Back
Scratch

What is Scratch?

Here we are going to cover introduction to Scratch. You can watch our video to learn What is Scratch? – click here.

  1. What is Programming? What is a program?

Ans.

Programming is the art of writing instructions to computer to do something. These set of instructions are called program. These programs are also referred to as scripts.

  1. What is Scratch?

Ans.

Scratch is a visual programming language for children to utilize their imagination and interact with computers. They can create simple programs by using a simple block-like interface. It is often used in teaching coding, computer science, and computational thinking. It is used to assist in other subjects including math, science, history, geography, and art etc. The people who program on scratch are called Scratchers!

  1. Where did the name Scratch come from?

Ans.

Scratch takes its name from scratching which is a technique used by disc jockeys to mix music. Similarly scratch language encourages its users to remix the projects and create new programs out of it. Their slogan is “Imagine, Program, Share”

  1. Who made or developed scratch?

Ans.

Scratch was developed by MIT Media lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten group, led by Mitchel Resnick in 2003. It started with version 1.0 then came 2.0 in 2013 and in 2019 the latest release of 3.0 is released.

  1. Why do I learn scratch?

Ans.

    1. Scratch is very easy to use as all commands are visual and you do not have to type or remember any command.
    2. Writing code is like building a tower of blocks or jigsaw puzzle of commands locking with each other.
    3. The commands are color coded into different categories which makes it easy to use.
    4. There are no complicated error messages only programs which needs debugging or correction.
  1. Where do I get scratch to program on?

Ans.

You can join scratch online for free at https://scratch.mit.edu. You can also download the desktop version from https://scratch.mit.edu/download if you do not have internet connection.

  1. How do I create my account?

Ans.

    1. Open a browser and go to website https://scratch.mit.edu/
    2. Click on Join Scratch at top right of the screen
    3. Sign up by adding user name and password twice.
    4. Enter date of birth, gender, country and e-mail to log in.
    5. Press Create on the top to get started.
  1. What are the various parts of the screen?

Ans.

    • Scratch main screen has
        1. Block palette on the left
        2. Scripts area in the middle
        3. Stage Area on the right
        4. Menu/Tool Bar on the top.
    • Menu/tool Bar: On top of the screen is the toolbar. It changes once your project is opened. It has following selections when you start scratch.
        1. Create: This is used to create a new scratch project.
        2. Explore: This takes you to see other projects made by scratchers.
        3. Ideas: This gives starter projects for a person to build upon.
        4. About: This gives more information about scratch
        5. Search: This helps you to search for specific project or help
        6. Messages: Any scratch messages can be seen here. For e.g. welcome message.
        7. My Stuff: If you need to see your projects, you can click on my stuff to view.
        8. Your loginID dropdown: You can use this to change your profile, or do account settings.

Once your project is open. It showcases –

            1. File: This has options to create a new project, save a project or open a existing project.
            2. Edit: It has option to undelete and to setup turbo mode which makes the blocks moves faster.
            3. Tutorials: It provides you access to online tutorials for scratch.
            4. Project Name: You can change the name of the project over here.
            5. Share: Once your project is ready, you can share it with other scratchers
    • Stage Area:  Stage is the area where all action takes place. All of the code you write will make something happen on the stage. The stage uses x and y coordinates, with 0,0 being the stage center; the stage is 480 pixels wide, and 360 pixels tall, x:240 being the far right, x:-240 being the far left, y:180 being the top, and y:-180 being the bottom. The stage has  –
        1. Sprite: Sprite is a graphical image that moves around on stage. By default it is the orange cat but you can change it. It can be animated and manipulated by the code. You can drag sprite to any location or the stage and drop sprites on the stage.
        2. Green Flag: This flag is used to start the program or project.
        3. Red Stop Sign: This is used to stop the program or all scripts of all sprites that are on the stage.
        4. Full screen toggle: On the right side on the top of stage is Full screen toggle button. If you wish to only see the stage in full screen you press this button.
        5. Minimize & Restore Stage buttons: On top of the stage are buttons to minimize and restore the stage. When you minimize the stage, the script area is maximized giving you complete area to focus on your script. On clicking restore the screen reverts to normal position.
        6. Stage Pane: Stage Pane is below the stage window towards the extreme right bottom. On top of the pane it shows the back drop which is currently active which is white background by default. You can change the backdrop by clicking the round icon with window below it. There are 4 ways to choose a background and you will see 4 options available when you click on the backdrop icon.
            1. Pick one from the library.
            2. Draw one of your own.
            3. Upload one of your own.
            4. Use webcam to take a photo.
        7. Sprite Pane: On left side of the Stage Pane is the Sprite Pane. It has two parts, on top is the Sprite info and bottom is the sprite list.
            1. Sprite List: Bottom of the sprite pane is the sprite list which shows which all sprites are part of your project or program. By default the orange cat is displayed. There is a circular icon to choose a sprite there. You can add new sprites by clicking the round icon. There are 4 ways to choose a new sprite and you will see 4 options available when you click on the icon.
                1. Pick one from the library.
                2. Draw one of your own.
                3. Upload one of your own.
                4. Use webcam to take a photo.
                5. You need to click on the sprite
            2. Sprite Info: When you select a sprite in the sprite list automatically the sprite info box is updated. It gives the information about the sprite and same boxes can be used to update as well. It displays sprite’s name , its position on the screen in terms of x and y coordinates, size, direction and whether to show or hide the sprite.
    • Script Area: Script area is the place where you actually assemble your code by dragging command blocks from the block palette. The script is for a selected sprite from the sprite pane.
    • Block Palette: Block palette has command blocks that fit together as in a block tower.  Once a sprite is selected, you can drag a block from block palette and take it to script area. It has three tabs
        1. Scripts tab: In scripts tab, all available blocks for the sprite are listed and categorized. They are color coded.
        2. Costumes tab: A costume is nothing but a visual image of the sprite on screen. Here users can change the look of the sprite in order to create various effects, including animation. Sprite can have multiple costume and you can use script to change the costume.
        3. Sounds tab: Here users add sounds and music to a sprite
User Avatar
Simply Coding

Leave A Reply