ScratchJr finally brings programming for juniors to the iPad

In many new national curriculum's around the world coding is being viewed as a new form of literacy as we try to entice kids to become tech creators and not simply tech consumers.

Scratch Jr is the little brother to the very popular Scratch that was released nearly a decade ago by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or (MIT).  Scratch revolutionized coding for kids as it changed lines of irrelevant syntax with variable jigsaw pieces that could be manipulated by students with far more simplicity and success.

Scratch has never worked on the iPad unfortunately and there have been numerous forums discussing the potential of making it happen.

So ScratchJr is now available on the iPad and it is targeted at students aged 5 - 7 years old.  It is free.

As young children code with ScratchJr, they learn how to create and express themselves with computers, not just to interact with it. In the process, kid's learn to solve problems and design projects, and they develop sequencing skills that are foundational for later academic success. They also use math and language in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of early-childhood numeracy and literacy.

ScratchJr is somewhat limited in what it can do in comparison to Scratch but then again it's also aimed at a younger audience. 

Younger students have no trouble picking up the concepts and the basic skills behind ScratchJr but you will really need to reinforce to them what they are doing with it or else it might just come off as a poor man's animation tool for the iPad.

If student understand they are in fact controlling a computer much like video game makers do they will value the process far more.

ScratchJr is available on iTunes now with Android coming soon.

Using SCRATCH to teach algebra and geometry

This would be applicable for high school students who want to put down the textbooks for a while.

Mini Scratch Unit

View more presentations from Patrick Woessner.

How to get your students programming their own games in an hour with SCRATCH

Scratchis a brilliant visual programming tools specifically targeted at getting students and novices involved in programming and makes it dead simple for them to create a game or multimedia presentation in next to no time.

I personally have introduced a lot of classes to SCRATCH and have found the best way to do this is is introduce show themsome videos explaining what it is and what it does.  Then have about 3 copies of theinstruction cardsprinted and laminated to give to your students.

Once you have laminated cardsthey will show the kids how to do a specific task such as make an object follow the mouse, add music to a game or animate a sprite.

Each task takes bout 5 minutes and there is about 12 in all.  I guarantee this will sow a seed in your students head and they will be making their own scratch apps and games in a jiffy.

Teach your kids to program in under an hour with SCRATCH

Scratch is a brilliant visual programming tools specifically targeted at getting students and novices involved in programming and makes it dead simple for them to create a game or multimedia presentation in next to no time. 

I personally have introduced a lot of classes to SCRATCH and have found the best way to do this is is introduce show them some videos explaining what it is and what it does.  Then have about 3 copies of the instruction cards printed and laminated to give to your students.

Once you have laminated cards they will show the kids how to do a specific task such as make an object follow the mouse, add music to a game or animate a sprite. 

Each task takes bout 5 minutes and there is about 12 in all.  I guarantee this will sow a seed in your students head and they will be making their own scratch apps and games in a jiffy.