Scratch is cool. It makes learning programming fun … and collaborative.
The last 18 months has seen 140,000 projects uploaded, of the millions that have must have been made.
They range from the simple to complex, with kids and teachers and experienced programmers all contributing.It uses the tile metaphor (like etoys, Alice, Logo TNG, GameMaker).
I’ve previously questioned whether the "web 2" thing is a bit overdone as rationale for IT use, and whether we’re losing some possibilities in schools – such as the ability to construct software, and build simulations - whether we're so busy repackaging content that we lose the vision for creating at this level. So its great to see Scratch uses Web 2 to get people sharing programmable media. You can upload your projects, share them, download other peoples, and comment etc. I’ve just tried a little demo, where you can draw a steering wheel, draw a car, and control the car with the steering wheel.
Here’s the demo and a pdf file you could use for instructions
(This is the simplest of 2 minute scripts, and that 's the point - in what other environments could you draw a car, draw a steering wheel, and then link them together , so one controls the other, in a way that's accessible for kids? It gives a creative feel to the process.)
The idea is from a classic etoys demo – and indeed Scratch and etoys are both based on the same educational vision, and the same underlying platform. One of the kids made that link - "its like Squeak" which was cool. Those who remember Logo sometimes comment that its a bit like that too ).
There's a whole world of ideas lying just behind those comments - a little known history and rich array of educational ICT ideas and approaches, but won't go there now.
I'm hoping to get kids exploring maths with Scratch ... removes some of the programming language hurdles - still leaves you with the thinking challenges which are complex enough. They're enjoying it ok at present- liked some of the maths galleries and made some interesting effects with a few starters on pen drawings and iteration.