4th graders have been particularly excited to come to technology class over the last couple of weeks because we have started using Scratch. Scratch is a programming environment created by the MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten group about 6 years ago. If your child is really interested in Scratch, it is available for download FREE from the scratch website. A new beta version of Scratch 2.0 is also available if students want to explore it.Students have been learning how to use Scratch by completing the Scratch cards provided by MIT. This week students are also starting to learn how to use the LEGO WeDo kits with Scratch by completing the "Scratch and WeDo Getting Started" activities with partners. Pretty soon they'll be building LEGO models that can interact with the Scratch programming environment with motors and sensors.
