Scratch

Agreed - a variety of documentation for all levels of user is a good thing but I am not convinced that encouraging an "advanced" usage of Scratch is desirable.

To quote the developers from the Programming With Scratch PDF (There should be a search box with your PDF reader which allows you to search for any word)...

"In developing Scratch, we put high priority on simplicity, sometimes even sacrificing functionality for understandability."


I would consider Scratch a point on a journey rather than a destination.  Once a level of understanding/competence is reached the prospect of exploring other languages to reach beyond the limitations of Scratch should be irresistible to an enthused user.

It should then not be too great a leap in to....

GreenFoot

BlueJ

Learn To Program with Ruby (even if he can't spell Programme 

...and beyond.

I think that we should have a sense of a more advanced, continuing use of Scratch that's also more than just hacking Scratch.  It's one thing to figure out how to jiggle some fancy math into Scratch, but I can imagine a different sort of mastery of the language: Discovering ways to use the language that are both interesting and easy, and ways of effectively communicating to all sorts of people about how to do things.

Being a master of Scratch shouldn't mean that you're able to make an astonishing but incomprehensible program.  This is a gateway language, an entryway language, and if we're going to rightly master it then our progress must always be judged by how many newbies we are opening the way for behind us.  We should be walking backwards into the language, watching behind us to see how we can use each piece of knowledge we gain to soften the way for the next person.

We've been producing some content here & there about Scratch, but we definitely need a catalyst at this point to bring together a unified active documentation project.  To guide people into a language I believe it's best to provide them an entry vehicle through which they can get not just a taste of the language (like most tutorials) but really a solid foundation in the language that grants the confidence to explore your own ideas.

<3

Duncan wrote:

Once a level of understanding/competence is reached the prospect of exploring other languages to reach beyond the limitations of Scratch should be irresistible to an enthused user.

Another program worth looking at - especially for those who want to develop games, is the Mark Overmars' program GAMEMAKER. It used to have it's own site

http://www.gamemaker.nl/

although that URL still functions, you are then directed to a new address from which you can access all the documentation and downloads - plus a lot of games and resources (many of the latter are also useful for Scratchers)

http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/

GameMaker works in 'Lite' form as freeware and also in full form as shareware ($20).

I have followed its development since the days of v.3 and can recommend it to anyone who wants a drop-and-drag format for programming but with the added option of scripting for those who want to extend its capabilities. There is a HUGE network of support for this program and there are now two dedicated books published independently which feature it.