with Scratch and can work independently to create and design more complex projects. They can also share their skills with their peers.
 |  |  |  |
|---|
Images by Makers in the Middle authors