Scratch 2.0 Has arrived!

Its here... Scratch 2.0

Building on the success of 1.4 This version offers so much more.

We've been testing it out during the after school club at the University and its pretty good!

New programming interface and program software is now web-based

Its now web-based and offers a multitude of new programming functions and you still need an account.  

Now its web-based it comes with some obvious benefits - you don't need to download software and then install, you just surf and go!

The clever bods at MIT might also develop a stand alone player so watch this space!

Scratch IT!

This month, we've been running fun programming workshops using free Scratch software.

Local Y5 primary school students made their own 'sprites' - these are graphics that you animate in Scratch - to create interactive poems based on the work of Archie Markham.

"This is Fantastic!" said Alma, and Naseem says, "I've got this at home and I'm making games with my Dad."

Students created a fantastic game called 'Shark Attack!', using sprites from Scratch and their own sprite creations. A lesson plan plus code will be online soon!

PIE Vs SheffieldArtsLab

A Digital Arts and learning collaboration/interaction between Destinations Arts and Sheffield Hallam University.

A project that experiments with interactive creative learning tools.

More information coming soon!

MIT App Inventor

Originally a Google Project, MIT App Inventor allows to you to create on Android based handheld devices. MIT, the makers of Scratch are now managing the project and offering loads of support to would be App developers.

The App Inventor offers a natural progression from the Scratch programming environment as it offers a similar colour coded 'drap-and-drop' coding solution. 

It all online with no downloadable moving parts and if your used to Scratch and programming concepts, its very easy to pickup!

I recently created an App that translated English to Igbo, which was nice...

Beginners Interactive Games Workshop

1. I recently completed a series of "Introduction to Programming workshops with FE college tutors. We used Scratch, the fun code writing environment for creating interactive programs! 

2. Participants followed a set of simple exercises, building on their knowledge as they went along.  By the end of the first session, participants were able to create a sophisticated interactive game.

3. During the following weeks, we looked at more advanced interactive designs and how to introduce Scratch and programming concepts into the classroom. 

 The first Session Outline:

1. What is Scratch?

2. Understanding the Interface

3. Exercises

4. Short Game Exercise

5. Programming Concepts

Workshops are applicable to Primary and secondary settings too! For more information about delivering workshops check out the makedigital website or the teaching resources at the Scratch edu website

Teachers - Publish Your Own Books!

Hot off the press from Apples big show and tell event is news of the release of the iBooks Author, a free app for iPads which means we can all become publishing moguls! 
Those of you with experience of the books function of iPhoto will know that you can create beautiful looking books and calendars using the free software that arrives preloaded on macs.  Well it seems like the new iBooks Author app lets you go further to create interactive images and text in the large colourful format that the playful interface of the iPad offers.

iTunes U already allows educators to distribute lectures and educational resources to students, now there is a new app to extend this functions further.
It seems Apple is ushering in a new era of publishing electronic content for learners and only time will tell if it will profoundly change the way we teach and learn. What do you think?

Apps in Classrooms = Power!

If Michael Grove proposes genuine 'out of the box' teaching re digital literacy, giving school kids the means of digital production, the tools, the understanding to analyse, pick apart, innovate, build and share - it could be  a powerful thing.. only 'if' though!