Eng:Scratch Press

Mashable (May 2016) Google teams up with MIT to make programming easier for kids "Now, the MIT team is partnering with Google on the next generation of Scratch, with the hope that Google can help scale Scratch to more platforms and devices. The new Scratch Blocks also use Google's own visual programming language, Blockly."

Scholastic (May 2016) Learn your "plurals "The most exciting innovations for kids today are tools and programs that encourage their thirst for creative self-expression while teaching them critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. To do just that, the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten Group developed Scratch—a free and easy-to-use coding platform and programming language specifically for kids."

Inverse (May 2016) The New Federal 'Math, Science, and Music' Program Is Music Producer Boot Camp "And that’s the basic lesson behind Scratch: There are a lot of ways of looking at music, but for the young, uninitiated composer, it’s helpful to think of it as a series of repeated elements — chords, rhythms, and individual notes — synchronized with others in predictable patterns for specified periods of time. The real fun, of course, comes when those patterns are broken."

Washington Post (April 2016) Educators want to pair math and music in integrated teaching method "Scratch Jazz — allows children to use the basic coding platform Scratch to create their own music."

Cleveland Magazine (April 2016) Code Masters "Since its browser-based launch in 2013, Scratch has quickly become one of the leading introductions to coding, creative thinking and logical reasoning being used in classrooms throughout Northeast Ohio."

TechZim (April 2016) How to introduce your kids to programming the easy way this school holiday "The special thing about Scratch, I think, is that it makes programming concepts feel natural. When kids eventually encounter if then else in a computer science class later in their studies, they are excited, not intimidated."

Forbes (February 2016) Why Turner Is Investing $30 Million in Obama’s Coding Initiative "Since its launch, children using Scratch have created more than 20,000 new We Bare Bears projects in over 40 languages."

Wall Street Journal (February 2016) New Ways to Teach Young Children to Code "Through coding, young people can go beyond a passive role with technology [...] seeing it as a tool for creating things, expressing their ideas and sharing them with others, says Scratch founder Mitchel Resnick."

Mashable (January 2016) For a boy with autism in rural Australia, coding is a link to the outside world "Burmester is particularly thrilled coding has allowed Wedding to express himself. 'While he struggles in other areas, this gives him something that is his, that he can own. It's a sense of control,' she explained. 'He never thought he could say, 'I'm really good at maths,' 'I'm really good at English.' But now he can say 'I'm really good at Scratch, and here's what I can make'.'"

New Learning Times (January 2016) The Classroom Project in the Scratch Age "The potential for harnessing the learning that happens in online youth communities such as Scratch for engaging classroom instruction is exciting."

NPR (January 2016) [http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/12/462698966/the-president-wants-every-student-to-learn-computer-science-how-would-that-work The President Wants Every Student To Learn Computer Science. How Would That Work?] "Mitch Resnick at the MIT Media Lab helped create Scratch and ScratchJr., computer languages designed expressly to introduce children to programming."

Future Ready Singapore (January 2016) Teaching kids programming from Scratch "Young students at the workshops learn to create animated sequences using the programming language, Scratch. Programming is made fun and engaging through the use of colourful characters that appeal to the children."

NPR Ed (December 2015) A Kids' Coding Expert Says We're Making Computer Class Way Too Boring "In the early 2000s, his team developed Scratch, a 'visual' programming language. Visual means it depicts commands as blocks that can be snapped together, like Legos, into more complex sets of instructions."

The Seattle Times (December 2015) These teen students can code a video game — and so should yours, technologists say "Founders of companies working on tech for kids, however, insist that the games and programs are not exclusively for kids who want to be computer scientists. Everyone, they say, will need to know how to speak to computers. In developing the Scratch programming software, MIT researchers sought to teach basics of coding in a creative way."

Minnesota StarTribune (December 2015) Minnesota students tackle 'Hour of Code' "The students use Scratch, a free programming language developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help young people learn coding through games and interactive stories. There’s so much interest that the students started an after-school Scratch club."

Animation World Network (December 2015) Cartoon Network Teams Up with Scratch to Engage Kids in Creative Coding "'Scratch’s technology enables kids to unleash their creative ideas and express themselves,' said Christina Miller, President and General Manager of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang. 'By giving kids access to these beloved characters so that they can create their own stories, we can also encourage collaboration and help build important skills for their future.'"

The New Yorker (November 2015) Can An English Teacher Learn to Code? "'The language in Scratch is very similar to theatre language,' she said. 'They call it blocking. There are a lot of parallels'."

The Christian Science Monitor (November 2015) In coding classes, Boston schools aim to provide 21st century skills "At first, it looks like an animated movie. But then the class’s teacher, Jonathan LoPorto, opens a new tab, revealing rows of multicolored blocks in Scratch, the computer programming software that controls the figures, known as sprites."

Bright (November 2015) A Different Approach to Coding "With Scratch, our goal is for young people to become fluent with coding — not only learning the mechanics and concepts of coding, but also developing their own voice and their ability to express their ideas."

Chicago Inno (August 2015) Teens Tackle Social Issues, Technology, And Art Through A Retro Video Game Installation "Since video games are already a part of most students' lives, Ciampaglia said, it was an easy way into discussing tougher issues, and providing incentive for kids to learn code. Teens coded using Scratch, with Richardson, Ciampaglia and other instructors assisting as their ideas grew more ambitious."

The New York Times (August 2015) De Blasio to Announce 10-Year Deadline to Offer Computer Science to All Students "But the goal is for all students, even those in elementary school and those in the poorest neighborhoods, to have some exposure to computer science, whether building robots or learning to use basic programming languages like Scratch, which was devised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach young children the rudiments of coding."

CNET (August 2015) Try (and fail) to land the Space X Falcon 9 with this video game "The game is a remix of a Lunar Lander game by Dixiklo, a contributor to Scratch, a site where users can share interactive stories and games. Scatch is run by the MIT Media Lab."

Montreal Gazette (August 2015) A game-making app for everyone? "'One parent told me her son was watching a video at home and remarked how he knew how they did that, and which code was used. So the information they gained through Scratch started to resonate in everyday life. It was mind-blowing,' Batzios said. “It’s inspiring to see our future is safe.'"

Boing Boing (August 2015) Special needs students rise to the challenges of coding "Of the other tools I wrote about, Scratch, a free tool designed for kids, is still about perfect."

BBC News (May 2015) Coding the future: What will the future of computing look like? "We're likely to learn to code younger, and differently. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) child-friendly programming language Scratch has 6.2 million registered users."

Wall Street Journal (April 2015) Why Coding is Your Child's Key to Unlocking the Future "'When you learn to code, you start thinking about processes in the world,' says Mitchel Resnick, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor heading up the effort to build the child-friendly programming language Scratch."

Slate (April 2015) Reading, Writing, ’Rithmetic, ’Rogramming “Instead of writing an essay or doing a PowerPoint presentation, for a class, you can use Scratch to create your own interactive media."

The Guardian (March 2015) How my son and I became game programmers – kind of "Programming is an art, just like writing, and everyone has a different approach to the same task. Through Scratch, I am beginning to appreciate that."

Medical Daily (March 2015) Taking Back Computer Science: Young Girls Who Learn Code Acquire Problem Solving Skills, Feel Empowered "Some experts have even said computer code is "the new literacy. Mitch Resnik, a computer scientist at MIT's Media Lab, is one of those experts. Resnik is responsible for another free coding program called Scratch, where kids can create their own interactive stories, games, and animations. In his 2012 TED Talk, Resnick said children can use programs like Scratch to code and interact with the physical world around them."

Harvard Magazine (March 2015) Computing in the Classroom "Since Scratch launched in 2007, it has been translated into more than 40 languages and used by millions worldwide—including people well outside the target age group (eight to 16), like the hundreds enrolled in Harvard’s most popular class, CS 50: 'Introduction to Computer Science.' It’s even used in primary school classrooms."

USA Today (February 2015) Google to teach Boys & Girls Clubs to code "The materials are free and available online. The curriculum is designed so kids can work at their own pace. The program uses Scratch, a simple programming language developed at MIT."

Lifehacker (February 2015) Top 10 Ways to Teach Yourself to Code "Although many of the programs designed to teach kids to code are very simplistic, many of them, like Scratch, are suitable for all ages. It doesn't matter how old you are; even kids' animation apps can get you started with the basics of programming."

HackerNews (December 2014) MIT Scratch – Teach kids to program stories, games, and animations “We have been teaching kids Scratch for 3 years in a weekly free class in downtown Oakland. The response has been wonderful. It unleashes the creativity in kids, and some children that are utterly silent and shy open right up when they have questions about how to make their game do this or that.”

EdSurge (August 2014) Scratch Releases "Creative Computing" Teaching Guide “The ScratchEd team today released its newest guide to using coding instructional tool Scratch in K-12 classrooms, museums, and more.”

Forbes (August 2014) Your Five Year Old Can Learn To Code With An IPad App "I downloaded ScratchJr and then handed the iPad to my six year old. He was instantly engaged."

CBS News (October 2014) Coding for kindergarteners: App teaches kids computer basics “This computer programming app is so easy to use that even a kindergartener can do it.”

Software Development Times (May 2014) Scratch 2.0 editor and player now open source “The latest version of a tool used to teach kids how to program video games, animations and interactive art is now open source. The Scratch 2.0 editor and player can now be found in GitHub under the GPL version 2 license.”

The New York Times (May 2014) How to Get Girls Into Coding Just this week, Google released data showing that women account for just 17 percent of its tech employees. The problem is not only getting girls to computer class, but keeping them there.

Wired UK (May 2014) Aardman gets kids coding with Shaun the Sheep game We all know Shaun as the mischievous stop-motion sheep of the famous series. Aardman has now joined with Nominet Trust to make the woolly fellow the inspiration for the next generation of makers and artists, encouraging them to build a Shaun-based game using coding platform Scratch.

The New York Times (September 2013) Very Young Programmers "Designed for children in kindergarten through second grade, Scratch Jr. is not yet available to the public, though its founders are preparing for an iPad version in 2014. This school year, they are evaluating how it works in a handful of classrooms in Massachusetts. The project is led by Marina Umaschi Bers, a professor in the department of child development at Tufts University, and Mitchel Resnick, Scratch’s founder at the M.I.T. Media Lab." NBC News (June 2013) How and Why to Teach Your Kids to Code "Scratch remains our favorite programming tool, mainly because it offers so much control. It's like Hopscotch, above, but more robust, and like App Inventor, below, but more user-friendly."

Popular Mechanics (May 2013) How to Raise a Tech-Savvy Kid "My 4-year-old is just beginning to learn to read, but he already gets some of the basic concepts of Scratch, a simple programming language for kids developed at MIT's Media Lab that invites them to snap together code to make animations and simple games."

The Hindu (May 2013) Coding, It Really is Child's Play Now "Scratch’s success is in that it offers a fun, visual way of learning to create something new or to solve a problem by breaking it down into logical steps. Besides, educators point out, with no brackets to misplace or commands to misspell, failure is less of a deterrent. Results are instantaneously visible, which rewards and reinforces learning."

MIT News (May 2013) Kids Coding in the Cloud "As young people create and share projects, they learn not only specific technical skills, but also broader strategies for solving problems, designing projects, communicating ideas and working collaboratively"

PR Newswire (May 2013) iD Tech Campus Debuts Two Summer Programming Courses Using Kid-Friendly Scratch 2.0 from MIT "Scratch 2.0 makes it even easier for students to create and share programming projects. Complexities of coding are broken into bite-sized, color-coded bits, allowing kids to freely create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art. A fun drag-and-drop interface encourages students to rearrange and experiment with code in a way that quickly makes sense to them."

SBWire.com (May 2013) Funutation Competition Is Just For Fun Announces 9-Year-Old Game Designers "'I am so excited about to be a part of this', says Ben of Shaker Heights. Ben and his friend Max will be showing off their multi-level game that they created using MIT Scratch software. So far, their game includes a maze as well as archery and platform components as seen in games like Mario Brothers. This is part of Scratch Day being held in Cleveland, OH on June 1."

Geek.com (May 2013) MIT releases Scratch 2.0 to Get Kids Coding in the Cloud "Scratch 2.0 is now available to use, and it brings with it a ton of improvements. The biggest of those has to be the shift from a downloadable piece of software to a browser-based interface. By making that transition, MIT has opened Scratch up to an even wider audience, including Chromebook users. It also means there’s only one version to maintain, and saves happen automatically in the cloud."

EdSurge News (May 2013) Learn To Code, Code to Learn "We find that active members of the Scratch community start to think of themselves differently. They begin to see themselves as creators and designers, as people who can make things with digital media, not just browse, chat, and play games. While many people can read digital media, Scratchers can write digital media."

EdSurge News (May 2013) MIT Media Lab to Release Scratch 2.0 "Users will also be able to see the inner workings of projects they like and modify them. Other improvements include the ability to use vector graphics, create unique coding blocks, use the webcam for motion games, and connect to cloud data--allowing users to do things like create games with global high scores. Not bad for an 'introductory' language!"

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (March 2013) New program at South Fayette furthers technology interest "'Scratch has ignited the imagination of our teachers and students,' Owens said. 'They are enamored by their power to be creative and with their ability to create interactive characters, sound, music and more. Since students can download the program at home free of charge, they are extending their learning from school to home.'"

Huffington Post (December 2012) 'Kiddie-Hack': Primary School Developers "Scratch provides kids with an exciting environment to create and share computer applications...Learning how to write code and how to build and run a programme is one of the most creative intellectual challenges a person can do alongside writing music and literature."

BBC News (April 2012): Programming project comes to primary schools "Ms Sutcliffe said club sessions would be based around Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Scratch tool which lets children try their hand at programming by dragging and dropping code elements instead of typing them. Scratch is already used in many schools as an aid to computer lessons for children aged 12 and above."

The New York Times (March 2012): Computer Science for the Rest of Us "At many other campuses, computer science departments introduce computational thinking by sparing students from learning an industrial-strength programming language in order to try applying the general concepts. Instead, students learn visual scripting languages that produce interactive animation. Scratch, which was developed for elementary and middle-school students, is one such language."

The Washington Post (January 2012): A fourth “r” for 21st century literacy "Algorithms and algorithmic thinking give kids of the 21st century the ability to write software and change programs to suit themselves, their own creativity, and their desire to self-publish their own multimedia work. Wonderful open source, nonprofit (free!) multimedia programs like Scratch, designed by the MIT Media Lab, inspire kids to “create and share your own interactive stories, games, music, and art."

The New York Times (November 2011): Programming for Children, Minus Cryptic Syntax "When Howard Abrams, a software engineer in Beaverton, Ore., wanted to teach his daughter, now 10, and son, now 8, how to program computers, he thought of the fun he had playing with Logo, the first programming language he learned."

Design Envy (November 2011): Scratch: MIT Media Lab "It is difficult to judge the value of a platform upon first release. Some time is necessary to evaluate the realm of possibility enabled by the platform."

Wired.com (April 2010): Apple Rejects Kid-Friendly Programming App "Apple removed an app called Scratch from its iPhone and iPad App Store last week. The Scratch app displayed stories, games and animations made by children using MIT’s Scratch platform, which was built on top of Alan Kay’s programming language Squeak, according to MIT."

NYTimes.com (April 2010): Apple Removes Teaching App From App Store, and Educators Complain "Apple generally makes news by publishing new apps, not by unpublishing them. But last week, it made some educators upset when it removed an app, Scratch Viewer, from the iTunes App Store."