Anyone using Scratch at school?

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on December 8, 2007 at 8:37pm

I agree with you, but what I find is the need to push. When things are always easy some kids don't like the feeling they get when things are hard--what happens? They are content to settle for a skill level much lower than what they are capable of. While I agree that messing around re-enforces thinking and problem solving--I need to nudge them past their comfort zone.

Knowledge for knowledge sake is big with gifted kids--they like to know stuff but don't always feel the need to do something with that knowledge. Eventually they are going to need to produce.

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Permalink Reply by Ruthie Hansen on March 7, 2008 at 9:01am

I've been using Scratch with my sixth grade students this year. I spend about four class periods showing them the basics and having them make simple little applications, using the scratch cards from the scratch website to start. After that each student plans a more complex game and makes it over about eight class periods. The students have really impressed me with their ambitious ideas and complex implementation. Many of their projects are posted to the scratch website, tagged with ucls (school initials):
http://scratch.mit.edu/tags/view/ucls

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on March 7, 2008 at 9:24am

It is pretty amazing what the kids can do. Our 4-6th grade kids have done some great things using Alice, too.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Epps on March 8, 2008 at 2:05am

I see Grades 3 - 6 once a week for "ICT". All the year groups recently used Scratch for several weeks, and it was super to see the different interests, approaches, investigation styles, etc., evidenced in each age level.

At the start of the unit I did a general intro, and then each week would show one or two samples from the Scratch site, and leave the script projected on the wall so that those who wanted to could copy it, and then develop their own ideas within it. I found that that helped those who need a bit more scaffolding. Sometimes I showed them a really complicated one, or the scripts behind the games that come in the Scratch download, so that they could get an idea of how powerful the program really is. That encouraged those who are more brave, techy, clever, etc. to venture beyond the "easy".

I have just read somewhere that the main skill these kids will need in their adult lives is programming - not necessarily Scratch, or C++, etc., but the concept of programming., Their world will be full of machines, communication networks, etc., that will need to be set up, related, etc. We've only seen the beginning of it with mobile phones, iTV, home media networks, etc. "If I want x to happen when y occurs, then I need to cause (these) machines to do (these) steps in (this) sequence."

Scratch is great for practicing that - kid: "I want to make my person jump." me: "OK - what happens when you jump? Do you move to the right or left, up or down (i.e., x or y directions) ? Do you move fast or slow? Do you do it once or many times? Does your body change how it looks? What exactly is a jump?"

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Permalink Reply by Carl on March 14, 2008 at 8:38am

Currently I teach 7th/8th graders basic computer skills.

I split 9 weeks into halves, 1/2 StarLogo TNG, 1/2 Scratch. I did StarLogo first as its harder, they found Scratch easy after doing StarLogo -- however, some complained about Scratch's lack of features, (StarLogo TNG is 3d and has far more interactive programming blocks).

Carl

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Permalink Reply by JoNelle on March 18, 2008 at 8:02pm

My 5th grade technology classes used SCRATCH in the fall this year. Many were fascinated with it and formed a group that still come to me once per week to work on projects. I wll be presenting what we did in classes and the "club" this summer at the first Scratch conference at MIT. Here is a link that shows how I organized it using Scratch with six 5th grade technology classes. http://isurff5th.wikispaces.com/Scratch+Images
I made six sets of the cards and laminated cards on color-coded construction kept in a verticle file for easy student access. Scratch Sheets (shown in the pictures) were for record keeping and student reflections. We emphasized "variables" for 5th grade science - very helpful for the new science concept/terms. Students included their experiences for language arts on wiki pages. One 5th grade teacher even featured Scratch terms for her spelling-lang arts lessons for the week.

We would love to trade ideas with other students/classes/teachers. I wish I had seen this sooner!

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Permalink Reply by JoNelle on March 18, 2008 at 8:21pm

CORRECTION to the student link above. Please go to: http://isurffer-friends.wikispaces.com/Scratch+Reflection

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Epps on March 18, 2008 at 10:43pm

I like the format of that wiki page. It makes it really easy to get an overview of what you're doing, and what you're going to change. Thanks for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by Rich White on March 19, 2008 at 3:10pm

No sScratch .. but an EToys project here - http://kindlelab.com

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Permalink Reply by DanG on April 3, 2008 at 7:31pm

Just coming back from ACM SIG CSE 2008 in Portland, and spent some time with the Scratch team. I definitely plan to use Scratch in our computer lab / computer clubs coming up where our target is students 9 years to 14 years. They're really liking Alice v2 so far even down into the lower grades. The drag-and-drop statements piece is wonderful and a common link between Alice and Scratch. Squeak / EToys is interesting but with a much steeper learning curve whereas you can more or less turn students loose with Scratch to teach each other after about 15 minutes of demo.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on April 4, 2008 at 9:00am

The piece that is missing for me, and I've mentioned it here before, is the assessment piece. I really don't want to assess the kids but I want a checklist that shows me they are moving through advanced stages without getting stuck or quitting when it gets too hard. If you develop a skills checklist be sure to let me know---thanks. N

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Permalink Reply by Blanca on April 4, 2008 at 5:12am

Hi!
After piloting another program for a bit on Windows, I found this Scratch on the Internet one day - all I can say is WOW. I would love to build curriculum around it for either one of a variety of core subjects - math, science, tech. If anyone is interested or has mentioned it already count me in! Perhaps we can open up a wiki to create and share..
Blanca

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