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Design Based Learning with Scratch
Recently I've been taking a Year 5 class for their computer lessons. They had been studying the solar system in science and I was asked to help them create a database with information about the...
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Scratch in Space
The students made good progress with their Solar System projects today. They are starting to take shape now and information is being added.Again, I've been impressed by the creativity. Sometimes when...
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Scratch at University
I have just finished delivering three lectures to PGCE students (trainee teachers) at the University of Hull.Earlier in the year I had written to the course leader, who had been been my tutor at the...
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Scratch so far.
This picture has quite a bit of significance for me. It first caught my eye in the New Scientist edition of 2nd August 2008. It filled the top half of the page and is, as you can see, a colourful...
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Scratch in School
In one of the conference keynotes during July 2012, Karen Brenan mentioned that Scratch was designed with informal learning environments in mind. Out of school computer clubs and that sort of thing....
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Introducing Scratch
Whenever I'm beginning to teach Scratch, whether it is to a class of students, a lunchtime club, trainee teachers, or even a group of parent governors, I tend to begin with the Intro to Scratch video....
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Scratch Concepts - Thinking Systematically
Once the introductory lesson is over, comes the time to start trying to strike the balance between being completely open ended and imposing some sort of structure. Where the balance is struck depends...
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Syncronisation and Sequencing Using Scratch
As suggested in the previous post, the simple Move the Bee activity can be extended by asking the students to do some simple things, such as changing the appearance of the bee or getting it to say...
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Loops in Scratch
Looping (or iteration) is a very important concept in programming.It is usual by this stage in our Scratch adventures that many of the children's scripts have become quite long. Often bits are...
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Enough Structure - Let's Get Creative!
The first few lesson ideas through which I have gone have been pretty well structured. This structure has been, I hope, well justified because now the students have experience of sequencing,...
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