Scratch

After reading the article about Scratch and exploring the Scratch website, what are some observable benefits in creating a space to share student work?


One of the main points the article about Scratch made in reference to it's benefits was that it encourages young people (through comments and reinforcement) not just to "chat, browse, and interact  but also [to] create and invent with new media" (p. 62). When looking at the site, this was very evident. All of the projects I looked at (whether games or stories) all had comments, suggestions, and encouragement on them. It seemed like a much more positive environment then most of the YouTube comments I've seen. 


Scratch also expands the resources students have to both create new things and learn how programming works; the problem-solving strategies learned through utilizing these resources can carry over to many different aspects of life. Because simulations, games, animations, and stories can all be created using scratch, students with many different interests can find the site useful, entertaining, and educational.


For me, one of the benefits that could realistically be useful is utilizing Scratch for school projects. I plan to teach after I graduate, so I got kind of excited when the article discussed using Scratch for interactive learning. It described kids using the site to simulate life in another region or a trip to the earth's core. Students really have to learn about the topic to be able to teach and describe it to others, but by creating a program they can have fun while doing it and learn more about programming. Not only does using Scratch allow students to develop their own ideas, but they can collaborate with others to improve one another's works. This develops skills in group collaboration which are essential later in life. They can even develop companies in order to collaborate.