Scratch is a free visual programming language developed at MIT to make programming accessible for ages 8 and up. It allows users to create interactive stories, games, and animations by dragging and dropping blocks that represent programming commands. Scratch is widely used in classrooms and has over 15 million registered users. Research shows it helps develop skills like creativity, logical thinking, and an understanding of basic programming concepts.

1. Scratch
Intuitive and Accessible Programming

2. What is Scratch?

3. What is Scratch?
Visual Programming Language
“Lets users create programs by
manipulating program elements
graphically rather than by specifying
them textually” - Wikipedia

4. What is Scratch?
“Three core design principles
for Scratch:
Make it more tinkerable, more
meaningful, and more social
than other programming
environments.”
- Mitchel Resnick et al.

5. What is Scratch?
 Developed at MIT by the
Lifelong Kindergarten Group,
led by Professor Mitchel Resnick
 First released 2002
 Website launched 2007
 Scratch 2.0 released 2013

6. What is Scratch?
 Designed for ages 8-16
 Most users are preteens and teens, but
user age ranges from 4 to 80
 Open source, free to use
 Can be used online or downloaded locally
 Available in more than 150 countries and
more than 40 languages
 South Sudan and Antarctica are the only
countries with no users

7. Technical Requirements for Scratch 2.0
 Mac, Linux, or Windows computer
 Adobe Flash Player (recent version)
 One of the latest two versions of
Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or
Internet Explorer 10+
 Otherwise, Scratch 1.4 can be
downloaded and used locally

8. How does
it work?

9. How does
it work?
Users connect “blocks”,
each of which comprise a
section of script.
Blocks can render visual or
auditory actions,
determine triggers for
running scripts, create
loops, perform operations,
and just about anything
else other programming
languages can.

10. How does
it work?
1. Motion
2. Looks
3. Sound
4. Pen
5. Data
6. Events
7. Control
8. Sensing
9. Operators
10. More Blocks
Blocks are presented in
ten categories:

11. How does
it work?
Connecting blocks makes
the functions run together
as a group, sequentially
from top to bottom.
Under “More Blocks” users
can create their own
blocks from scratch, or
connect their project to
external sensors, in
particular the Picoboard
and LEGO WeDo.

12. How does
it work?
So this code would result in
1. When the character is
clicked, a speech
balloon appears with
“Hello!” for 2 seconds
2. Then, an infinite loop
involving a) the
character changing
color and moving back
and forth and b) two
different drumbeats
playing begins

13. What can
it make?
Animations
Games
Scientific and
mathematic
simulations
Interactive art

14. What can
it make?
The Colour Divide – animation series by bubble103
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/71447764/

15. What can
it make?
Scratchnapped – platformer game by griffpatch
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10118230/

16. Reception
Reception of Scratch has largely been positive,
with research illustrating its benefits for beginning
programmers
 Positive contribution to logical-mathematical
thinking skills and overall academic achievement
(Korkmaz, 2016)
 Helps develop creativity (Korkmaz, 2016)
 Significantly enables understanding of basic programming concepts as well as slightly
more complex core concepts (Simpkins, 2014)

17. Reception
Reception of Scratch has largely been positive,
with research illustrating its benefits for beginning
programmers
 “Kelleher and Pausch [7] […] noted how systems can
make programming more accessible for novices
“by simplifying the mechanics of programming, by
providing support for learners, and by providing
students with motivation to learn to program” (p. 131).
We think that Scratch addresses all three of these
areas.” (Maloney et al., 2008)
 “Importantly, students report that they consider the transferability of the programming skills
they have learnt in a blocks environment to a traditional textual language as very
straightforward” (Simpkins, 2014)

18. Criticism & Controversy
The major criticisms of Scratch include
 Ultimately limiting in its programming capabilities
(Simpkins, 2014)
 However, Scratch is only intended as an introductory tool
 Technical requirements potentially exclude large
portions of people globally who do not have access
to the latest hardware and software
 Most users are in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada

19. Criticism & Controversy
Controversy with Apple (Chen, 2010)
 In 2010, Apple removed the Scratch app from iTunes
 “No interpreted code may be downloaded or used in
an Application except for code that is interpreted and
run by Apple’s Documented APIs and built-in
interpreter(s)” – developer agreement, clause 3.3.2
 “Scratch doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that one
could use to build software that’s even vaguely of the
caliber of native iPhone apps” - John Gruber
 The Scratch app has since returned to the App Store

20. Conclusions
Free, open source, and intuitive, Scratch
provides a much-needed first step into
programming concepts for beginners.
Scratch’s use in programming education, from
elementary school to universities to individuals
in their home, is a testament to its
effectiveness.
With over 15 million registered users, and
numbers of daily users and daily projects
posted at their peaks and rising, Scratch does
not show signs of slowing down.

21. Tutorial!
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/
editor/?tip_bar=getStarted

22. References &
Further Reading
Chen, B. X. (2010, April 20). Apple Rejects Kid-Friendly Programming App. Retrieved December 3, 2016,
from https://www.wired.com/2010/04/apple-scratch-app/
Harvard Graduate School of Education. (n.d.). [Scratch blocks]. Retrieved December 1, 2016, from
http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/guide/Video
Korkmaz, Ö. (2016, October). The Effect of Scratch- and Lego Mindstorms Ev3-Based Programming
Activities on Academic Achievement, Problem-Solving Skills and Logical-Mathematical Thinking Skills of
Students. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 4(3), 73-88.
The LEAD Project. (2016). [Super Scratch Programming Adventure]. Retrieved December 3, 2016, from
https://www.nostarch.com/scratch
Lifelong Kindergarten Group. (n.d.). Scratch - Imagine, Program, Share. Retrieved November 29, 2016,
from https://scratch.mit.edu/
Lifelong Kindergarten Group. (n.d.). Scratch - Imagine, Program, Share. Retrieved December 3, 2016, from
https://scratch.mit.edu/statistics/

23. References &
Further Reading
Maloney, J. H., et al. (2008, March). Programming by choice: Urban youth learning
programming with Scratch. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin. doi:10.1145/1352322.1352260
Resnick, M., et al. (2009, November). Scratch: Programming for all. Communications of the
ACM, 52(11), 60-67. doi:10.1145/1592761.1592779
[Scratch logo and cat]. (2016). Retrieved December 1, 2016, from
http://www.romansrobots.com/courses/
Simpkins, N. K. (2014, July-September). I Scratch and Sense But Can I Program? International
Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education, 10(3), 87-116.
doi:10.4018/ijicte.2014070107
Visual programming language. (2016, November 2). Retrieved November 29, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_programming_language