With the graphical pro­gram­ming language, children and teenagers learn to program in a fun way without needing any previous knowledge of pro­gram­ming. Instead of difficult-to-un­der­stand text code snippets, this project uses visual blocks and a drag-and-drop feature instead. We explain what Scratch is and how to join the platform.

What is Scratch?

When thinking about web pro­gram­ming languages, many people think of com­pli­cat­ed, hard-to-un­der­stand text-based coding and source code. However, pro­gram­ming can also be simple. This is proven by sim­pli­fied pro­gram­ming solutions such as scripting languages, visual pro­gram­ming and WYSIWYG editors. With the Scratch platform and its visual pro­gram­ming language, coding for kids is easier than ever

Unlike tra­di­tion­al pro­gram­ming languages such as Java and C++, Scratch uses a graphical user interface. This means that creative ideas from games and an­i­ma­tions to in­ter­ac­tive stories can be im­ple­ment­ed quickly. To do this, graphical blocks are used in place of text-based coding. The graphical blocks can be easily pushed together to form stacks that syn­tac­ti­cal­ly match each other. Since only com­pat­i­ble blocks and data types can be combined, mistakes are easy to avoid. This is why Scratch is con­sid­ered building-block pro­gram­ming. Our article “Learn to program with Scratch” explains how children and teenagers can use Scratch and also provides step-by-step in­struc­tions for a simple Scratch project.

How long has Scratch been around?

Scratch orig­i­nat­ed from an open-source project, led by U.S. professor Mitchel Resnick and his Lifelong Kinder­garten Group, a research team at the MIT Media Lab­o­ra­to­ry in Cambridge. The Lifelong Kinder­garten Group handles Scratch’s de­vel­op­ment and support. Much of the funding comes from the National Science Foun­da­tion (NSF) and volunteer donors. The first version, which included an exclusive de­vel­op­ment en­vi­ron­ment based on Squeak, was released in 2007.

What makes Scratch so special?

Scratch aims to make it as easy as possible for children and teenagers (and adults who are starting to learn to code) to enter the world of pro­gram­ming. Since digital com­pe­ten­cies and pro­gram­ming skills are among the key com­pe­ten­cies of the future, Scratch shows what can be done with pro­gram­ming even if you don’t have prior ex­pe­ri­ence with coding. Instead of investing lots of time and learning in­ten­sive­ly, the focus is placed on flex­i­bil­i­ty, cre­ativ­i­ty and curiosity. The intuitive, block-based system which has a drag-and-drop feature lets users combine elements and engage in sto­ry­telling in a playful way.

Another advantage of Scratch is that it is currently used in over 150 countries and there are tutorials in over 40 languages. In addition to being used privately, it is also used in IT classes in schools. Finished projects as well as those still in progress can be published and shared on the Scratch platform, allowing the large community to help each other out and give each other advice. Scratch is free of charge, making it ac­ces­si­ble to as many users as possible.

How do you sign up to use Scratch?

If you want to use Scratch, you don’t need to register or have an account. You can start pro­gram­ming your own projects right away by simply choosing your favorite browser and visiting the Scratch platform. To get started with a project, simply click on Start Creating. However, if you want to use the full range of Scratch features, a free Scratch account is required. With your own account you can save your an­i­ma­tions, videos, games and in­ter­ac­tive stories to the platform online or on your computer. In addition, you can choose which of your projects you want to share with the Scratch community.

How to become a Scratcher

To create a scratch account, complete the following steps:

  • Step 1: Click on Join.
  • Step 2: Enter a username in the des­ig­nat­ed field and then create a secure password. Then click on Next.
  • Step 3: Now enter your personal in­for­ma­tion such as your location and your date of birth.
  • Step 4: Enter a valid email address and confirm with Create Your Account.
  • Step 5: The reg­is­tra­tion will now take place au­to­mat­i­cal­ly. You will also receive an ac­ti­va­tion link via email to activate your account. You can now use all the features available on the platform such as saving, com­ment­ing on and pub­lish­ing Scratch projects.

Scratch for teachers

Scratch provides a special user account for teachers that allows you to create classes as well as in­di­vid­ual accounts for students. You can request a teacher account from Scratch. The Scratch team will manually review each teacher account request. The review is usually carried out within 24 hours.

What are the benefits of using Scratch?

Scratch is suitable for anyone who wants to learn pro­gram­ming without spending a lot of time learning text-based code. The visual pro­gram­ming language’s strengths include:

  • Ease of use: Scratch is based on a graphical user interface and doesn’t contain complex code syntax. Functions and commands are graph­i­cal­ly rep­re­sent­ed as blocks, which you move and assemble with drag-and-drop. Only syn­tac­ti­cal­ly com­pat­i­ble blocks fit together, which prevents errors from occurring. It is possible to change block stacks at any time.
  • Free usage: All Scratch features are free of charge in order to make the world of pro­gram­ming with Scratch ac­ces­si­ble to as many users as possible.
  • Large community: Scratch is used worldwide both for personal use and by ed­u­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions. Since your own ideas and projects can be published and commented on via the Scratch platform, you have the op­por­tu­ni­ty to become part of a large, helpful community.
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