Programming from with scratch
Dear Readers,
I should start this post by apologizing for the lateness of my entry. A lot of time, circumstances, and testing has happened since my last post, and I meant to submit this in a timely manner.
On with it then .. !
Scope of the class
All the mentors were tasked with teaching kids the basics programming. The process started with coming up with an idea (PLANNING), mapping out the story (DESIGN), basic coding (DEVELOPMENT) and presenting the idea (DEPLOYMENT).
Let the coding begin ...
The platform in use was called Scratch - a flash-like program with a simple user interface where simple functions, methods, and other actions were pulled onto a screen by drag-and-dropping items onto a "story board". Our novice "developers" got to design the background, add a character, and create a small animated scene.
Showing off...
While the majority of time was spent on creative, many of the kids got to deploy their ideas and show off their "programs" to others. The objective was to simply introduce children to the world of development all while making it fun
Lesson learned ...
For the most part, it was about fun. I can't pretend there was much in the take-away experience. The nuances of programming structural procedures were lost in the mix. But there was a lot to be said for having fun mapping out a plan, drawing up a storyboard, and executing an idea. Scratch provided a quick and simple way to create simple movies that didn't involve scripting. My son was amongst the many of other kids and he now wants to make another.
