Fun Trying Scratch

I really enjoyed playing with Scratch. I went through the tutorial that is offered on the “try it” page. I really liked the tutorial--it went through a lot of features to which I think kids would be very much drawn. It was relatively basic, but it taught how to make things move and make noise, and how to choose new characters and backgrounds. As I was playing around with the tutorial, I asked myself if it was easy enough for a fourth or fifth grader to learn to use. I think the style of drawings, along with the ability to customize a program, make this a really enticing option for upper middle school students. I also think it would be a tool that librarians and teachers could learn fairly quickly for a new system. I have a bit of programming experience, but Scratch is very different from anything I have tried before. It is quite interactive and shareable. I am very pleased with my interaction with Scratch.

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tip_bar=getStarted