Discover the fundamentals of programming using the block-based programming language Scratch. Learn how to program your own animations and games. Scratch is a powerful, visual programming language that provides a great introduction to the world of programming. By snapping blocks together, you can create amazing animations and games. Over this four-week course, you’ll learn how to navigate the Scratch programming environment, create your own programs, and share your creations.
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Explore the key programming concepts
You’ll start this course with an introduction to the Scratch programming language and the fundamentals of working with sprites, costumes, and backdrops.
As you progress, you’ll build your knowledge of core programming concepts and how best to use them, from sequencing and repetition to selection and variables. Throughout the course, you’ll create your own animations and games to test your new skills.
Become part of the Scratch community to share and remix Scratch projects
A key benefit of working in Scratch is the community, which can be used for support, collaboration, and inspiration.
You’ll become part of the Scratch community, exploring the website and its many features. At different points across this course, you’ll be encouraged to share your work with the wider community and you’ll learn how to view and remix other people’s work.
Create Scratch programs with user interactions built in
As you work towards your final Scratch project of this course, you’ll learn how to produce Scratch programs that allow the user to interact with them with keypresses, text answers, and motion. Using Scratch extensions, you’ll also learn how to create programs that draw shapes, play music, and even sense the user’s movements using a webcam.
Then, you’ll bring all of your new programming knowledge and skills together to build your own game or animation using the tools and concepts you’ve learnt throughout this course.
Syllabus
Week 1: Sequencing in Scratch
Week 2: Iteration, abstraction, and the Scratch community
Week 3: Using conditions, selection, and variables in your projects
Week 4: The power of lists and extensions
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explain how to use the Scratch programming environment
- Describe a range of Scratch commands and what they do
- Produce Scratch programs that allow the user to interact with them with key presses, text answers, and motion
- Demonstrate the key programming concepts of sequence, repetition, selection, and variables in Scratch programs
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone with an interest in programming and who wants to learn to program using Scratch, a block-based programming language.
