Friday, June 08, 2007

Scratch – Another Education Tool from MIT

Just to give you an update on my efforts with the Crickets which I blogged about several months ago. My local elementary school agreed to teach it as part of their independent study program. I think it’s a great starting point for those who are too young for the Lego Mindstorms. I made arrangements to have enough kits available to teach a small group of students. We’ll kick it off this fall and see what happens.

In the meantime, I’ve come across another education tool from MIT called Scratch which is similar in programming style to Crickets, but doesn’t require any hardware. It’s for those who want to create animations on the screen and then program the motion, sound, and look of the animation. Just like Crickets, it uses a drag and drop interface which lets the user build up a list of steps (each in a block form) which can create an image (say a picture of a cat) and then put the animation into motion, change its costume, or play a sound. Just as Crickets is a nice precursor to Lego Mindstorms, so Scratch is a nice precursor to Crickets.

I tested Scratch on my seven year old daughter to see what she thought of it. Given her interest in playing video games I think she would appreciate the graphical programming approach of Scratch (she’s not ready for LabVIEW yet). I set up a computer on her desk and loaded up Scratch so it was easily accessible. During a pause in her daily activity I showed her how to drag and drop blocks on the scripting window and then how to run the script by double-clicking on the block. We built a small program that made the animated character – in this case a cat, start walking and then played a drum sound. We then rolled this into a loop which Scratch calls a “forever” block, and started it. It seemed like magic to her.

At that point, she took over the mouse and started to build on the script. She noticed an “effects” button on one of the blocks that gave a new look to the animated character. She turned it into a ”ghost” and then a “fisheye”. At this point she was completely in charge of the program and continued to play with it for another half hour on her own (something of a record for a seven year old I believe).

A few days later she showed the program to her friend who lives across the street. It was great to see her engage in the programming experience. At least until she found she could make twelve copies of the cat and have them all “meow” in unison which made for an ear-grating, whiny noise. I can’t wait for the Fall school season to start.

Best regards,
Hall T.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

ninest123 10.14
burberry handbags, ray ban sunglasses, michael kors outlet online, replica watches, michael kors outlet, louis vuitton, uggs outlet, longchamp outlet, longchamp outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet online, michael kors outlet, uggs on sale, michael kors outlet online, oakley sunglasses wholesale, christian louboutin outlet, longchamp outlet, ugg boots, gucci handbags, uggs outlet, christian louboutin shoes, tory burch outlet, michael kors outlet online, prada handbags, tiffany and co, replica watches, louis vuitton outlet, burberry outlet, ray ban sunglasses, chanel handbags, louis vuitton outlet, louis vuitton outlet, nike air max, nike air max, oakley sunglasses, ugg boots, nike outlet, jordan shoes, oakley sunglasses, prada outlet, cheap oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton, christian louboutin, tiffany jewelry, oakley sunglasses, christian louboutin uk, michael kors outlet store, ray ban sunglasses, polo outlet

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 8:41:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nike free run, coach outlet, burberry pas cher, new balance, polo lacoste, ray ban uk, louboutin pas cher, timberland pas cher, vans pas cher, coach outlet store online, converse pas cher, north face uk, north face, michael kors, jordan pas cher, hogan outlet, true religion jeans, nike blazer pas cher, nike air force, nike air max uk, sac vanessa bruno, air max, nike roshe, coach purses, oakley pas cher, nike tn, true religion outlet, ray ban pas cher, abercrombie and fitch uk, hollister pas cher, sac longchamp pas cher, ralph lauren uk, michael kors pas cher, longchamp pas cher, nike roshe run uk, lululemon canada, nike free uk, michael kors outlet, coach outlet, true religion outlet, guess pas cher, nike air max uk, mulberry uk, nike air max, polo ralph lauren, kate spade, true religion outlet, sac hermes, hollister uk, michael kors

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 8:48:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

p90x workout, ralph lauren, vans outlet, mont blanc pens, herve leger, soccer jerseys, hermes belt, north face outlet, babyliss, celine handbags, timberland boots, iphone 6 cases, nike air max, gucci, instyler, mac cosmetics, bottega veneta, mcm handbags, baseball bats, abercrombie and fitch, hollister, chi flat iron, louboutin, asics running shoes, wedding dresses, longchamp uk, vans, ghd hair, nike trainers uk, beats by dre, nfl jerseys, giuseppe zanotti outlet, lululemon, converse outlet, converse, nike air max, oakley, new balance shoes, ray ban, hollister, hollister clothing, nike roshe run, insanity workout, ferragamo shoes, valentino shoes, nike huaraches, north face outlet, reebok outlet, soccer shoes, jimmy choo outlet, nike free, kate spade outlet

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 8:52:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

canada goose, thomas sabo, canada goose jackets, canada goose, louis vuitton, swarovski crystal, montre pas cher, louis vuitton, toms shoes, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, marc jacobs, wedding dresses, lancel, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, hollister, pandora jewelry, michael kors outlet, canada goose, canada goose outlet, louis vuitton, supra shoes, doudoune moncler, pandora charms, moncler outlet, juicy couture outlet, moncler, moncler, canada goose uk, moncler outlet, louis vuitton, replica watches, links of london, doke gabbana, canada goose outlet, ugg pas cher, michael kors handbags, louis vuitton, moncler, michael kors outlet online, swarovski, barbour uk, juicy couture outlet, pandora uk, ugg, karen millen uk, ugg uk, pandora jewelry, coach outlet, moncler, moncler uk, canada goose outlet, barbour
ninest123 10.14

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 8:58:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home