Scratch is a free visual coding tool that was designed by the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Group. Students can use Scratch to “code their own interactive stories, animations, and games. In the process, they learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for everyone in today’s society” (Scratch for Educators, 2020, para. 1).
Price | Free |
---|---|
Learning | Constructionism, Gamification, Connectivisim, Social Learning |
Ease of Use | ★★✩✩✩ |
Privacy | ★★✩✩✩ |
Accessibility | ★✩✩✩✩ |
Class Size | Unlimited |
ISTE*S | Creative Communicator, Global Collaborator, Knowledge Constructor |
COPPA/ FERPA | No COPPA/FERPA policy found. Check with your school IT administrator. |
On its website, Scratch provides extensive resources, such as step-by-step interactive video tutorials, to guide beginners to get started, allowing users to self-pace their learning. The website also has subpages designated for parents and educators. In addition, there is a forum for new scratchers as well as a featured studio to showcase products designed by users.
***View the Scratch Video Transcript***
Scratch can be used in many different ways. For example, in a math class, you can ask your students to use Scratch to learn about and show their understanding of a coordinate graph.
ScratchEd, a member of the Scratch family has many inspiring examples organized by grades, content types, curricular area, and language.
Step 1: Fill out a “Teacher request form” at the address below, and follow the steps as shown in the GIF: https://scratch.mit.edu/educators/register
Note that it might take 24 hours to confirm your account.
Step 2: Watch a tutorial video made by Scratch to learn how to set up classrooms step by step.
Also, you can find a written explanation on the teacher account on ScratchWiki, which is a subpage on Scratch website.
Dohn, N. B. (2020). Students’ interest in Scratch coding in lower secondary mathematics. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(1), 71-83.
Fagerlund, J., Häkkinen, P., Vesisenaho, M., & Viiri, J. (2021). Computational thinking in programming with Scratch in primary schools: A systematic review. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 29(1), 12-28.
Zhang, L., & Nouri, J. (2019). A systematic review of learning computational thinking through Scratch in K-9. Computers & Education, 141, 103607.
This page was created by Lian Duan.
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