Scratch it!
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Scratch is a new programming language that lets you create your own interactive stories, games, music, and art. It has been developed at the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten group.
Scratch is now available as a free download!
John Maloney of the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten group had following things to say about Scratch in an interview he gave to The Weekly Squeak :
Since January of 2003 I have been working in the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab on a media-rich programming environment called “Scratch” (http://scratch.mit.edu). Scratch combines ideas from Squeak EToys, CricketBlocks (the precursor to PicoBlocks, see http://www.picocricket.com), and Logo to create a playful and engaging introduction to programming. Like EToys, Scratch programs are written by assembling colorful command blocks on the screen to control one or more sprites. However, Scratch has fewer commands and objects and more “training wheels” to get you started.
Scratch was developed under an NSF grant and is aimed at youth at after school centers. As we’ve developed Scratch, we’ve worked closely with the Computer Clubhouse, a network of 100+ after-school centers located in low-income areas in cities around the world. This is a very tough audience, since kids are free to choose what they want to work on and there is no “curriculum,” no classes, and no teachers. (The Computer Clubhouse relies on volunteer mentors.) Thus, we’ve worked hard to make Scratch be fun and easy to learn so youth will want to use Scratch and can figure out many things for themselves even if there isn’t a mentor around. But in addition to after-school computer centers, Scratch is also attracting attention from forward-looking teachers and educators, science museums, school computer clubs, and it has even been used as a first introduction to programming in several Harvard computer science classes.
[youtube jxDw-t3XWd0 nolink]
(Scratch Intro Video)
Programming in Scratch is like assembling a puzzle and all you have to do is drag and drop pieces of functionality, customize them and link them on a dashboard. It is fun, educating and addictive.
Scratch is available for Mac and Windows and a Linux version is expected to be rolled out by the end of 2007.
Popularity: 3% [?]
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