As I entered the school ‘ICT suite’ to deliver the first session on ScratchJr to get the iPads ready, I stared at the vintage PC’s and felt really pleased about our new learning environment. The children are in Year 1 and Year 2 (6/7 years old) and were very eager to see what we were going to do with the shiny new iPads. Continue reading “ScratchJr for Year1 and Year2”
Category: Scratch
Why I love Scratch
I have been teaching Scratch to primary school children for two years now.
Scratch was developed by MIT to enable children to create their own stories and games while learning to code. There is a terrific community of ‘scratchers’ where projects are shared and remixed. Thousands of projects have been made – from very simple animations to complex programs. Continue reading “Why I love Scratch”
Making games with Scratch
Before the Easter break, I taught Scratch to twelve enthusiastic children at my local primary school. This time, I was pleased to have two girls in the group. As the children had enjoyed making games, I decided to introduce new programming concepts while building more games and stories. Half of children were new to Scratch, which meant I had to have teaching material for two levels. As soon as the children got into the swing of things, they had the confidence to help each other, which was good to see. Continue reading “Making games with Scratch”
Six weeks of coding at primary school
I’m really chuffed that my first whole term of coding with primary school children has proved more successful than I had dared imagine. I’m feeling proud of the time I dedicated into getting the materials ready to use in class; it totally paid off. I’m particularly impressed with the children, who’s enthusiasm was infectious. Continue reading “Six weeks of coding at primary school”
Is coding just for boys?
It has been a good start to 2014. I started an after school coding club for primary school children at my local school. I’m very pleased with the way it’s going, and to see the enthusiasm of the children. We are using Scratch and so far the children have produced some great work. Continue reading “Is coding just for boys?”
Scratching away
Right now I’m feeling a huge sense of satisfaction after delivering 3 x 3 hour sessions of Scratch at Yatton Junior School with James Irwin (@gracesauto), whose employer allowed him to join me during school hours to mentor young children on how to code.
We set off on this journey feeling a little nervous; 26 children in the computer room, all waiting for our instructions. We didn’t want to tell the children what to do, but rather encouraged them to use their creativity to create anything they wanted. The children already had a bit of experience with Scratch, so it wasn’t difficult to get them started. Continue reading “Scratching away”
Thimble, Popcorn,Scratch, etc.
This week, I ran a Code Club for girls; three sessions of three hours each. I’m generally very pleased with the outcome and hope that the girls can keep the momentum going and continue to develop their understanding of coding.
The group of girls consisted of my daughter’s friends from school – a group of five 10-11 year olds… and a smaller second group of 8 year olds