Recommended Website:
Scratch
Scratch | Home | imagine, program, share

Age Range: 8-16 (Younger children can work on Scratch projects with their
parents or older siblings, and college students use Scratch in some
introductory computer science classes.)

The good folks at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) developed this
website that offers "Scratch," a new programming language designed to help
young people "create their own interactive stories, animations, games,
music, and art" -- and then share them on the web.

As kids (8 and up) use Scratch, they learn important mathematical and
computational ideas, think creatively, analyze systematically, gain a deeper
understanding of the process of design, and use technology to develop
learning skills for the 21st century.

Scratch is available FREE of charge and can be downloaded for Mac OSX and
Windows at the website.

According to the website, "Different people get started with Scratch in
different ways. Some like to tinker with various blocks to see what they do.
Others like to experiment with the sample projects that come with Scratch,
and then make changes to the scripts." The website offers clear
instructions, along with suggestions for fun, initial activities.

In fact, when you get to the site, click on "Support" on the menu. A new
page opens where you can access a step-by-step guide to using Scratch along
with video tutorials, reference guides, and FAQs.

ClickSchooler MaryAnna Cashmore had this to say about Scratch:

My guys really like Scratch. As they create programs, they can decide the
angle that the character turns, the distance that it goes, the speed, any
size changes, figure out a formula to decide how a character or object moves
in relation to other characters or objects; make use of a randomly generated
number and work with logical operations, and they even decide which keys
control the character. That's math and logic. But there's more.

Art, for example. The main character of your computer game can be one of the
preset characters, or you can create your own in a special program very
similar to "Paint" - or import a drawing you created using some other
software.

Music. You can select background music for your game, or you can record or
program your own. Select the instrument you want, decide the speed, the
notes and their durations, the volume, and how long you want your song to
play. Decide what (in your game) will cause the sound to begin, and what
will cause it to end. Wow, cool!

Creative writing. The characters in your game can have dialog if you choose
to add it. It can be as simple as saying "Ha! I got you!" and "Ouch! I
died!" or it can be very elaborate. You can also post your game onto the
website, but if you do, you will want to write a quick description so others
know what to expect, such as the point of the game and how to play it. Some
kids choose to create an animation instead of a game; that's ok too.

Social interaction. When people have tried your game, they might write a
comment (inappropriate comments can be flagged by other readers or removed
by the game creator - or game creator's parent If you ask for input, many
people are happy to give suggestions / constructive criticism. You can play
the games that others have created, and get ideas for new things to try in
your own games. If you like someone else's game, you can congratulate him or
her, or ask how they did a certain cool effect. They often are very helpful
and you can learn new coding strategies. You can create a buddy list. You
can send games to your friends (if they are also using this program) and
exchange ideas.

There's also a forum full of helpful hints from more experienced
programmers, and when you've learned *everything* there is to learn here (at
first it seems deceptively simple, but, like the alphabet, this command set
can create an amazing variety!), the forum contains information on other
websites where you can continue to expand your learning.

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