Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Teaching Kids to Code: Scratch vs. Code.org

I'm thinking of teaching DS6 to code, as a way of "after-schooling" that doesn't seem so much like school. My skills in this area are non-existent, so I've been looking at the lesson plans on Code.org and learnscratch.org.

Has anyone used either that would be willing to share opinions, or is there a computer science expert who would be willing to let me know if one is "better" than the other.

Many thanks!
Kathie

Excuse semi-hijack. I haven't written a computer program for years decades, but I've been wondering. Is Scratch a real programming language?

I don't have any experience with either of the web sites you mention, but DD10 is taking (and really enjoying) a class through Youth Digital where they use Java to build a Minecraft mod.

My dd enjoyed Scratch at about 6-7. It has a moderated social component as well.

Scratch is designed to teach the basic concepts of coding, but doesn't really have practical application outside of their tutorials. It can be helpful if your child's math, keyboard and logic skills are still developing. Their interface is a little clunky, but it the underlying ideas are a bit more sophisticated.

Code.org has some Scratch-esque programs as well. However, they also will point you to Khan Academy, Codecademy, Grok and other sites to learn Javascript, Python, etc. which are standard languages. They have also partnered with licensed brands like Angry Birds to teach coding, which can be a tempting hook for some kids. Scratch has no bells and whistles like this.

So, if your DS6 has some math/logic skills around 4th grade+ and is semi-comfortable around a keyboard, you may want to skip right ahead to Khan Academy. If not, then either Scratch or Code.org would be just fine to learn basic logic and concepts while the math and keyboard skills catch up.

I would recommend trying the initial tutorials on both Scratch and Code.org yourself and you'll get a sense for how the sites try to teach. You'll know better than us which style would work best for your son.

We've gone through this in a few different threads; worth searching for. Personally, I favor Scratch particularly with some of the new structures, because the key factor is learning programmatic thinking not semantical content.

Many, many tutorials start jamming in language elements with small marginally interesting tasks. If a tutorial doesn't start with defining an interesting problem that drives the learning or create sandbox experiment scenarios, I would continue looking.

Is Scratch a programming languages? Granted it's been over a day since I've done any professional programming... I say yes as it is used to automate processing on a computing device. Can you make a commercial application with it? No. Are all the skills learned applicable to learning other languages? Fer sher.

So is it readily apparent how one would simulate a universal Turing machine using Scratch?

I was trying to teach myself some coding and have experience with both.

Scratch itself is open-ended and visual. You take a command and drag it into the "programming area" and watch the graphics respond to that command. I found it difficult to use because there wasn't a lot of direction and I'm not really the type of person who enjoys tinkering with something to figure out how it works. Also, as others have mentioned, it's not an actual language (though you can create a game and share it on the site). So it would teach you sort of how things work, but then you'd have to learn to apply specific language once you've done that part.

Code.org fit really well with my personality, as it was like "Do this" and then you'd do it and it would say "well done" and you're on to the next section (with each section building on the previous). The style was right for me, but it didn't allow for a lot of creativity.

DS9 has been using Scratch for nearly a year now. We've found that he's learned the most by looking at other people's programs to learn new techniques. The fact that you can play a game, then see exactly how it was created, then try to recreate it on your own, is great.

For example, what if you want to write a program to find the GCD of two positive integers (in terms of arithmetic operations and inequalities, not just using a pre-made GCD subroutine). Is Scratch good for that?