Scratch is a great way for students to learn coding. Not only is Scratch fun, but by using blocks (think digital LEGOs®) instead of text, emphasis is placed on learning coding fundamentals rather than worrying about the syntax of a programming language. Scratch uses blocks of code that are placed together to create programs of instructions, if/then statements, loops, expressions, and so on. Scratch also brings together communities of content creators by allowing Scratchers to share their work, remix and learn from others.
In this fun and engaging virtual workshop, students further their coding skills in Scratch by creating a Mad Libs® story using coding basics of sequencing, events, inputs, outputs and string manipulation. This workshop is for students age 9+.
- Registration of each student by a parent or guardian is required.
- A personal computer with an internet connection is required for both the Zoom virtual meeting and Scratch.
- Prior Scratch experience and comfort with keyboard and mouse is required.
- A Scratch account is not required by helpful if the student wants to save his or her project.
- Parental participation is helpful for younger students who may have difficulty navigating a multiple-windows environment to manage the Zoom meeting and coding simultaneously.
Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab and is available for free at scratch.mit.edu. Support materials are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
