Scratch is a computer application aimed primarily at children that allows them to explore and experiment with the concepts of computer programming by using the simple graphical interface. It is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab […] and first appeared in the summer of 2007. Scratch can be installed and freely redistributed on any Windows, Mac OS X or Linux computer. The source code is made available under a license that allows for modifications for non-commercial uses.
The name Scratch is derived from the turntablist technique of scratching, and refers to both the language and its implementation. The similarity to musical “scratching” is the easy reusability of pieces: in Scratch all the objects, graphics, sounds, and scripts can be easily imported to a new program and combined in new ways allowing beginners to get quick results and be motivated to try further. // Wikipedia: Scratch (Programming Language)
Read all Scratch-related articles on hyperRitual.
- Scratch website
- Scratch Connections | Scratch projects wiki
- Scratch Programming for Teens
- Scratch 1.4: Beginner’s Guide
- Scratch Resources
PicoBoard
With the PicoBoard, your Scratch projects can sense — and respond to — things going on in the world outside your computer. For example, using the sound sensor, you can make a sprite change how it looks whenever there is a loud sound. Or, using the readings from a PicoBoard’s light sensor, you can program a sprite to hop up and down whenever a shadow passes by. You can use the slider and button to control a character in a video game. A PicoBoard also comes with a USB cable and four sets of alligator clips that measure the electrical resistance in a circuit. You can use the alligator clips to build all kinds of custom sensors. For example, if you attach the clips to a pair of home-made bracelets, you can detect when your wrists touch.
The PicoBoard is like Arduino for Scratch.
- PicoBoard website
- Scratch sensor boards page | links to technical info, electronic components that work with the PicoBoard, etc.
- Catenary | allows Scratch to communicate with Arduino