Community reviews for Scratch

Scratch has come a long way since I first used it in 2009. Now that it is web-based, it is more user-friendly than before. The ability to drag-and-drop building blocks for their sprites really eases their minds. It really exercises problem-solving and critical thinking skills as students work to program their sprites. Teachers could create review games for content in their classroom.

If you are wanting something that brings your kids into the world of programming. You must utilize scratch 2.0. It is very easy to set up and to teach. Your kids can even share their projects.

I have used Scratch for 8 years now and I have adapted it for high ability learners as well as non-English speaking students. Students become engrossed when interacting with it and while there is a lot of chatter, they are usually tickled by a new discovery or helping a peer create or debug a program. I like that the student is in control of his or her learning. The growth in logic and problem solving is exponential and exciting to see.

Scratch is a fabulous piece of software, and best of all, it's free! Scratch really helps students understand programming basics with the colorful, linking blocks of code. The website is incredibly easy to use (Scratch used to be software you installed on the computer). I love how students can play other student's games on the site & also look at how they were coded. They can then make a copy of the game and alter it themselves. Truly, Scratch is a highly engaging way to teach programming basics to K-12 students.

Scratch teaches students programming without them realizing it. It has a drag-and-drop interface that the students can use right away, but has a lot of depth so they can keep learning as long as they are interested. Great for differentiation in teaching.

The website is a perfect tool for teaching coding and programming with elementary students. It is perfect for student centered approached and flip teaching as students are keen to learn and create their own projects. Here is a link to my blog review. http://ict4kids.ca/2013/03/28/why-flipteaching-complements-scratch-programming/ My Slidedeck on computational thinking - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fFht4r6W_GL6mR6MznKhTvTxUuM7xk1HJq-Kzmkn9Z4/edit My symbaloo on coding applications and websites - http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/k-8programmingresources

Scratch is a great program for getting the most reluctant learners into programming. Scratch is a fun, interactive program that allows students of all backgrounds to build games, lessons, and working mathematical tools all while learning to program.

Students can create their own games that can be shared with the rest of the class or the world.

I have used Scratch for a couple of years in a junior high programming class. The amount of programming knowledge required to successfully use Scratch is near zero. It is a great tool for the junior high age. It is listed as K-12, but I'm not sure how much of it could be used for programming with the youngest of audiences. Scratch is a wonderful introduction to programming, however once you complete a couple of projects most users hit a ceiling compared to other programming languages. This is often students' first open-ended opportunity where they really have to fight through "bugs" and project management on their own. Some of my students who are not good at math still really excel at programming. Scratch (and programming in general) offers a creative outlet to students in districts without an art program.

I've used Scratch with all levels of students. From PreAP Computer Science students who were truly Talented and Gifted, to new English Language Learners. Most of my students have been able to create new programs very quickly. Having structured lessons over the individual programming projects help the rest. In addition to teaching programming, I have found it very useful to help students who are struggling with math. Having it on the web means no install time. All of the versions run fast, and are easier to set up. Rarely crash, and give a pleasant user experience.