Scratch

hello to you! 

- How do you use Scratch in your classroom?
I just introduced it and taught it to grades 5 and 6 in our school.  I teach Technology as part of the Related Arts department.  I have the freedom to “create” the curriculum so I took three weeks to teach and create with it.

- What tips would you give to other educators who want to use Scratch in their classroom?
I would tell you not to get intimidated.  You really only have to have an open mind and guide the instruction.  I printed out and used the “project cards” you download from the website and found that a great guide.  The kids were always a step ahead of me but I was able to facilitate the projects and trouble shoot as they learned along side them. 

- What challenges have you faced as you've used Scratch in your classrooms?
We had done scratch for “fun” on a topic of their choice.  I would like to use it to support the curriculum in our building.  I would like the teachers to “buy into” its educational value. (Which I think once they see it and its potential – they will love it) I am planning to present it at the next in service meeting in mid March.  I want them to see how we can use it as a tool to display understanding.  Something as simple as a book report can be completed through Scratch.  Using the Stage as the “setting”, the Sprites as the “characters” and the bubble dialogue communicate a scene for the “plot”.  I just need for a teacher to step forward and want to overlap our projects. 

- What is your greatest "Scratch in the Classroom" success story?
I guess seeing different students shine.  There are the “bright” tech savvy kids and they always are enthusiastic and vocal about new information but with Scratch, I was able to see some students I hadn’t noticed before really communicate their technology understanding to me.  It was another avenue to demonstrate growth for some students. 

Lisa
Technology Teacher in a Massachusetts Middle School

kirkf wrote:

My wife home schools our children and I am going to get her involved with this forum...I think this will be a very good idea for us to use to help teach our kids new things.

You never stop learning
thanx

scratch is for kids AND grown ups.the online community has simple games to complicated algorithms and math projects.So like you said "You never stop learning".

Blotter590 wrote:

Hi, I started using Scratch in my classes last year. I teach technology education. One of our TSA events (Technology Student Association) is to create a video game. One of my students wanted to work on that. Apparntly he had stumbled on Scratch at home. He showed me the program. After that I played around with the program for a while. I decided to have my 8th grade students try to make games in class.
I came up with some basic criteria that had to be met in their games. They loved the program and did alright with it. In October of last year, I had the opportunity to go to a Scratch workshop in Norfolk. That was very interesting.
Since I started using Scratch in class, each class I have make games does better with the program than the previous. I have 3 classes that just finished their games on Friday. They came up with some really good projects.
Suggestions for educators: Experiment with the program whenever you have time. Find good projects on the website, download them, and look at the scripts to see how to do different things. Use the reference materials provived by the site. I put the reference guide and geting started guide into folders at each computer for students to use. I also have learned a lot from my students. Some of them go home and are addicted to the program. Those students show me how to do all sorts of things using the program.
I have used the program to make some fun review games for my classes also. There is so much that the program could be used for. I love it!

yes i love♥ scratch too!!!!

Maki-Tak wrote:

Hi I'm a homeschooling kid and we learn Scratch for technology. I am trying to move on to more complex programs but its really hard.

have u mastered scratch yet? if not i'd say not to move on then, but if u have mastered scratch move on and try other programs! 

Hello!

I just discover scratch, and it is r

I use Scratch in My Global Awareness Project and I think we are going to get a good grade for it from using it.

There are quite a few good math project connections out there.  I've used Scratch in a pre-algebra class to demonstrate/apply concepts such as experimental vs theoretical probability, coordinate geometry and the different quadrants, transformations in geometry, and slope and intercept when graphing equations.

Karen R.

Last edited by room209 (2009-05-31 13:07:22)