 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Scratch
Common Sense Media says
Graphical application gives kids a taste of programming.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this site teaches reasoning skills and a basic understanding of programming that will serve kids well no matter what their future occupation.
What kids can learn
Kids can learn to make their own animations, video games, art, and music videos with Scratch’s visual block-based form of computer programming. It may seem easy to stack blocks using commands such as "move 10 steps" or "turn 15 degrees," but kids can quickly learn valuable programming concepts like loops and conditionals, as well as bottom-up problem solving. Collaboration is encouraged, and fellow Scratch kids can give helpful comments on each other's projects. An incredibly clever intro to computer programming concepts, this site could use additional real-time support.
Skills
- Thinking & Reasoningproblem solving
- Creativitymaking new creations
- Self-Direction
- Emotional Development
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Responsibility & Ethics
- Tech Skillsdigital creation
- Health & Fitness
What's it about?
Scratch is a free, downloadable application that lets users combine graphics, photos, music, and sound to create simple interactive animations, games, and slide shows. Users create scripts by dragging and dropping graphical blocks that snap together like puzzle pieces. They can then post their creations on the Scratch site, where others can view and download them. This MIT effort is named after scratching, the technique hip-hop DJs use to create music by combining turntable manipulation with prerecorded clips and synthesizers.
Is it any good?
There are easier ways to create, say, an animated greeting card than to use a program like Scratch. Then again, most greeting card software doesn't attempt to teach programming like Scratch does. With building blocks divided into intuitive categories such as "motion" and "sound," older kids should be able to quickly knock together creations in which characters sing, dance, and talk.
Scratch is certainly easier to pick up than eToys, a similar visual programming app for kids. Where Scratch stumbles is in explaining variables, random numbers, and other mathematical concepts. Unless kids have already learned these in school, they'll need help in understanding and using them in Scratch. One other nit: Too many of the Scratch creations featured on the site load very slowly or not at all.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the benefits of mastering Scratch, a program that, despite a pretty good interface, will almost certainly overwhelm kids who are not mathematically inclined. Younger children especially will need adult assistance, both in getting started and understanding the program's most complex concepts.
What kids can learn
Kids can learn to make their own animations, video games, art, and music videos with Scratch’s visual block-based form of computer programming. It may seem easy to stack blocks using commands such as "move 10 steps" or "turn 15 degrees," but kids can quickly learn valuable programming concepts like loops and conditionals, as well as bottom-up problem solving. Collaboration is encouraged, and fellow Scratch kids can give helpful comments on each other's projects. An incredibly clever intro to computer programming concepts, this site could use additional real-time support.
Subjects
- Language & Reading:
- Math: geometry, graphing, patterns
- Science:
- Social Studies:
- Arts:
- Hobbies:
Skills
- Thinking & Reasoning: problem solving
- Creativity: making new creations
- Self-Direction:
- Emotional Development:
- Communication:
- Collaboration:
- Responsibility & Ethics:
- Tech Skills: digital creation
- Health & Fitness:
How kids will learn
Scratch is all about learning by doing. To learn how certain scripts work, kids drag a programming block into the main "script" area and double-click it to see what the character does (move, turn, talk). Add multiple characters, and kids learn to problem-solve as projects become more complex. Downloading projects and remixing them encourages kids to "read" the program, play with it, and see how parts work. Tutorials provide helpful introductions, and all projects are downloadable.
How parents can help
- Encourage kids to reply to comments left on their project and to make positive and constructive comments on other people's work.
- Read through blocks linearly with kids and encourage them to say aloud what they're doing step by step.
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
Kid, 9 years old
May 10, 2011
AGE
Great Website!
I love it! It's really cool, it allows kids to show their creativity to the world.The controls will take some getting used to, but after a while, you'll be making all sorts of stuff.Kids can get past the swears with symbols (ex: cr@p), but they're really mild.Great website, check it out.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 9 years old
February 12, 2011
AGE
awesome website!
This website is really cool! Some kids can post bad stuff like with swears or violence,but you can easily flag them and the people over at MIT can take them off the website...other than that its great!
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Teen, 13 years old
July 13, 2009
AGE
For all ages, but some projects are iffy
I'm a member of this site and the program is just awesome. Although Inappropriate content is flagged eventually, you can still see projects with language, violence, and sexual content beforethey are flagged, but you won't actually see that stuff unless you purposely search it
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Kid, 10 years old
June 7, 2009
AGE
Finally! ^^
I absolutely LOVE this place. Not only do you apply problem solving and motor skills, but it's FUN! (plus, you can upload it to the site and have friend enjoy) It is very easy to catch on and is very enjoyable. My user is Creative_Soul. My games aren't the best, but I'm working on it.
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Adult
September 2, 2011
AGE
Scratch is awesome!
Like Starwarsguy said, anything bad for kids you can flag. Then it gets removed. Scratch is awesome!
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Kid, 10 years old
April 14, 2010
AGE
LOVE it!
i'm in love with this site! when i first made my account, i coudn't stop coming back even though at first i was a nobody but now i've made so much nice friends! plus it makes programming easy and fun, a 7 year old could do it! but some uploaded content may be innapropriate, it is flagged and removed immediately. btw my username there is flemzy
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Kid, 12 years old
May 27, 2009
AGE
Great Web Site!
I'm impressed, this Game is AMAZING! Pros and Cons time. Pros: It teaches kids how to programs animations and Games, It's incredible what people can make, some stuff is inappropriate (Like, for example, a pixelated dude getting hit by a car) But you can report it, the file sizes aren't that big, and IT'S FREE!!! Cons: You have to download it (Which is okay, as long as you ask your parents if it's okay) You also have to make an account (Which is okay too, as long as your parents help you) And that's about it. Overall, 5/5.
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Kid, 10 years old
April 28, 2010
AGE
Youtube for Kids!
I love scratch- I've been doing it for a year and a half now on my account, MagicRabbit. It's a perfectly fine website as long as kids have discipline. Kids can pretty much type whatever they want, but swear words and crap are filtered out. (Most kids get past it by spelling it with symbols replacing some letters- e.g.: cr@p) As for projects, (basically the games, pictures, and animations) you still can post any content but other users WILL flag it if the Scratch Team doesn't get to it first.
It's a lot like a YouTube for kids designed by M.I.T! You can 'love it' and 'favorite' a project as well as add tabs to categorize it. You also can add friends to your friends list (basically the 'subscription' button on youtube)
Hop online and go there! scratch.mit.edu
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Teen, 17 years old
January 3, 2011
AGE
I love this website!
Love this website! It allows kids to free their artistic abilities and show off their creativity to the world. It's easy to figure out. It's not too complicated, like so many other similar software out there, which was a problem for me for sometime. It's also less strict, so I thought that was also a good thing. Other children's websites would automatically ban you for saying "stupid" or even "dumb", but not this. Definitely worth the download!
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Kid, 8 years old
February 20, 2010
AGE
Scratch: the limits of your imagination dissapear
I love Scratch! My username is agentch0colate. It teaches kids to easy program!
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| Genre: | Educational |
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