scratch it up! computer programming for kids

[kgradow1.livejournal.com]

When:  November 13, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Where:   155 Powder House Blvd  (at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church)
What:   Computer programming for kids, artists, and the rest of us!  We'll learn how to make video games and animations with Scratch, a simple, kid-level programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group. 

This workshop will be both an introduction to Scratch (see: scratch.mit.edu) for total beginners, as well as some more advanced programming experiments with physics simulation using Processing (processing.org).  We'd love to work with any age-mix -- if folks rsvp with information about age and experience with computer programming we can make plans based around who we know is coming.  If you can bring a laptop, that would be great!  If you cannot, that's _ok_, but try to let us know so we can scrounge enough useful computers for the weekend!  $15-$30 suggested donation for the day, pay what you can, no donation is required.   RSVP at contact@partsandcrafts.org.

Hosted by Parts and Crafts, a group of thinkers, teachers, and tinkerers in the Boston area who are interested in helping people build, think, create, succeed, fail, and learn.   For more details  (on this event or others) go to http://partsandcrafts.org.


 

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I've heard of but not played around with Scratch; when you say "any" age mix, what do you really mean? Like, do kids have to be able to read? This has been on my list of things to learn at some point, but I've been operating under the assumption that my 3-year-old is too young to get any mileage out of it at all, even on the "mess around and see what happens" front (much less on the "check it out I just learned for loops" front, e.g.).

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

Uh, yeah! What Ukalele said! I've got a very bright pre-reading 4.9 year old who might find this really cool but would be bored to tears and frustrated to a tantrum if it were word-based.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Me three! Though she's 10x closer to reading this week than last week, a page and a half of Dr. Seuss level words in a picture book before running out of steam still doesn't quite count as reading...

age appropriateness

[kgradow1.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the interest! I think that the answer to these questions is that the workshop probably wouldn't be good for pre-reading kids. I'm interested now, though, in thinking about whether/how one could design an interesting computer/computational learning/playing experience for that age range!

Tomorrow's workshop probably will not be that experience, I'm afraid.