Scratch is a block-based programming tool from the MIT Media Lab that gets pigeon-holed as a tool for introducing students to coding & programming.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great tool for that, but it’s oooohhhh sooo much more!  In my mind–and in the minds of many students who have used it–Scratch is a place with infinite possibilities for creation.

That creation can be, well… just about anything. And that anything could relate to games or music or jokes or…. science, math, social studies, language arts, world languages…. you get the picture.  ANYTHING.  It could be a great classroom tool.  Especially when put in the hands of students.

So, let me give you a little intro to Scratch.  Let’s SCRATCH the Surface.

I’ll update this post periodically, adding a few new #EduGIFs at a time.  If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll know when new #EduGIFs are added.

First Steps

Head over to scratch.mit.edu and create an account.  You could use it without creating an account, but then you couldn’t save your creations.

Then, on the main Scratch page, try out some of the featured projects.  Experiment a little bit.  Get a feel for what is possible in Scratch.  You’ll quickly see that the possibilities are nearly endless.

1. Select or Create a Sprite

Sprites are the characters or objects that make up your Scratch projects.  If you think of a game like Pong, there would be 3 sprites: the paddle on the left, the paddle on the right and the ball (seriously, is that thing a ball!?).

2. Exploring the Movement Block

The area on the left contains all of the possible blocks that we can use to program our sprites.  Let’s explore the basic movement blocks.  (here’s a Pausable #EduGIF)

Next Steps

3. Applying Movement Blocks

In order to give our sprites movements that actually happen in our final product, we’ve got to drag them into the center area.  (here’s a Pausable #EduGIF)

4. The Wait Block

If you want to combine two movements and have them happen separately (i.e., jump up, then fall down) you’ll need to split the two of them up using a wait block.  Check it out below. (here’s a Pausable #EduGIF)

5. Using Keys to Control Movement

Well, you want your Scratch project to be interactive, right!?  Then you’d better program those movements to be connected to some keyboard clicks!  Check it out in the #EduGIF below!  (here’s a pausable #EduGIF)

6. Adding Sounds

Kids LOVE adding sounds to their Scratch projects.  (They also like playing the sounds over and over again until you want to pull your hair out)  You can a wide variety of built in sounds, but you can also add or record your own sounds.  There are lots sof applications for adding sounds in projects.  In the #EduGIF below, I show how to add a “boing” sound when your Sprite jumps!  (you won’t be able to hear it in the #EduGIF, but you can see the process) …   (here’s a pausable #EduGIF)

I’ll update this post periodically, adding a few new #EduGIFs at a time.  If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll know when new #EduGIFs are added.