Scratch Coding – An Introduction to Scratch Programming

What do you think of when you think of programming? Complicated-looking texts in different colors that don’t make sense, right? Thinking of this term can make any beginner feel intimidated, especially a child. But what if we say that coding doesn’t have to be that way? Coding can be fun and interactive without those complicated texts. What if we introduce you to Scratch programming today? Don’t worry if this is the first time you have heard of this term.

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In this blog, we will introduce you to Scratch programming and will tell you why exactly this is the best programming platform for kids to get started with. So let’s dive in!

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This is Chapter 1.1 in the
Scratch Tutorial for Beginners

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What is Scratch Coding?

Scratch is a programming platform that uses block-based coding. Block-based is the exact opposite of text-based coding. In block-based coding, there is no need to write text-based codes to create projects. The codes are already written in this type of coding and the user just needs to drag and drop these codes into the editor. Sounds fun, right?!

Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations. Scratch was created by Mitchel Resnick at the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is designed, developed, and moderated by the Scratch Foundation, a non-profit organization. It is suitable for all ages, especially for children above the age of 8, as it helps them learn about the fundamentals of coding with block-based coding in a fun and creative way.

Now let’s see if the importance of Scratch coding makes it preferred so much by coders, especially children.

What Does Scratch Mean in Coding?

Scratch is a visual programming language that uses “drag and drop” blocks of code, which makes it a great introduction to computer science principles. The codes are block-based, and users just have to drag and drop those blocks in order to create a project. This makes it easier for children to have a basic understanding of coding. The blocks are grouped into categories, such as “Events,” “Looks“, “Sound“, “Control“, etc., which are designed for a specific function.

For example, using the blocks from the “Sound” category, you can optimize your sound settings, like when you want the sound to stop or when you want to stop all the sounds. So, all-in-all, Scratch is a pretty straightforward coding language that is useful for introducing and developing an interest in coding in children.

What are the components of Scratch editor?

Let us understand the building components of Scratch programming to begin creating Scratch projects.

Sprites

Sprites are the key objects (images) that are programmed in Scratch. Sprites can range from animals, people, objects, and things like sports, music, food, and fashion. Scratch has a rich library of inbuilt sprites which come attached with a set of code blocks. For example, a drum kit sprite can be used to play different levels of bass, high tom, and low tom.

Backdrops

Backdrops are creative backgrounds that you can use for your game or story. You can choose from an existing backdrop, paint a new one, or upload from an existing file on your computer or drive. When a backdrop is added to a scratch project, it appears on the stage.

Blocks

Blocks are used to perform actions on sprites in a game or story. Scratch provides code blocks such as motion blocks, which can be used to set a sprite into motion; sound blocks, which can be used to add sound effects to a sprite; or event blocks, which are used to define when the code is run.

Is Scratch coding safe?

Scratch Coding is definitely safe for children to use and design projects. It is essentially designed for children to help them have an easy and interactive introduction to coding, which makes their design and programming easy and straightforward to match a child’s understanding. Your projects can only be public if you want them to be. Scratch also uses filters on content to promote clean language.

Why is Scratch coding useful for children?

The importance of scratch coding is explained below.

1. Scratch nurtures a child’s creativity

Scratch is an educational programming language that uses block-based coding to make it fun, colorful, and easy to grasp. When a user creates a project, there are no pre-determined objectives or goals set by the website that need to be fulfilled by the user. This feature allows a user, especially a child, to get creative with their ideas.

2. Scratch improves logical and analytical abilities

The main goal of Scratch programming is to teach about coding through a fun, interactive, and practical method. The good thing about learning to code on such an interactive platform is that it enhances one’s logical and analytical skills. On the platform, the user has to drag and drop the blocks onto an area called “palette.” The logical stacking of codes enables a character to have any kind of movement.

3. Scratch encourages problem-solving

Scratch programming develops programmatic thinking in children. To make any kind of project, be it games, animations, or stories, kids have to figure out how various parts of their coding can work together. Practicing on this platform will give kids strong problem-solving and organizational skills.

4. Scratch helps in learning the fundamentals of coding

By playing with Scratch, children can learn to code through applications. They can make their own games, animations, and stories set their own objectives for each of these projects, and design their own characters. They can also share these projects with their online community.

5. Excellent for practical experiments

Along with a visually appealing user interface, Scratch programming also has some great hardware extensions, which are perfect for someone who likes to experiment and invest their time and energy in practical things. Several companies make hardware sets that integrate with Scratch to create cool projects. For example, micro:bit and Makey allow children to design and create their own game controllers.

Conclusion

Scratch coding enables your child to harness the essential skills of the 21st century in a fun, interactive, and creative way. From here on, children can learn about the basics of this digital world and explore their own interests, and who knows, maybe even adapt this as their future career goal.

Scratch not only teaches kids about the basics of coding but also makes sure that they remain safe. As Scratch also has an online community with users from different age groups and backgrounds, parents might feel worried about having their kids exposed to an online community from such young age. But nothing to worry about there! Scratch ensures that all its users behave appropriately and remain helpful in the online community.

Scratch has proper community guidelines in place to ensure that proper conduct is followed and has strict rules for those who don’t follow the guideline. This makes Scratch the perfect platform for kids to learn to code as it is an easy-to-understand and very safe platform. Create a Scratch account today and start your learning journey with Scratch!

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FAQs on Scratch coding

The frequently asked questions on Scratch Coding are explained below:

Is Scratch coding for kids?
Yes, Scratch was essentially designed for children to help them have an easy and interactive introduction to coding, which makes their design and programming easy and straightforward to match a child’s understanding.

How to do Scratch coding login?
Visit the homepage of Scratch. Enter your user credentials and click on “sign in”. Now you are logged in. Check our blog on how to create and log in to your Scratch account.

How to download Scratch coding?
Visit the Scratch official website. Scroll down and under “Resources” you can find the “Download” option. Click on it and you will be taken to the download page. Here you can download the application to your computer. Click here for our detailed blog on how to download and install Scratch.

How to use Scratch coding?
Scratch coding is block-based and to create a project on Scratch, you have to drag these block codes from different categories, like “Events”, “Sound”, “Control”, etc., and it is the code area and strategically arrange them to make your project work.

What type of coding does scratch use?
Scratch is a block-based visual programming language.

What programming language does scratch 3.0 use?
Scratch 3.0 is a block-based visual programming language.

Scratch is available in how many languages?
Scratch is available in 70+ languages.

What is a variable in scratch coding?
A Variable in Scratch is a container that stores some value.

What is scratch used for?
Scratch is a programming language that allows children to create their own projects, like, as stories, animations, or games using block-based coding.

Is Scratch real coding?
There are many debates on this topic. Some agree that Scratch is a real coding language that uses drag-and-drop coding, while there argue that it can’t be called a real coding language due to its use of a drag-and-drop interface.

Why should kids learn Python or Scratch?
As Python is a complex programming language, it is better for children to start with Scratch to have an understanding of the basics of coding.

What coding language does Scratch use?
Scratch uses block-based coding language. Block-based coding language doesn’t require writing complicated text-based codes. In this language, the codes are in the shape of blocks and the user just has to drag and drop these codes onto the editor to create projects.

We hope that we have informed you why exactly is Scratch the best programming platform for kids to get started with. If you are encouraged to create your own account and get started with Scratch, read our guide on how to join Scratch and create your Scratch account today!

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