Techno Teacher

Scratch is a program that would be very beneficial in making your own classroom games. Though it can be a great tool it can also be time consuming. After the initial exploration of Scratch I decided to try and make a time quiz to better understand how Scratch works. Once you get the hang of it, Scratch can be a great asset in the classroom. I will walk you through the different opportunities Scratch provides.

When you first open up Scratch this is what it looks like.

In the box on the far right and on the bottom there is a small blank box with the word stage underneath it.

This is simple to change; if you click on it and drag a picture into the box above this the image you added will know be your background. In the middle column there is a box that labeled “Background,” this is where you will be able to alter your background or stage.

Next you will want to make things called “Sprites,” these are the part of you activity that you will be able to do the most with. When the program pops up you see the cat icon for Scratch, this is a sprite.

The program comes with some sprites or you can upload your own. This is the box where you will find the sprites or be able to add you own.

The first box is where you can paint or draw your own. The next, is where you can add your own or browse through what the program already has. The last box will probably not be very beneficial if you have a specific project in mind. When you click on the third box the program will randomly add a sprite to your project.

Notice the column on the far left. Once you have decided, or made your own sprites, this is where you will give them actions.

This is where you will find the different commands to make your sprites do what you want it to do. The box at the top with “Motion,” “Looks,” “Sound,” “Pen,” “Control,” “Sensing,”  “Operators,” and “Variables.” I suggest playing around with these to get comfortable on how they work. When beginning with your project I suggest you start with “Control,” these are the actions that will make your sprite actions continue or stop when you want. This is where you can make a key or the mouse start your activity or stop it.

Many of these operations, are very detailed and time consuming while trying out Scratch and making my time quiz I only used the basic operations. I used control, looks, and motion.

In the middle column there are three tabs. Make sure you have highlighted the sprite you want to work on. The first tab is the Scripts; this is where you will place the actions from the section with all the operations.

The next tab is the costume tab. This will allow you to change your sprites during in the final project. You are able to draw on the sprite or completely change the image, under the edit tab.

The last tab is Sounds, this allows you to add sound to your sprites, but the controls for when you want the sound to be used will be in scripts.

The parts of the program I have shown you are the parts you will need to complete your project. Scratch is a fun program and is free, though you may find that it’s not your style, or it’s too time consuming at least you explored it and tried it out.

What I find always find it beneficial when trying out something new is to get used to how it works. I like to explore and try it out before I use it in a more serious way or decide not to use it at all. This may be very helpful to you and I definitely recommend it for Scratch.

If you find that Scratch is not something you will use, or if you enjoy using it, you might want to also allow your students to use Scratch. They could use it for a project or presentation in any subject.